The Marketing Moves Paying Off Right Now

Case Studied Brief
Big names and big money

From Grammys ad breaks to (even more) Super Bowl teasers, this week’s Brief looks at how brands are choosing tone, restraint, and cultural fluency to stand out in crowded moments. 

We break down music-led ads, nostalgia done right, and entertainment-first brand plays, along with industry moves worth paying attention to.

Campaigns of the week 📺

Jordan Brand

1. Jordan reboots an icon

The Nike-owned Jordan brand brought back its famed genie concept during the Grammys. The new ad pays homage to the Jordan “Genie” ad from 1991 that starred Spike Lee, Michael Jordan, and Little Richard. With a new cast starring Niecy Nash, Regan Aliyah, and Teyana Taylor, the two-minute film reimagines a classic moment through a modern cultural lens.

Why it stood out: Nostalgia is everywhere right now, but Jordan used it with restraint and intention. By updating its own iconic ad for modern audiences, the brand revitalized long-term cultural credibility. For marketers, it’s a case study in how legacy brands can revisit iconic work without seeming desperate.

📖 Read more: AdWeek

Mastercard x Noah Kahan

2. Mastercard drops news with Noah Kahan

Instead of a traditional commercial, Mastercard used its Grammys airtime to debut Noah Kahan’s new album, The Great Divide, in a music-video-style spot featuring its title track. The video also served to announce the artist’s upcoming tour, which Mastercard is offering special access to cardholders for tickets. 

Why it stood out: By using premium broadcast real estate to debut music rather than sell a product outright, Mastercard positioned itself as a facilitator of fan experiences. The campaign blurred advertising and entertainment in a way that felt native to the moment, while still driving clear value through cardholder access and exclusivity.

📖 Read more: The Hollywood Reporter

Instacart

3. Benson Boone and Ben Stiller are Instacart’s disco duo 

Instacart’s Super Bowl spot stars Ben Stiller and Benson Boone as brothers performing a song about the brand’s latest product innovation: being able to choose what kind of bananas you receive. Bananas are Instacart’s most shopped item—and the one with the most written shopper instructions—so the brand enlisted director Spike Jonze alongside Stiller’s comedy and Boone’s musical talent to bring the feature to life.

Why it stood out: Instacart took an unexpectedly small product update and gave it Super Bowl-level storytelling. By turning something as mundane as banana preferences into a music-fueled moment, the brand made a niche product feature feel entertaining and engaging. It’s a reminder that even the smallest consumer insight can become a big-stage campaign when framed with creativity.

📖 Read more: Today

Exclusive Subscriber Perk

Curious who runs agency RFPs for Fortune 500 brands (for FREE)?

Spoiler alert… top performing teams don’t run their own agency searches, they hand them off to us to do the vetting for them.

With over 200,000 agencies in our database, we know which agencies perform for clients and which churn them.

We conduct over 500 RFPs a year for our subscribers including brands like Thrive Market (Retail), Zscaler (SaaS), Rula (Healthcare), F1 (Entertainment) & more.

To get started book a 15-minute call with our team, describe your agency brief and then receive 3 handpicked and vetted matches in under 2-weeks.

Zero cost to you. No commitment. Save 20+ hours vetting.

Industry news 🤝

Disney names next CEO

Bob Iger will step down as Disney CEO and retire at the end of this year. Josh D’Amaro, who chairs Disney Experiences, will succeed Iger and take over the role on March 18. Iger will remain on as a senior advisor and board member through Dec. 31 when his contract expires. The decision to give D’Amaro the job ends a nearly three-year search for Iger’s successor. 

What it signals: Elevating D’Amaro—who’s led the company’s parks but has little experience in movies and television—suggests Disney sees its next phase of momentum coming from its experiential and commercial engine, not just its content slate. For marketers and partners, this may indicate a Disney that places more priority on immersive brand ecosystems and business lines that connect to real-world engagement.

📖 Read more: The Walt Disney Company

NBCUniversal sells its first $10 million Super Bowl ads

NBCUniversal locked in its first Super Bowl ad deals at the $10 million mark, signaling continued demand for premium placements despite rising costs. The pricing reflects bundled packages across broadcast, streaming, and digital, positioning the Super Bowl as a multi-platform buy rather than a single TV moment.

What it signals: This reinforces how live events are being valued in a fragmented media landscape. For CMOs, it’s a reminder that cultural moments with guaranteed attention still command a premium, especially when they’re packaged for reach beyond linear TV.

📖 Read more: AdWeek

MarTech moves 🤖

Meta’s ad business rebounds as costs climb

Meta reported a strong rebound in advertising revenue during its latest earnings call. Ad sales were up double digits as demand across Facebook and Instagram accelerated. At the same time, the company flagged rising costs tied to AI infrastructure, content moderation, and long-term platform investment.

What it signals: Meta is once again proving its durability as an ad platform but rising costs could foreshadow a more competitive, premium-priced ecosystem. For marketers, this means more innovation is likely coming to the Meta ad engine but higher costs could also be following. 

📖 Read more: The Globe and Mail

Anthropic positions Claude as ad-free AI at the Super Bowl

Anthropic is making its Super Bowl debut with a campaign positioning Claude as a chatbot free from ads and sponsorships. Created by agency, Mother, the spot showcases how jarring ads can feel for users during their interactions with AI chatbots. Anthropic's two commercials will air before and during the big game, reaching an estimated 120 million viewers.

What it signals: This is a pointed contrast to OpenAI’s plans to introduce advertising into ChatGPT. As AI companies look for sustainable revenue, monetization models are becoming brand statements—not just business decisions. Anthropic is using the Super Bowl to frame “ad-free” as a trust advantage, signaling how AI brands are now competing on values as much as capability..

📖 Read more: AdWeek 

Yahoo launches its own AI answer engine

Yahoo introduced Scout, a new AI-powered answer engine designed to deliver summarized, conversational responses across news, finance, sports, and lifestyle queries. With this product, Yahoo is positioning itself as an AI destination rather than just a traffic driver, integrating generative answers directly into its ecosystem.

What it signals: Search and discovery are officially up for grabs. As more platforms move toward AI-native answers instead of links, publishers and marketers alike will need to rethink visibility, attribution, and value exchange. For brands, this points to a future where being the answer matters more than being the click.

📖 Read more: Yahoo Inc.

Editors Choice 👀

📚The agency Born Social is leading Nikon’s push to reconnect with Gen Z, creator-first audiences 📖 Read more: AdWeek

🧼 Dove adapts its Real Beauty platform for a Bridgerton-themed Super Bowl campaign 📖 Read more: MarketingDive

🤖 Marketing Brew breaks down how brands are turning generative AI into the joke 📖 Read more: Marketing Brew

End the search: Vendry makes it simple to find your next agency partner. Share your needs and get connected with vetted, top-tier options in under a week—at no cost to you.