Episodes

Sonia sits down with Ashwin Balakrishnan to break down Obama's presidential library speech, Mayor Mamdani's Knicks championship address, Norway's Viking World Cup campaign, and why Shrek 5's trailer is getting destroyed online. The big thesis: joy-based solidarity is undersupplied in political and brand content right now, and the brands that engineer hope without manufacturing it are winning the monoculture moment. Obama said America's story isn't frozen in the past, and Mamdani used the Knicks'...

Sonia Baschez sits down with Jay Kapoor, General Partner at VSC Ventures and host of the Climb podcast, to break down three viral pop culture moments from sports and marketing, and what they tell us about sincerity, brand strategy, and the shifting power dynamic between athletes and the companies that sponsor them. A German soccer fan named Freddy drove from Atlanta through Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, posted everything he saw on X, and went from zero followers...

Sonia sits down with Dino Delic, head of data driven communications research lab at Meltwater, to break down Christopher Nolan's Odyssey IMAX strategy, World Cup brand activations, and Ronnie Cheng's viral Harvard commencement speech telling graduates to destroy AI. The big thesis: scarcity is a strategy, and the brands that engineer demand without oversaturating win the monoculture moment. Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey isn't just the most anticipated film of the summer. It's running one of th...

Sonia sits down with Visa Veerasamy, writer, marketing consultant, and author of Friendly Ambitious Nerd, to break down Steven Spielberg's first podcast appearance, how YouTubers are skipping film school and breaking box office records, and why Ferrari's electric car launch flopped. The big thesis: own your audience before you ask for permission, and platforms are selecting for people who can speak well at length. Steven Spielberg went on his first podcast ever at 78 years old. He joined Bill Si...

Sonia sits down with Brianne Kimmel, founder of Worklife Ventures and GTM Advisor at ElevenLabs, to break down how AI is reshaping content creation, what Barnes & Noble's stance on AI books means for publishers, and why horror films are the new path to Hollywood stardom. The big thesis: here’s what Silicon Valley and Hollywood can learn from each other and how creatives can flourish in both industries. Barnes & Noble CEO James Daunt said they're willing to have AI books on shelves if publishers ...

Sonia sits down with Robin Simon Wood, SVP of Production at New Motion, to break down how Hollywood women are talking about AI, why CMO fatigue is real, and Spencer Pratt's clipping campaign for LA mayor. The big thesis: if you're going to take a stance, figure out what you're actually trying to say, and stick to your guns. Demi Moore spoke at Cannes and said AI is inevitable, so we should work with it instead of fighting it. Reese Witherspoon posted an Instagram video about making smoothies and...

Sonia sits down with Hiten Shah, founder of Crazy Egg, KISSmetrics, and Nira, to break down how companies are using AI as cover for layoffs, how Netflix reversed its brand promise without blowing up, and why Cannes Lions just created an AI craft category. The big thesis: AI is here to stay, but companies need to stop using it as an excuse and start being honest about what's actually working. Coinbase laid off 14% of its workforce citing AI making employees more efficient. Brian Armstrong tweeted...

Sonia sits down with Moshe Isaacian, a freelance brand marketing strategist who's worked with Lego, Snapchat, Nike, Toyota, and Epic Games, to break down how companies are talking to their customers in 2025. The big thesis: authenticity wins when CEOs show up like humans, not corporate mouthpieces, and the brands that engineer emotional ecosystems walk a fine line between loyalty and exploitation. Sam Altman has a new Twitter persona. After the Super Bowl ad disaster and the Anthropic roast, Ope...

Sonia sits down with Christina Garnett, author of Transforming Customer Brand Relationships and fractional Chief Community Officer, to break down Xbox's fan-first rebrand, Nike's marathon messaging disaster, Netflix's TikTok play, and Tim Cook's exit from Apple. The big thesis: nostalgia wins when it's authentic, and the most human brand wins. Xbox is doing what almost no brand has the guts to do: going backward on purpose. Asha Sharma lowered Game Pass prices (unheard of), ditched the Microsoft...

Sonia sits down with Jason Levin, founder of Memelord Technologies, to talk about: organic marketing isn't dead, it just got industrialized. And if the audience loves the music, does it matter how they found it? We're talking about: Geese psyop: Wired exposing Chaotic Good Projects running narrative campaigns for the band, TikTok backlash calling them an industry plant, and whether engineered ecosystems count as organic discovery Chaotic Good's playbook: Building networks of TikTok accounts to p...

Sonia sits down with Jason Levin, founder of Memelord Technologies, to talk about: organic marketing isn't dead, it just got industrialized. And if the audience loves the music, does it matter how they found it? We're talking about: Geese psyop: Wired exposing Chaotic Good Projects running narrative campaigns for the band, TikTok backlash calling them an industry plant, and whether engineered ecosystems count as organic discovery Chaotic Good's playbook: Building networks of TikTok accounts to p...

Sonia sits down with Sophie Vershbow, a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times, New York Magazine, and Esquire (and who spent six years doing social media for Random House), to break down how politicians are running creator playbooks and winning, OpenAI's podcast acquisition, and why competency porn is the new political content strategy. The big thesis: video is non-negotiable, and showing your work builds trust faster than promises. Zohran Mamdani is fixing potholes ...

This week Sonia Baschez and guest Yury Molodtsov discuss Project Hail Mary, which crossed $300M globally in its second weekend — only a 32% drop from opening, which almost never happens. Sonia and Yury get into why space-as-adventure is having a cultural moment, what IMAX has quietly done to become one of the most powerful co-brands in film, and why optimism is a content strategy, not just a tone. Then: Delve. The YC-backed compliance startup sold SOC 2, HIPAA, and GDPR certifications to hundred...

AI is getting bad PR, and audiences are fighting back. 78% of Gen Z can now identify AI-generated images and will scroll past them, causing CTR to drop 40%. Hatchet Book Group pulled Shy Girl after weeks of speculation that sections were AI-generated, and readers went back to edit their positive reviews to call out the AI use. Meanwhile, Yahoo is having a moment on social—partnering with Cardi B to launch their new planner feature with a campaign called "FOMZ" (Fear of Missing Out on Something I...

ChatGPT uninstalls surged 295% after the Department of Defense deal, the Pope told priests to stop using AI for sermons, and Netflix just opened its ad inventory to Amazon audiences. We break down all of it. Disney/Hulu's marketing mess, Claude's new community ambassadors program, Timothée Chalamet's hot take on ballet and opera becoming irrelevant, and Twitter's new exclusive threads feature. Plus filmmaker Nina Lee (@NinaSerafina) joins to go deep on the Sinners marketing campaign, from Ryan C...

The McDonald's CEO posted a video eating the Big Arch burger and couldn't bring himself to swallow it. Sam Altman publicly backed Anthropic's stance against the Department of War, then swooped in to take the same contract hours later. And Friend AI released an ad so bleak it made loneliness look like a feature. This week was rough for brands. Sonia Baschez and guest Nic Allum (founder/CEO of Cultureland, an LA-based cultural strategy consultancy) break down five marketing moments that went sidew...

ChatGPT launched ads this week and they're underwhelming. No personalized targeting, no memory integration, just basic in-line search ads that feel like Google in the 90s. Meanwhile, OpenClaw is setting the internet on fire as the first AI agent that actually works—controlling your browser, joining meetings, managing calendars, and doing everything a computer can do autonomously. Created by Austrian developer Peter Steinberger, it's the most famous open source project of all time with 200,000 Gi...

A24 built a full wedding website, a Boston Globe announcement, and an RSVP-to-your-Google-Calendar function to promote "The Drama" starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson. It's the latest in a string of immersive campaigns that are making A24 the most interesting movie studio in marketing right now. We break down why it works, what other brands can learn from it, and why making it about the characters instead of the celebrities is the move. This week Sonia is joined by Trishla Oswal, AI and tech r...

A24 built a full wedding website, a Boston Globe announcement, and an RSVP-to-your-Google-Calendar function to promote "The Drama" starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson. It's the latest in a string of immersive campaigns that are making A24 the most interesting movie studio in marketing right now. We break down why it works, what other brands can learn from it, and why making it about the characters instead of the celebrities is the move. This week Sonia is joined by Trishla Oswal, AI and tech r...

Sam Altman publicly clapped back at Anthropic's Super Bowl attack ad. Only 7% of consumers even know what Claude is versus 73% for ChatGPT. So why did the market leader punch down? Dr. Marcus Collins, marketing professor at the University of Michigan and author of "For the Culture," compares it to the time Drake made the mistake of responding to Pusha T and got bodied with "The Story of Adidon." When you're the market leader, you don't engage the challenger. You're just giving them more light. T...

Sam Altman publicly clapped back at Anthropic's Super Bowl attack ad. Only 7% of consumers even know what Claude is versus 73% for ChatGPT. So why did the market leader punch down? Dr. Marcus Collins, marketing professor at the University of Michigan and author of "For the Culture," compares it to the time Drake made the mistake of responding to Pusha T and got bodied with "The Story of Adidon." When you're the market leader, you don't engage the challenger. You're just giving them more light. T...

Sonia sits down with Jiya Jaisingh (fractional marketer and communicator with 10+ years in health and social impact) to break down Anthropic's $7M Super Bowl ad announcing they won't run ads, Pepsi's Coca-Cola bear stunt, Disney's CEO transition betting on parks over content, and why wellness brands are crashing the junk food holiday. The big thesis: brand wars are back, and they're funnier than ever. Anthropic spent millions to dunk on OpenAI's ad strategy with satirical "what we won't do" spot...

Sonia sits down with Mark Stenberg (Adweek senior media reporter) to break down the Oscars' hidden messages, Substack's pivot to video, Zohran Mamdani's PR blitz, and the New York Post's California expansion—all asking the same question: when do you listen to your core audience, and when do you bet on what's next? The big thesis: video is eating everything, but evolution kills platforms faster than brands. Substack's adding TV despite writer backlash. Mamdani's turning local government into vide...

Sonia sits down with Marissa Kraines (VP of brand marketing at Webflow, 12 years at Salesforce) to break down why Twitter's $1 million long-form content prize screams desperation, how Webflow turned AI's biggest flaw into a viral campaign, Netflix's tarot-themed 2026 slate reveal, and why DoorDash is skipping the Super Bowl to bet on social-first strategy. The big thesis: attention isn't enough—you need the right attention, in the right format, at the right time. Twitter's chasing Substack inste...