The holidays are coming quickly, but brands are still coming up with creative new campaigns and preparing for the year ahead. Check out all the latest marketing and advertising news in our Weekly Must Reads.

Budweiser Bounces Back from World Cup Chaos

Prior to the start of the World Cup, we wrote about Budweiser’s extensive sponsorship plans for the tournament. Days later, Qatar made a surprise announcement that there would be no alcohol sales allowed in their stadiums. Naturally, that was a major problem for a beer brand like Budweiser. Instead of throwing in the towel, Budweiser responded by redesigning a Doha hotel into Americans’ “home away from home,” complete with Budweiser décor and red and white decorations. Additionally, the brand pivoted to offer Budweiser Zero, a non-alcoholic beer, in the stadiums. They also announced plans to send its unsold beer to the tournament’s winning country.

Despite the abrupt decision to ban beer sales during the tournament, Budweiser still earned benefits from their sponsorship. They received lots of advertising opportunities and engagement with thousands of soccer fans and beer drinkers from across the world. Learn more about the brand’s quick response here: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/11/sports/world-cup/budweiser-world-cup.html

Downy Starts Its Super Bowl Series

P&G laundry detergent brand Downy will have an ad in the Super Bowl for the first time in more than ten years. To build anticipation for their commercial, Downy is soft-launching their celebrity partner in a series of upcoming ads. In the first spot for the campaign, titled “Believe,” we see the surprise celebrity concealed beneath a hooded sweatshirt. Apparently, we’ll only get to learn the identity of the spokesperson if the hoodie can keep its Downy-fresh scent until the big game on February 12.

According to Downy, the brand will release six or seven more ads in the lead up to the game, in addition to related posts on the brand’s social media page. In the coming weeks, expect to see more brands start up their Super Bowl campaigns. Ad slots for the event have been sold out for months now, and companies will be eager to start earning ROI. Watch Downy’s first spot here: https://www.marketingdive.com/news/downy-unstopables-masked-celebrity-super-bowl-ad/638562/

Vans’ Larger-Than-Life Shoes

Vans recently launched a new line of all-weather shoes, and their campaign for the products has become larger than life. Last week, the brand created two 10-foot vehicles designed to look like the shoes and sent them out on the streets of New York. The Vans vans made their way across the city, making occasional stops at key intersections. At those stops, the brand invited pedestrians to check out the vehicle’s interior, which replicated the durable materials used in the new shoe line. Visitors also received a pair of the new sneakers to keep for themselves.

To spread the word about the giant Vans, the brand recruited NYC influencers New York Nico and Lil Mo Mozzarella. Their posts about the campaign earned millions of views and tens of thousands of likes. The influencers also rode along in the vehicles, handing out pairs of shoes to their visitors and taking live videos throughout the day. Check out more details about the story here: https://adage.com/creativity/work/vans-parades-vehicle-replicas-its-new-shoe-line-around-nyc/2459256

Amazon Adds Short-Form Video

Another TikTok copycat is hitting our screens – this time, it’s coming courtesy of Amazon. The brand recently announced the launch of a new platform called Inspire, which allows brands, influencers, and customers to create and share short-form videos that are linked to Amazon products. Inspire will be available directly within the Amazon smartphone app through a button in the main navigation bar. According to Amazon, the feature has been rolled out only to select users so far. It will launch for all US customers in early 2023.

Within Inspire, customers will be able to answer a series of questions to customize their feed to fit their interests. If they see a product they like, users can tap a small button at the bottom of the video and get a direct link to its Amazon listing. Find out more about the newest iteration of shoppable short-form video content here: https://techcrunch.com/2022/12/08/amazon-launches-inspire-a-tiktok-like-shopping-feed-that-supports-both-photos-and-videos/