In this issue of Sunday Strategy, we look at five stories to think about next week, including: Zyn’s rise to fame, Canadian ketchup’s shift to nationalism, US Soccer’s looming moment, RTO’s next phase and Hims & Hers airing grievances.
In addition, we have ads from: Reformation, Volvo, Betclic, Volkswagen and AXE.
// Five Stories of the Week:
1.) How Zyn Conquered the American Mouth.
Zyn’s increasing ubiquity in the US may have seemed like it happened overnight, but the reality is a litany of factors have slowly contributed to ‘instant success’. The changing dynamic of social cues around tobacco usage, where the cool factor around having a cigarette or for a relatively short time, a vape, were turned against their benefactors – created a cultural landscape where Zyn’s subtle use became a benefit.
In the gap left by product use cues, Zyn-fluencers and rewards programs, as well as acceptance it may be the healthier option, have put the brand on and in many mouths. But with ubiquity comes scrutiny and the next phase of Zyn’s life cycle may be very different from what has come before it.
2.) On Ketchup and Canadian Nationalism.
US politics and tariff threats have sparked a wave of Canadian brands doubling down on national credentials. With 80% of Canadians saying they would start checking to see where items were made, brands like Kraft Heinz, Cheestrings, Kruger and others have launched a series of ads to showcase products being made in Canada. As international trade becomes more punitive in the coming months, brand nationalism looks to increase – however the ability to claim national bona fides may not be universal.
Heinz’s Canadian campaign came in response to comments by the Canadian PM about not being made in Canada. However, after fighting in advertising, consumers have noticed that many bottles featured ‘Made in the US’. While this is less an insidious ketchup plot and more a product of global supply chains and demand / supply regulation – a surge in nationalism will place truly global brands in a challenging place to adapt authentically.
3.) Is American Soccer Approaching its NFL Moment?
It seems safe to be bullish on soccer’s future in America at the moment. With a North American hosted 2026 Men’s World Cup less than a year and a half away, a world class coach in charge of the men’s team, a top ranked women’s team and US viewership of the English premier league averaging over 500k viewers per game – it has strong foundations for growth.
However, news this week that the United Soccer League (the second division of soccer in the US behind Major League Soccer) is planning on introducing a new tier at the same level as the MLS may quietly be the driving force behind the sport’s long term domestic growth. A new tier allows the USL to offer a full ‘pyramid’ of leagues, introducing relegation and promotion between them for teams based on performance. A feature of the sport in other leagues around the world, relegation and promotion is terrifying for team owners but integral for fans, play quality and long term growth.
Most importantly, it sets the table for a potential merger between the MLS and USL, similar to the mergers MLB and NFL experienced before periods of historical growth. As a new MLS season begins and next year looks to be a year of soccer in the states – the moment for a domestic product to tap into cultural headwinds is arriving.
4.) Maybe Announcing the RTO Was the Easy Part?
In 2025, the continuous (and often painful) march back into the office for many companies looks to enter a new phase. The pain of announcing a ‘Return to Office’ may have seemed like the hard part (unless you’re Jamie Dimon), but the logistics and commercial real estate decisions on what to do with those people once in the office still looms large (unless you’re Jamie Dimon).
Companies are often stuck in a chicken and egg situation, where a gradual return to office meets a gradual capital investment in the facilities to house everyone productively at full capacity. For employees already grumbling about being back in the office more, a lack of desks, remote meetings and scant perks may do more damage to RTO efforts than anything that has come before it.
5.) Hims & Hers Have a Grievance, Can It Be Legitimate?
Pharmaceutical brands Hims & Hers, traditionally famous for selling everything from hair loss to sexual health and wellness solutions across a multitude of digital formats, put a flag in the ground during this year’s Super Bowl. The ad, set to Childish Gambino’s ‘This is America’ and evoking an art direction and tone similar to PayPal’s ‘The New Money’ Super Bowl ad, calls out a broken pharma industry and puts both brands as challengers to the system that ‘keeps people sick’.
The bold position and tone isn’t surprising, given increased competition from Amazon and others in the telehealth and lifestyle pharma space. The slow death of Weight Watchers this week highlights the evolving risks in the space. Angry and agitated is a new response in a sector usually known for support and empathy.
However, as both the growth and blowback from government and traditional pharmaceutical brands like Novo Nordisk have shown, balancing trust and resistance in medicine will be a challenge for the brand. Hims & Hers have to show how they’re different enough to be a valid challenger, but still maintain relationships and industry ties to defend the products they distribute as legitimate.
// Ads You Might Have Missed:
1.) ‘Official Boyfriend’ – Reformation:
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, comedian Pete Davidson has become the official boyfriend of clothing brand Reformation. Fresh off some comprehensive tattoo removal and a few years removed from when it felt like he dated everyone, the campaign positions Davidson and the brand as the two perfect complements to ‘talented women everywhere’.
The content nicely tells a story about Davidson in a reformation store, sat on the ‘boyfriend couch’, but without tapping into cliches like the beleaguered partner or ‘who will he date next’. It subtly feels premium while still being funny – a hard balance to strike, but one that Davidson contributes aptly to.
2.) ‘The Most Ignored Painting’ – Volvo:
Road safety is never an easy topic to widely engage people with, especially while avoiding the traditional cliches or scare mongering that comes with safety messaging. Volvo has a long heritage in safety and in speaking about it in intriguing ways – from their award winning UK ‘Life Paint’ campaign to long form storytelling. Their latest attempt, during road safety month in India, activates an intriguing insight while still showing the difficulty in getting people to care.
‘The most ignored painting’ sees Indian artist Subodh Kerkar paint a zebra crossing and sign it, lamenting how if this work was in a museum, it wouldn’t be as ignored as it is on the road. While the content around this has 6m views, the power of the insight deserves greater attention. In a world where Banksy’s works can force people to travel to see them, more thinking that leverages fame and public art like this is needed.
3.) ‘The Power of Sweetness’ – AXE:
Fragrance brand AXE has been on a journey as a brand, from commercials that historically heroe’d the impact of it’s scent for men, often at the cost of the women they sought, through to providing a view on modern masculinity and confidence. Their current brand platform ‘Power of Fragrance’ and latest campaign ‘The Power of Sweetness’ aims to split the difference on previous efforts, showing how scent can make users more irresistible than babies, dogs or teddy bears. The classic brand still comes through, from the ‘Z’ shaped usage example to short skirts, bedrooms and a furry reference – but each of the three ads lands a traditionally expected message in a new way.
4.) ‘Love Never Loses’ – Betclic:
Ring Avulsion (the loss of a finger due to a wedding ring getting caught) isn’t just something you should never, ever Google – it’s also the unlikely focus of a Valentine’s Day campaign for betting brand Betclic in Portugal. The campaign, “Love Never Loses” sees a golden prosthetic ring finger being given to Sporting Portugal fan Victor Gregorio, who lost his ring finger to Avulsion while celebrating his team’s win. The campaign combines a message around football and Valentine’s Day in the most unique way since PUMA’s “Hard Chorus”.
5.) ‘The Californians’ – Volkswagen:
As brands tap into ‘Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary celebrations, Volkswagen have partnered to bring back Kristen Wiig, Fred Armisted and Bill Hader’s famous sketch ‘The Californians’. The original sketches, popular during the early 2010 seasons, see the three play out dramatic scenes straight out of the OC or the Hills – while often discussing the traffic on the 405, PCH or One.
Volkswagen’s reboot sees the three explore the new electric Volkwagen ID, highlighting its features in a way that doesn’t feel like the normal informational sell. The ID’s campaign, which features more emotive storytelling around the car extends nicely into the SNL moment – cutting through more effectively than other bespoke ads created for the anniversary.
// Sunday Snippets
// Marketing & Advertising //
// Has the Super Bowl indicated that a new age of ‘Bro-vertising’ has begun? [Ads]
// Digitas breaks down their view on this year’s Super Bowl ads [Ads]
// Bootcut jeans aren’t the only winner from Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show, as Uniqlo gains T-shirt growth [Culture]
// Love Papa John’s garlic sauce? Enjoy it in bath bomb form. Now you know what a pizza slice feels like. [Product]
// Technology & Media //
// Jeep owners are being hit with pop-up ads on their in-car displays and it doesn’t bode well for things to come [Media]
// Perplexity is the latest AI brand to introduce “Deep Research”, offering a free tier of access [AI]
// Instagram has introduced a downvote button in the comments section [Social Media]
// A new report shows how Google facilitated censorship requests from Russia, China and other governments [Tech]
// A developer has made “Exit 3A”, a game focused on highlighting the local experience of driving in Charlotte, NC [Gaming]
// Streaming platform Tubi breaks the Super Bowl streaming viewership record [Media]
// The Puppy Bowl also broke records with over 12m viewers [Media]
// Bytedance launches a new image and video generation AI model, Goku [AI]
// While Adobe has made their AI video generation model available to everyone in a public beta [AI]
// Severance’s fictional ‘The You You Are’ book by Ricken Hale is now real [Media]
// Life & Culture //
// Is “Quiet Luxury” dead or is it being shouted down in response to a market lull? [Fashion]
// Athenian neighborhood Plaka is the latest tension point for tourism vs antiquity [Travel]
// It’s not a morning routine, it’s an ‘Opening Shift’ in the world of TikTok productivity [Culture]
// Research attempts to explain why we can’t remember early childhood and the impact of culture [Science]
// The growth of graphic novels and what it means for our changing relationship with books [Culture]
// No Music. No Breaks. 24 hours on a treadmill in a Strava effort definitely ‘harder than your usual run’ [Sport]
// Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Nonfiction research has launched ‘Desire Codes’ – a study on what Americans really want from sex. [Culture]
// Until Next Sunday
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