The T-Swift Letdown and the Crypto Clown: NL #123

Marketing GOOOOOOALS

What’s better than Christmas, you say? This year, it may be the World Cup.

3.5 billion people tuned into the quadrennial soccer tournament in 2018, which brings together 32 national teams to hash it out on the world’ stage. This year’s event kicks off today in Qatar and is expected to attract 5 billion viewers in the coming weeks, with a  championship match slated (excuse me, “sleigh-ted”) for December 18.  Even better? The U.S. Men’s team made the cut this time.

As you’d expect, brands are poised to step on the metaphorical pitch with some spellbinding performances. Coca-Cola’s “Believing is Magic” tag plays up what everyone loves most about sports: that no matter what the odds or the hype, anything is possible. In an overwhelmingly curated world where you can control everything from your thermostat to your playlist, there are only a few genuine surprises left. Coke taps into both nostalgia and surprise (marketing gold standard) with this pitch-perfect campaign.

McDonald’s isn’t far behind. This globally recognized brand was made for events like the World Cup. Their angle? No matter where you are or what you’re doing, McDonald’s is there for you. Watching your team lose? Drown your sorrows with a Big Mac. On your way to the game? Grab a Happy Meal for good luck. But, whatever you do, don’t forget the fries if you’re pre-gaming with Ted Lasso. He may be Midwestern polite, but he’s only human.

Then there’s Budweiser, who has the added challenge of selling their wares in a host country where alcohol is generally frowned upon. But the beer barons haven’t let it put a damper on their spirits, though, unleashing a world-wide campaign in 70 countries–one of their largest ever. The hero ad showcases an intense pre-game scene where Messi and Neymar running out of a tunnel with their fans. The hook? “The World is Yours to Take,” complete with a Tears for Fears soundtrack.

I’ll cheers anyone to that. (Even if I have to do it with a Budweiser Zero).

Top Stories

The FTX scandal.

A mere months ago, FTX appeared to be major success story in the crypto world. Now? Its implosion has sparked a world wide scandal.

How? I’ll give you the brief version. Earlier this month, the digital currency news site Coindesk revealed some sketchy business. The findings showed that Alameda Research, a trading firm also founded by FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, was heavily dependent on FTT, the token issued by FTX. FTX reportedly lent billions in customer money to fund the firm’s risky trades. Sounds a lot like stealing, right? The news broke the FTX spell that everyone was under,  and crypto investors quickly began puling out their money. “It was sort of like someone pulled the curtain and realized that the Wizard of Oz was not what we had thought.”

FTX fell over ten days this month. Bankman-Fried went from the modern-day J.P. Morgan, to watching his digital empire, and billions of his own fortune, evaporate. FTX was founded as a dependable, low-risk investment portal. Obviously, this was not the case. The business was built on a complex, extremely risky kind of leveraged trading. The kind that can blow up in your face.

The rest of the industry is frantically trying to assure investors that the FTX debaucle is not indicative of crypto’s future. The Coinbase CFO didn’t beat around the bush. “This is fraud.” Couldn’t have said it better myself.

Taylor crashes the internet.

Millions of T-Swift fans took over the internet on Tuesday, hoping to snag seats for her first tour in five years. Unfortunately, it was Ticketmaster’s first day on the job.

The purchase process was a total nightmare. Fans were met with hour long waits in a queue, or a frozen screen. Ticketmaster’s website crashed over 5,000 times before 2 PM. The platform claims they didn’t see this one coming. “There has been historically unprecedented demand with millions showing up to buy tickets for the Taylor Swift Eras Tour presale.” Wait, what? You mean Taylor Swift is… famous?

The presale tickets were only for so-called “verified” Swift fans. Ticketmaster’s “Verified Fan” program rolled out in 2017. Participants are notified when selected for a presale code or if they’ve been placed on a waitlsit before tickets go on sale to the general public. But after Tuesday, it became clear being verified didn’t necessarily mean all that much. Some fans waited upwards of 12 hours, all to get the option of nosebleed seats. Or no seats at all.

The event caused so much drama, the Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti launched an investigation into how Ticketmaster handled the event. Sounds like Jon is just ticked he ended up in the nosebleeds.

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With pumpkin pie and Christmas cookies on the horizon, it’s tempting to set the cruise control at work. Wise words from Marketing Made Simple on how to finish out the year strong.

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Weekly Tunes

Happy Thanksgiving week! We’re most excited about turkey, pie, and dominating the family flag football game. Ryan might be the only person we know that’s excited about the canned cranberrry sauce.

More News From This Week

• Jeff Bezos trying to look charitable. And failing.
• We all have that annoying brother-in-law that won’t get off your Netflix account. Now you can kick him off.
• Mariah Carey was denied the official title, Queen of Christmas. Which is total crap.
• The FDA is giving its stamp of approval to lab-grown meat. Good thing. What could possibly be wrong with lab-grown meat?
• Elon gave Twitter employees an ultimatum. If they didn’t want to be a part of a “hardcore” Twitter, then they needed to pack up. Because you’re not hardcore, unless you live hardcore…

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