Part and Summed Up ?? #30

Poppi’s influencer drama bubbles over, Valentine’s Day ads, YouTube’s secret data.

Read time: 2 minutes

THREE PARTS THAT MATTER

MARKETING

Poppi’s 2024 Super Bowl ad pushed search interest in the brand to an all time high and they were ready for round two this year - investing in a $7 million ad spot and an influencer campaign to go along with it. Usually this would be a masterclass in multi-channel campaign activation. But instead, it made people mad. Ahead of the big game, Poppi sent out flashy soda stocked vending machines to influencers. The backlash was swifter than Travis Kelce’s exit after the game– with many commenters arguing that the expensive vending machines were not useful in these already wealthy influencers living rooms, and that they could have been donated to places where “regular” people could access them, like hospitals, teachers lounges or athlete locker rooms.

Also fueling the fire was Olipop,?a competitor of Poppi, claiming in TikTok comments that the vending machines cost $25,000 each. But according to AdWeek, the machines actually cost about half of the rumored price to create.?Poppi owner and co-founder Allison Elsworth?then took to TikTok herself to diffuse the drink drama, saying that the brand is listening to the complaints, and that they’ll work to get the machines to places where people would actually like to see them go. We’re guessing they will still be back for Super Bowl 60.

CULTURE

We’re starting some sh*t with a toilet paper brand.

ICYMI, some of our superstar strategists reacted to a mix?of Valentine's Day ad campaigns from around our scrolls. We had a lot of praise for Who Gives A Crap, and their World Dump Day campaign, which promised to write a personalized breakup letter on your behalf.?Of course, one of our strategists wanted to “dump” another one– but we were a bit disappointed when we got this email a few days later. Clearly, the campaign must have been a success if they received that many requests? But the ending to our Dump Day love affair could have been a bit sweeter.

Speaking of sweeter, one of the things our strategists called out in our video was a Comparte’s chocolate ad, featuring some interesting black gloves. We remarked that the accessory choice gave off an NSFW vibe– and some new insights from Nonfiction Research?have us thinking deeper about that. They spent a year studying what Americans really want from sex, coming up with 31 distinct desire codes. We love when niche cultural insights connect back to our observations in the marketing world!

TECHNOLOGY

There’s some interesting data coming out of YouTube that Google might not want you to know about. Using bot technology, researchers have cracked the code?on some numbers that YouTube typically likes to keep secret. As it turns out, “the median number of views for a YouTube videos is just 41, and 4% of videos haven't been watched a single time. About 74% of videos have zero comments. Around 89% have no likes.”

Kind of crazy, right? We’re also fascinated by another stat coming directly from YouTube’s head honcho, Neal Mohan. Apparently, YouTube viewing on TV?has surpassed mobile and desktop viewing here in the U.S. According to Mohan, this means YouTube is a force to be reckoned with in the entertainment industry, with its creators “building studios and producing popular talk shows and feature-length films.” Interesting, considering that the majority of YouTube videos might not ever get watched.

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