When the news cycle gets you down, a funny piece of marketing can feel like a breath of fresh air. Catch up on the lighthearted, humorous campaigns brands launched this week (and get an update on the ongoing Reddit strike) in our Weekly Must Reads.

Brands Capitalize on Scandoval Buzz

Even if you’ve never seen an episode of Bravo’s “Vanderpump Rules,” you’ve probably heard the uproar about the reality TV show’s cheating scandal on social media in recent weeks. The drama completely captured pop culture’s attention, and in response, several brands have partnered with the show’s new star, Ariana Madix. Razor brand BIC recently released a social media ad featuring Madix lamenting life’s “irritants,” such as razor burn and infidelity. As a result, sales of BIC’s EasyRinse razors (which are promoted in the ads) have grown by 35% in the last two weeks.

In addition to BIC, Madix has also partnered with brands like Duracell, SoFi, Raising Cane’s and Frito-Lay. To play into the buzz around “Scandoval,” each ad pokes fun at Madix’s ex and ensuing drama. Check out BIC’s ads and learn more about how brands are playing into pop culture phenomena here: https://www.marketingdive.com/news/bic-vanderpump-rules-scandoval-social-media-sales-boost/652288/

Grimace Returns to McDonald’s

This month, McDonald’s brought back their iconic mascot Grimace to celebrate the purple monster’s birthday with a new menu item. The fast food brand kicked off the festivities with the Grimace Birthday milkshake, appropriately colored purple, and also released the Grimace Meal, which includes a choice of Big Mac or McNuggets with fries and the new shake. To further play up the nostalgia factor, McDonald’s created a GameBoy Color video game, where players can help Grimace skateboard through McDonaldland to collect purple milkshakes before his birthday party.

To support the campaign, Grimace has been taking over McDonald’s social media accounts, posting selfies and lives birthday party updates. The campaign has delighted younger audiences, who appreciate Grimace’s Gen Z posting style, and older generations who remember the purple monster from their childhood McDonald’s visits. Find out more details about the nostalgic campaign here: https://www.insider.com/mcdonalds-grimace-marketing-takeover-internet-memes-2023-6

Heinz Highlights the Classic 15 Minutes of Fame

Viral memes are a dime a dozen these days, but some iconic Internet moments truly never die. To launch their new limited-edition sauce flavors, Heinz partnered with three of the most notable viral stars who experienced their own 15 minutes of fame. In a new campaign for TikTok and Instagram, Rebecca Black, Bad Luck Brian and William Hung will be promoting Heinz’s new Black Garlic Ranch, Bangin’ Brewery Mustard and Yuzu Wasabi sauces. The products will only be available for a limited time, which makes these mega-moment viral stars the perfect partners to convey the urgency of the products.

The new campaign centers around “drop culture,” or the hype consumers place on the launch of exclusive products. Heinz previously tapped into drop culture when they partnered with ThredUp to sell thrifted clothes branded with ketchup stains. Learn more about the 15 Minutes of Flavor campaign here: https://www.marketingdive.com/news/heinz-sauce-drop-culture-viral-stars/652716/

A Reddit Strike Update

Starting last week, many of Reddit’s largest subreddit communities closed their message boards in protest over Reddit’s new policy restricting access through third-party apps. What started as a two-day protest has extended into an indefinite blackout for some subreddits, including r/funny, which has more members than any other group. Moderators of the continued protest cite concerns over accessibility and unfair punishment of third-party app developers, while Reddit’s CEO Steve Huffman insists the changes are necessary to make the site profitable. Huffman is also reportedly seeking options that will allow Reddit users to vote out moderators if they disagree with their choice to keep the subreddit shut down.

The main goal of Reddit’s new policy is to keep more users in the native Reddit site, so they can record more traffic and charge more for advertising. However, if the most popular subreddits continue to stay dark, Reddit’s existing advertising partners may end their campaigns due to limited audience exposure and concerns over the site’s reliability. Dig into all the details about the protest and how advertising fits into the controversy here: https://digiday.com/marketing/reddits-recent-blackout-could-be-a-real-problem-for-advertisers/