Episodes

Sonia and Christina Garnett break down why 2026 might finally be the year marketing moves past rage bait and back toward empathy, craft, and emotional intelligence. They cover Grok's non-consensual AI image scandal, Polymarket's refusal to pay out on Venezuela invasion bets, Chevrolet's tear-jerking holiday ad that went viral, the Stranger Things finale conspiracy theories, and why Cadillac F1 is putting their drivers on Hot Ones instead of traditional press tours. The big thesis: attention-at-...

Sonia and Christina Garnett break down why 2026 might finally be the year marketing moves past rage bait and back toward empathy, craft, and emotional intelligence. They cover Grok's non-consensual AI image scandal, Polymarket's refusal to pay out on Venezuela invasion bets, Chevrolet's tear-jerking holiday ad that went viral, the Stranger Things finale conspiracy theories, and why Cadillac F1 is putting their drivers on Hot Ones instead of traditional press tours. The big thesis: attention-at-...

Every week on The Meme Team Podcast, we break down what worked, what didn't, and why people cared. This year had too many good campaigns to just list—so we're doing an awards show. In this episode, Sonia and the team cover: Marty Supreme / Timothée Chalamet (w/ Mark Stenberg) – The lookalike contest, the Statue of Liberty stunt, and meta-marketing done right. Stripe's Black Friday Mini City (w/ Kushaan Shah & Amanda Natividad) – A handmade, 8-foot miniature city with 15 buildings, live-streamed ...

Every week on The Meme Team Podcast, we break down what worked, what didn't, and why people cared. This year had too many good campaigns to just list—so we're doing an awards show. In this episode, Sonia and the team cover: Marty Supreme / Timothée Chalamet (w/ Mark Stenberg) – The lookalike contest, the Statue of Liberty stunt, and meta-marketing done right. Stripe's Black Friday Mini City (w/ Kushaan Shah & Amanda Natividad) – A handmade, 8-foot miniature city with 15 buildings, live-streamed ...

Sonia sits down with Julie Fredrickson (managing partner at Chaotic Capital) to dissect the Advent calendar wars—and what Amazon's massive, perfectly-packaged K-beauty box says about the future of retail, beauty merchandising, and who's winning the tastemaker race. We're talking about: Why Amazon shipped a $99 Advent calendar in custom foam inserts (and what that signals about their beauty ambitions) The end of de minimis tax and how it's reshaping K-beauty imports, counterfeits, and brand tr...

Sonia sits down with Julie Fredrickson (managing partner at Chaotic Capital) to dissect the Advent calendar wars—and what Amazon's massive, perfectly-packaged K-beauty box says about the future of retail, beauty merchandising, and who's winning the tastemaker race. We're talking about: Why Amazon shipped a $99 Advent calendar in custom foam inserts (and what that signals about their beauty ambitions) The end of de minimis tax and how it's reshaping K-beauty imports, counterfeits, and brand tr...

Sonia Baschez sits down with Hailey Allen (creative strategist at neuemotion) to dissect the marketing wins and fails making waves right now—from AI slop ruining brand perception to why companies are suddenly hiring "chief storytellers." We're talking about: Why McDonald's pulled their AI ad in 24 hours (and why Disney chose the worst week to announce their OpenAI deal) "Slop" being named word of the year and what that says about 2025 Substack launching sponsorships after years of being ad-f...

Sonia Baschez sits down with Hailey Allen (creative strategist at neuemotion) to dissect the marketing wins and fails making waves right now—from AI slop ruining brand perception to why companies are suddenly hiring "chief storytellers." We're talking about: Why McDonald's pulled their AI ad in 24 hours (and why Disney chose the worst week to announce their OpenAI deal) "Slop" being named word of the year and what that says about 2025 Substack launching sponsorships after years of being ad-f...

This episode hits on five major marketing trends playing out rn. starts with F1's american takeover—Cadillac's super bowl livery reveal is perfectly timed with Apple's new broadcast deal to capture US audiences who've been waiting for a team that actually leans into being american. they also break down the wholesome carlos sainz unicorn helmet story that shows how user-generated content and ongoing storylines can build real fan engagement when you're not just extracting value from your audience....

This episode hits on five major marketing trends playing out rn. starts with F1's american takeover—Cadillac's super bowl livery reveal is perfectly timed with Apple's new broadcast deal to capture US audiences who've been waiting for a team that actually leans into being american. they also break down the wholesome carlos sainz unicorn helmet story that shows how user-generated content and ongoing storylines can build real fan engagement when you're not just extracting value from your audience....

Sonia, Amanda, and guest Kushaan Shah break down how Shopify and Stripe owned Black Friday/Cyber Monday 2025—not through traditional ads, but by spotlighting merchants, building miniature cities by hand, and proving B2B doesn't have to be boring. They unpack record-breaking consumer spending ($1 trillion+ for the first time), the dark side of buy-now-pay-later debt, mobile shopping's takeover of desktop, and why craft beats AI when you're trying to stand out. The episode dives deep into Shopify...

Sonia, Amanda, and guest Kushaan Shah break down how Shopify and Stripe owned Black Friday/Cyber Monday 2025—not through traditional ads, but by spotlighting merchants, building miniature cities by hand, and proving B2B doesn't have to be boring. They unpack record-breaking consumer spending ($1 trillion+ for the first time), the dark side of buy-now-pay-later debt, mobile shopping's takeover of desktop, and why craft beats AI when you're trying to stand out. The episode dives deep into Shopify...

episode description: sonia and kaleigh break down why traditional marketing is dying and what's replacing it. they cover timothée chalamet's $250 jacket sellout, apple tv's continued failure to market good shows, hulu's genius grocery store hack, lionsgate listening to fans for hunger games casting, shopify's president crowdsourcing black friday recs, and why a luxury brand just said "fuck ai" with their new website. main thesis: communities beat celebrities, craft beats slop, and giving your a...

episode description: sonia and kaleigh break down why traditional marketing is dying and what's replacing it. they cover timothée chalamet's $250 jacket sellout, apple tv's continued failure to market good shows, hulu's genius grocery store hack, lionsgate listening to fans for hunger games casting, shopify's president crowdsourcing black friday recs, and why a luxury brand just said "fuck ai" with their new website. main thesis: communities beat celebrities, craft beats slop, and giving your a...

This episode covers five major marketing and media topics: ChatGPT's new group chat feature launching in Asian markets as a potential WhatsApp competitor; Timothée Chalamet's innovative meta-marketing campaign for A24's Marty Supreme that blurs satire and reality while creating memeable experiential moments; the breakdown of Steph Curry's 12-year Under Armour partnership and what it reveals about brands failing to read cultural shifts in athletic wear; Disney+'s controversial decision to allow A...

This episode covers five major marketing and media topics: ChatGPT's new group chat feature launching in Asian markets as a potential WhatsApp competitor; Timothée Chalamet's innovative meta-marketing campaign for A24's Marty Supreme that blurs satire and reality while creating memeable experiential moments; the breakdown of Steph Curry's 12-year Under Armour partnership and what it reveals about brands failing to read cultural shifts in athletic wear; Disney+'s controversial decision to allow A...

Sonia and Christina break down consumer brand marketing wins and fails across Apple's glass logo rebrand, Nike's LA murals, Sephora's tone-deaf holiday ad with Mariah Carey, the AI wars between Coca-Cola and Barbour's Wallace & Gromit collab, and the Starbucks bear cup chaos. They also dig into Apple TV's quality-over-quantity approach, consumerism culture, and how brands are staking claims on AI vs craft. Nike Dodgers Murals (00:18-01:53) Apple's Glass Logo Rebrand & Apple TV (01:54-11:03) S...

Episode Summary In this episode, Sonia and Moshe dissect four big marketing moments. They start with Cracker Barrel’s self-aware tweet that uses humor to defuse backlash over its remodel, then dive deep into Nike’s “I Love LA” Dodgers World Series spot that swaps Randy Newman for Kendrick Lamar—layering the LA–Toronto rivalry with the Kendrick–Drake beef to show true cultural fluency. They pull out why speed and social listening matter, and why Gen Z (73%) rewards brands that read the room. They...

Halloween meets K‑pop as Amanda and Sonia kick off with costumes, community, and a Demon Hunter sing‑along, then pivot to the Bugonia “bald screening” stunt—who actually shaved vs who got bald caps, and what that says about event design and expectation setting. The core segment tackles why surveys mislead (AP’s Halloween stats; SparkTogether’s “would attend again” vs reality) and how better survey design, open‑endeds, and customer interviews avoid bias. They jump to baseball: a Dodgers fan’s st...

From The Office's Kevin trapped in a glass box for Ramp to Lionsgate finally embracing fan editors, this episode unpacks the biggest marketing moves of the week. We break down how a B2B fintech company created the most talked-about experiential campaign, dive into Twitter's game-changing link update, and expose a wild Reddit marketing takedown that cost one company 80% of their revenue. Plus: AMC x Netflix's theatrical partnership, Heineken trolling Friend AI, and why one movie is asking fans t...

In today's episode, Sonia and guest Christina Garnett break down three major shifts in marketing: Timothée Chalamet's genius guerrilla campaign for indie ping pong movie Marty Supreme, Taylor Swift's variant overload that's testing even die-hard Swifties, and why politicians desperately need to learn how to make TikToks AND go on 3-hour long podcasts. Plus: Netflix drops "Original," Apple TV loses "Plus," and why these streaming giants don't need to flex anymore. Special guest Christina Garnett...

In this episode of the Meme Team podcast, Amanda and Sonia discuss various marketing strategies and cultural phenomena, including Cracker Barrel's logo controversy, Williams F1's community engagement, Tame Impala's unique concert experience, Anthropic's pop-up in New York, Taylor Swift's influence on the wedding industry, and the marketing strategies behind K-Pop Demon Hunters. They also touch on Merriam-Webster's clever campaign related to AI language models, emphasizing the importance of adapt...

In this episode of the Meme Team podcast, Amanda and Sonia discuss various marketing strategies and cultural phenomena, including Cracker Barrel's logo controversy, Williams F1's community engagement, Tame Impala's unique concert experience, Anthropic's pop-up in New York, Taylor Swift's influence on the wedding industry, and the marketing strategies behind K-Pop Demon Hunters. They also touch on Merriam-Webster's clever campaign related to AI language models, emphasizing the importance of adapt...

This week on Meme Team, Sonia and Amanda dive into four big culture-meets-marketing moments: Taylor Swift x KitchenAid? How brands are borrowing her orange aesthetic to drive hype — without her even collabing. OpenAI’s first brand campaign + "agentic commerce." What instant checkout inside ChatGPT means for small businesses, DTC, and the future of discovery. The unicorn that won F1. How a fan’s sticker turned into a viral, feel-good growth story. Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl. Why skipping a U...