Broken Marketing by Anvara - Week 2

Welcome to Broken Marketing

Welcome to the second weekly edition of Broken Marketing by Anvara, where we discuss marketing that breaks. Every Wednesday we’ll talk about the most innovative marketing and advertising news of the week, and what marketers on the leading edge are doing to get their edge. 

We’re Nick and Andrei, the co-founders of Anvara. We’ve included you here because one way or another we’re connected. We’re happy to have you a part of the Anvara family. 

Marketing has hit an inflection point—best-in-class tools and digital ads are no longer enough in a saturated and competitive landscape. To stand out, marketers have to embrace bold creative and unconventional media channels that capture trust and attention in the real world. Every Wednesday, we celebrate the trailblazers redefining brand impact, with standout campaigns and this week’s most disruptive marketing news.

Marketing that breaks

Halo Top’s Ode to Dry January

Halo Top's latest gambit: rebranding ice cream pints as mocktails for Dry January. Strawberry becomes "Pinot Noir," Chocolate Caramel Brownie morphs into "Old Fashioned"—names cheekily crossed out to reveal the true flavors beneath. Why? Because 83% of Dry January participants reportedly develop a sweet tooth, and 40% crave ice cream. Halo Top's light ice cream offers indulgence without the guilt.

This isn't just clever marketing— it's a masterclass in leveraging seasonal trends to boost consumer engagement. Customers are looking for something fresh. They get bored easily. Seasonal trends are an easy alley-oop to spin up your product and break the chain of normal for your customers. By aligning products with cultural moments, brands stay relevant and entice customers seeking timely alternatives. Something to think about in all your time spent not drinking this month.

Crumbl’s Revolving Door of Flavors

Speaking of introducing something fresh for customers - let Crumbl give you a masterclass. Crumbl has raced to become a $1 Billion+ company by doing just that. I took this photo at a Crumbl location in downtown NYC. The line always runs down the block, and it’s the same story at their other 1,000+ locations across the country.

What’s their secret cookie dough? It’s always changing. Each week, Crumbl takes to social media to announce the week’s new flavors. Teens rush to Crumbl stores, buy the cookies, and post reviews on TikTok and Instagram, fueling more and more demand. The novelty of their flavors keeps customers coming back. You don’t get bored of something that’s always changing. Remember that for your brand. Introduce change, be spontaneous, switch things up to keep them coming back. Give people a reason to talk about you.

McDonald’s Scented Billboard - Beyond just Eyeballs

In April 2024, McDonald’s launched a scented billboard in the Netherlands that smelled like fries. No matter how healthy you claim to be, no matter how many Matcha Lattes or Avocado Toasts you’ve indulged in, I know you know the smell of McDonald’s fries when you smell them. The mysterious red billboard with a strong smell of fries attracted tons of curious pedestrians who discovered who was advertising based on smell, not sight.

Every advertiser is competing for your eyeballs. Introducing an appeal to other senses, like incorporating smell in physical ads or resonating music in digital ads brings another sensory feeling people can hold onto.

This week’s news

Here’s a brief update on marketing news from this week:

• Meta is the latest member of the free speech club. Mark Zuckerberg announced that Meta would abandon its fact-checking efforts and loosen moderation marking a stunning reversal of years of promises regarding safety and misinformation. He’s jumped on the Elon Musk/Donald Trump train of free speech. Advertisers lost their minds when Elon removed censoring from X. We don’t expect advertisers to pull budgets from Instagram or Facebook because of this. Meta took censoring too far. It will be interesting to see how this reversal plays out.

• LA is on fire. The Palisades Fire has torched through 22,000 acres and counting of prime real estate, with thousands losing their homes. It’s a tragedy. This has also shaken up the media world. DoorDash’s Super Bowl shoot, which was scheduled for Thursday in LA, was postponed. Highdive and Wieden+Kennedy had multiple shoots lined up for this week, all canceled. A lot of the media world lives in the Palisades, and we expect the fires will disrupt things for weeks or months to come. We are praying for LA.

• CES was last week, and Agentic AI was everywhere. Almost every talk at CES mentioned Agentic AI - AI systems deployed to automate and enhance intelligence of everyday tasks. Agentic AI is going to make a big splash on the marketing industry in 2025, with agents automating things like planning, buying, and creatives. Anvara, for example, is working on an AI agent to identify the best media for a campaign based on brand, audience, and objective alignment. 

• Nike is making a return to brand marketing. To confront soft performance and what many feel is a loss of Nike’s original flare, Nike will be investing a lot of its budget in brand marketing. Brand marketing is what built Nike. Anyone else can run search ads and drive ecommerce sales. Let’s see what happens when Nike does Nike again.

• It’s Super Bowl Season. That’s right, $7 million 30 second TV slots are back. Here’s the list of brands we know will be there so far: Doritos, Duracell, Rocket Companies., Booking.com, FanDuel, GoDaddy, MSC Cruises, DoorDash, Lay’s, Pringles, Bosch, TurboTax, NFL, Stella Artois, Mountain Dew, NerdWallet, Totino’s Pizza Rolls, Reese’s, Ritz, Taco Bell, Jeep, Instacart, Hellmann’s, Nerds, Coors Light, Coffee mate, Dove, Häagen-Dazs, & Skechers.

That’s all for this week. Happy New Year and remember, fortune favors the brave.