Help! We Have No Budget But Need to Advertise at the US Open.

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In Today’s Newsletter—

• Genius Marketing at the U.S. Open

• Buff is Back! How Brands Are Embracing Athleticism

• Levi’s X JJJJound

• Highsnobiety Loses Its Cool

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Can’t Advertise with Top Tier Talent? Try This Instead.

• One private credit firm pulled off a quick marketing win at the US Open.

• The opening matches of the tournament be incredibly predictable. The top ranked players are facing off against the players who are just lucky to be there.

• For example, Alacaraz (3rd in the world rankings) faced off against Li Tu (188th ranked) last night. Tu obviously got smoked, calling Alcaraz a “a beast”

• But this stark juxtaposition of talent left an opening for a smart ad placement…

• Blue Owl, a private credit firm, appeared to jump on the opportunity to get a cheap logo placement at the match, sponsoring Li Tu.

  

• The arrangement could not have cost them much, and it appears to be a last minute thing because their logo was obviously ironed on to his jersey.

• But, nonetheless, they got their brand visibility at a tennis match in which the no. 3 player in the world was playing, for dirt cheap.

• This goes to show, brand marketers sometimes need to think outside of the box…

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Brands Are Embracing Buff

• Pure Beauty, the excellently creative directed THC brand, posted a new campaign on their Instagram showing off various body builders.

purebeautypurebeauty

A post shared by @purebeautypurebeauty

• The campaign shows how serious athletes can use weed in partnership with their physical training regimen.

• The campaign copy reads—

  When powerful weed meets powerful bodies, it’s a dance of Earth and muscle, of deep roots and raw strength.

• The photoshoot, shot by Elizabeth De La Piedra, is eye catching and expands Pure Beauty’s brand world into the fitness territory.

• Anecdotally, I am sensing a shift back into embracing pure athleticism in campaign shoots.

• For example, Peter Rahal’s David Protein shared some BTS of their campaign shoot and its modeled by incredibly toned athletes.

• While that makes sense, David is a protein bar, I think this buff art direction trend could be applied interestingly for other consumer brands.

• Hear me out: Soft Services buffing bar campaign shot with a ton of buff mfs trying to be toned and exfoliated. “Stay buff with the buffing bar” or something like that. Somebody ring my line.

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JJJJound x Levi’s Returns for Fall

• Everyone’s favorite moodboard turned tasteful clothing line is collaborating with Levi’s for Fall jeans.

• The 10-piece capsule collection features jeans (duh), a Western shirt, tees, and a belt.

• I like the dark jeans, and I find Levi’s to be the most dependable brand for jeans. They’re classics and the fit isn’t crazy like some of the denim they sell on TikTok Shop.

• But while browsing the collection images, I noticed a small detail I love—

• The custom JJJJound logo on the U-Haul in the back is so funny.

• I love when brands pay attention to the small details that create moments of whimsy and delight for consumers.

  jjjjound

  

  A post shared by @jjjjound

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Highsnobiety Loses Its Cool

• Willa Bennett is the new Editor-in-Chief at Cosmopolitan and Seventeen Magazine.

“I’ve been an avid reader of Cosmopolitan and Seventeen since before I can remember and I’m honored to lead these two important brands into the future. I feel optimistic about the next generation and with two iconic legacy brands, anything is possible,” — Bennett

• She departs Highsnobiety, where she helped the publication keep a pulse on what is culturally relevant.

• During her tenure, they did cover shoots with A$AP Rocky, Billie Eilish, and Pamela Anderson.

• The move comes as Hearst Magazines tries to reposition their youth-focused titles and regain the footing they once had during magazine’s golden era.

• Bennett boasts major connections in the NYC media world, she formerly worked at GQ and has pull with the city’s hottest writers.

• For additional background on her, go read her profile in the New York Times. My favorite parts are how she prefers old school restaurants like Minetta Tavern and the Odeon over the club.

• It will be interesting to see if Bennett can get Gen Z to go feral for controversial pieces like The Cut can with Millenial audiences.

• As to what Highsnobiety does next? Maybe more ‘____ core’ bait pieces…

  highsnobiety

  

  A post shared by @highsnobiety

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Jake Bell is a content marketing, creative strategist, designer, and writer based in NYC. He specializes in brand building, content strategy, creative direction, business development, and making things cool.

Want to chat? Email me: jake@jb.studio