That time I beat Tim Tebow in Catan: NL #114

Rolling deep and tide in a Nissan.

Nissan’s beloved Heisman House campaign is back for its 12th season, but this year’s version holds some significant upgrades. Thanks to the NCAA’s change of heart, the spots include a college-level athlete for the first time. I heard they were hoping to use an Aggie, but there was a scheduling conflict. Shame.

Bryce Young, the latest Heisman winner, stars in Nissan’s initial spot. The Alabama junior joins past trophy winners such as Tim Tebow, Devonta Smith and Kyler Murray for another season inside the legendary fraternity. The ad playfully pokes at the idea that “old competitive habits die hard,” featuring ridiculous competitions throughout the house. In one scene, Devonta Smith and RG III are in an intense dish washing race at the kitchen sink. Pretty funny.

Nissan is also trying its hand in the metaverse, and introduced a virtual version of the fraternity house. The web-based experience lets users interact with athletes and mascots, find Easter eggs and participate in games against other players.

Hats off to Nissan. The latest opportunities with NIL partnerships and the metaverse bring a unique potential to engage the audience at a multi-generational level, and the car brand certainly isn’t wasting any time. I’ll be curious to see how other brands take on this new marketing landscape, specifically in the college football world. Now that student-athletes are fair game, marketers are on the prowl for fresh faced campaigns.

Where will the metaverse come in? Good question. Here’s an annoying answer: the possibilities are endless. Roll your eyes all you want, but it’s true. The metaverse brings the potential to “dissolve geographical and physical barriers for live events.” So, say you don’t have a ticket to the game, but you can throw on your VR headset, and settle into a seat in an exact digital replica of your favorite team’s stadium. Next comes locker room tours and virtual meet-ups with your favorite players. In a matter of seconds, I could go from my living room, to front row at Kyle Field, waving a white towel in the air, and watching the Ags destroy Baylor. I’m in.

Top Stories

The White House dodges a railroad strike. Just barely.

Railroad and workers’ unions reached a tentative labor agreement last week, avoiding a national rail strike that threatened to shut down a major segment of the national transportation

network. Just what we need.

What was all the fuss about? Long story short, PTO. The White House had been in talks with railroad workers and unions for several months concerning unpaid sick time. After a marathon negotiation session, an agreement was finally reached on Thursday morning.

The contract promises to improve rail workers’ pay and working conditions. The updates will also give employees a 24% pay bump, as well as an extra paid day off. Super generous.

A lot of the world is letting out an exhale. A rail strike could have had catastrophic impacts on industries, travelers and families across the nation. ICYMI, 40% of goods that are shipped long distance in the U.S. rely on the railroad system. And for a country still recovering from the TP shortage of 2020, the very thought is disturbing. Already this week, freight rail companies halted shipments of hazardous and time sensitive materials, not wanting those goods to be left unattended in case of a strike.

The founder of Patagonia gives away the $3 billion company.

Turns out your $5 donation at the grocery store wasn’t all that generous. Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard is giving away his ownership of the major retailer he started 50 years ago,

dedicating all profits from the company to fight climate change.

The Patagonia Purpose Trust will control all of the voting stock of the company (2%), and the Holdfast Collective, a climate change nonprofit, will own all nonvoting stock.

In case you’re questioning motives, the founder’s actions won’t result in any sort of financial benefit for his family. In fact, Chouinard can expect a fat tax bill from the donation.

After informing its employees about the move last week, the company updated its website to state “Earth is now our only shareholder.” Talk about an organic, environmental friendly mic drop.

Best of the Week

Stats to See.
McKinsey and Co explores the importance of digital trust amongst business leaders and consumers, and how it’s actually earned. Interesting stats in this one.

Listen Up.
In this BMS episode, Donald Miller teases out one of our favorite principles, you are not the hero, your customer is.

Trend Watch.
A roundup of the top media and marketing trends that either emerged or expanded over the course of the summer. A helpful conversation from Digiday as the seasons change.

Weekly Tunes.
The temps in Texas are dropping dramatically (read: it’s 80 degrees and we’re freaking out.) Check out our fall playlist and throw on that sweater. Or if you’re me, get the puffy vest out. It’s go time.

More News from the Week.

• Adobe is set to acquire Figma for a cool $20 billion. Ryan and Julianne have a lot to say about this one. Mostly in meme form.
• The latest iPhone updates will allow you to unsend and edit sent text messages. Text fighting with your spouse just got a whole lot more interesting.
• Starbucks introduces Starbucks Odyssey, its blockchain-based loyalty program and NFT community.
• Now this is the kind of passion I want to see from my DoorDasher.
• The 2022 finalists for the Toy Hall of Fame. My money’s on Catan.

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