Claire's Brand Comeback Means Leaving Gen Z Behind

This week, Jackson and Elise break down campaigns from Claire's and Skittles that appeal to all five of the senses. They’re also gearing up for the World Cup with Modelo’s latest spot, which prioritizes connection and culture over expensive stadium tickets.

For this week’s social trend, Jackson and Elise dive into why John Summit, the DJ beloved by Gen Z, lit his Rimowa suitcase on fire last week.

In ad news, we’ll cover why Google and Meta are experiencing a “digital ad boom,” as The New York Times calls it, and how Gen Z really feels about oversaturated movie brand partnerships.

Lastly, the Battle of the Brands a million girls wanted: Who delivered the best The Devil Wears Prada 2 brand partnership? 

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This student-produced podcast is opinions and commentary and does not reflect the views of any organization. Any opinions presented in this Podcast are for general information only and any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk.  Unless specifically stated otherwise, The Agency does not endorse, approve, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned in this Podcast. 

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You may not reproduce, distribute or modify this Podcast without written permission.

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:00

Welcome to AdSpace. My name's Elise.

SPEAKER_01 0:02

And I'm Jackson.

SPEAKER_03 0:03

Each week we'll be breaking down the most buzzworthy campaigns, social trends, and advertising news through the eyes of Gen Z.

SPEAKER_01 0:10

With sharp analysis, authentic debates, and real audience insights, we'll unpack how Gen Z responds to the strategies shaping the industry today.

SPEAKER_03 0:18

Let's get into it. Alright, so we're coming off this episode today, the day after the Met Gala. Yes. Jackson, where you tapped into the fashion at the Met this year.

SPEAKER_01 0:34

You know, I wasn't as tapped in as I normally am. I feel like I my only the only influencer that I would really um like get Met Gala content from was canceled. So I don't have a source anymore.

SPEAKER_03 0:46

Unfortunate. Unfortunate.

SPEAKER_01 0:48

I think you could know who it is. Um but I'm waiting for Emma Chamberlain videos to come out. I'm pretty excited for those.

SPEAKER_03 0:55

Oh yeah, she was one of my favorite looks, I think, from the entire night. I was obsessed with her like painted dress moment. It was fun. Did you have a favorite look?

SPEAKER_01 1:05

Um, Chase Infinity, I thought was sick.

SPEAKER_03 1:07

Yes. Hers was really great.

SPEAKER_01 1:10

And I didn't see it anywhere, which was like, it's kind of niche. It's kind of a niche pick. Oh, yeah. Honestly, I felt like people were on theme this year more than in past years. I think maybe it was just kind of like fashion is art is a little more clear than other years.

SPEAKER_03 1:22

Like it's which made the people that were off theme even worse. Really embarrassed for me. And they got clowned by just a lot of things.

SPEAKER_01 1:28

It's one of those guys that are just wearing like a suit still. It's like Ben Stiller. It's not that hard.

SPEAKER_03 1:33

Ben Steller, what are you doing?

SPEAKER_01 1:36

Yeah, but he didn't want to be there.

SPEAKER_03 1:37

No, he wanted to be at the next game. Anyways, we'll get into the episode. Welcome to the ad update where we debrief the most impactful campaigns from the last week. First up, we have a girl SMR at Claire's. So this is a new campaign from Claire's where they're redefining their brand mission to build an inspiring playground for modern girlhood. Um, so this was done by the agency We Are Social, and the campaign introduces Claire's Summer Century Shop, the brand's new line of tactile collectibles, by featuring young Gen Alpha girls making classic ASMR content with Claire's new products. What'd you think, Jackson?

SPEAKER_01 2:12

I really love this campaign. I think it's so smart, so audience informed. And I think first we need to set some background just to kind of let people know what's going on. So Claire's filed for bankruptcy last year in the US for the second time in seven years. And this is the first campaign since Claire's was acquired by the investment firm Alms Watson, and the first with the brand new chief brand officer, Michelle Goade, who joined in January from Athleta. Her first mission as a chief brand officer was shifting their audience from more younger girls, like six to eight, to these tween girls and really understanding what they want, the modern tween girl, right? Not some past visualization of girlhood that they'd had.

SPEAKER_02 2:53

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 2:54

So one quote that I was really I loved from her was saying that girls are going from literal kids, kids' shows to being an adult. This idea that we've kind of talked about for a long time about girls and kids in general not being allowed to grow up anymore. They're just immediately thrown into the adult world on social media, and they're kind of trying to revive that, trying to bring back childhood and girlhood for these tween girls.

SPEAKER_03 3:19

Absolutely. I think like Gen Z feels a certain nostalgia and affinity for the brand, but we've aged out. Like I remember being a six-year-old girl and being obsessed with going to Claire's and picking out some plastic rings, some hairbows, and some nail stickers, and it was the best afternoon ever at the mall. But that's not me anymore. I'm not doing that anymore. So we've moved on, and they've moved on as a brand to the needs of a different kind of consumer. And you're right, they've backed this entire campaign with a lot of audience insight into who their new audience member is, which is Gen Alpha Girls. Um, and it's interesting to watch this shift. It's kind of like sad in a little bit, like for me, is because I've got so much brand affinity for Claire's. Um, but at the same time, it's also like exciting as somebody that's like interested in advertising and seeing this shift that they're having. I also love to, I mean, Jackson and I have done like quite a bit of research about Gen Alpha and their affinity for third spaces as well. Um, they want to be outside of going to malls and being in places other than school and they don't have jobs yet, but then in their homes. And I love how not only did Claire's lean in heavily with a lot of paid social, a lot of um just like heavy social content that they're pushing out utilizing these young Gen Alpha girls, they also kind of lead into the experiential side of things. Um I select Claire's location. They have ASMR content filming stations for customers to film and share content with um their summary summer sensory shop products, which I think is really fun. They're even hosting some branded pop-ups at like VidCon and events like that, which I think is super cool, and another great avenue to reach this new audience that they found.

SPEAKER_01 5:03

Such a smart way to create like user-generated content to be really revolutionary. And I have to say, I love the copy. The you can't really tell from just like us saying it. A girl SMR is a girl summer.

SPEAKER_02 5:15

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 5:16

And it's like, I don't I should it I don't need to explain it, but it took me a second to get it. But once I get it, I'm like, okay.

SPEAKER_03 5:22

This is good.

SPEAKER_01 5:22

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 5:23

This is good. Okay, cool. Gets an A plus from the copywriter. Um, okay, on to our next campaign. We're gonna be talking about Modello. Um, so anticip they're doing this campaign in anticipation for big football summer that we're about to see, the World Cup. Um, but their new campaign is Best Seat in the House. So this is a series of commercials showcasing where fans can watch football. Um, Bodello brings its fighting spirit to life with partnerships with five famous players, nationwide in-person activations, and investment in MLS and stadium partnerships, um, done by Agency Gray based in New York. Jackson, what'd you think?

SPEAKER_01 5:59

I thought this was really smart. I think it really taps into the idea of third spaces that we're seeing so prevalent with Gen Z and the idea of affordability, right? I mean, while the World Cup is coming, most people can't afford tickets, or they're maybe not living in a city where you can go. And just modello tapping into this idea that you know you can enjoy the peak of football wherever you are with a high with a with the modello in your hand and your friends around you wherever you go.

SPEAKER_02 6:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:28

That's just it's such a good way to encompass the feeling of that you want to get from drinking or you know, watching football.

SPEAKER_03 6:35

I loved, we I was reading this article, thinking, leaning, or learning more about this campaign, and Logan Jensen, the vice president of brand marking at a modelo, had lots of really interesting things to say about this, similar to what we just talked about with Claire's, they really leaned into the audience insight, kind of like you touched on Jackson with this whole kind of tumultuous economic time that we're living in for a lot of people. They leaned into that. It's um, he said it's becoming such a meaningful sport with a huge fan base. Um, these fans recognize that it's not always about the experience of being in the stadium, um, which I think just think was really interesting. And I love that they leaned into that with this campaign.

SPEAKER_01 7:13

Absolutely. And it also really reminded me of the most recent Heineken work. I know we talk about Heineken too much, but they had it's all about that work, it's all about focusing on like pubs and the life of pubs, even in the US, and bringing that idea of a community space that you can gather at and just have fun and meet people to life. It I think it's really the smart direction for beer brands right now. That are, you know, you're you're getting them at a bar. That's where you're going to get them.

SPEAKER_03 7:40

So awesome. Well, moving on to our last campaign of the ad update, we have Skittles. Imagine a softer world. I do recommend going and watching this one because it's a little hard to describe. So, um, new Skittles campaign where they are leaning into Skittles gummies. Um, this ad takes the softness of the gummies literally by creating a squishy dream world. So instead of just showing the candy, they use weird tactile scenarios like teens hanging out in a giant furry creature's pouch to make you feel how soft the product is. So instead of the Skittles Crunch, it's the Skittles chew, the softness of the gummies. What do you think, Jackson?

SPEAKER_01 8:22

It's just classic Skittles. I just I love this work. One of my favorite ads, maybe of all time, is the uh Skittles pox.

SPEAKER_03 8:29

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:30

You know Skittles. Me and my dad reference that all the time. This is like, if I saw this with my dad, we would reference it for the rest of time. Oh, yeah. So there's three main spots that they're running right now. So it's the two kids in a in a kangaroo man's pouch. One of them is a guy on a massage table getting massaged by like weird jellyfish alien creatures, and they're like, he's like, this is uncomfortably soft. And it's it's like visceral, it's gruesome, but it's so funny and it's so Skittles, and it makes you just like, I kind of want to pick up a pack and just like exactly.

SPEAKER_03 9:06

They really leaned into their just like brand identity and brand voice of being a little silly, literalism taken to an extreme. I yeah, I thought it was great.

SPEAKER_01 9:15

And I mean, I guess just to restate like the Gen Z relevance is that we know Skittles and we can relate to the idea of their uncomfortably quirky, funny ads. And for me, like it's it reminds me of my dad, and that makes me want Skittles. So how can you beat that?

SPEAKER_03 9:31

Exactly. And I think this is a massive, massive push for Mars Wrigley to dominate the gummy category, too. Um, that's their obviously holding company and who put together this campaign. Um, it's currently like blowing up with traditional hard candies and like the traditional, like what you would think of a Skittle, but they're breaking through this noise with this literalism taken to an extreme. And I think it's it's really fun. Taps into Gen Z's weird kind of core cue humor, oddly satisfying a little bit, which we loved. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:04

It's a sensory episode.

SPEAKER_03 10:06

It is kind of a sensory episode now that you say that. Yeah, it kind of is. Okay, well, next on to our social trend of the week. Um, so if you've unless you've been living under a rock, which is mostly how our social trends go, John Summit, who huge DJ of our time, um, he uh this is about him and his Ramoa Remoa suitcase. Hope I'm saying that right. Um essentially, if you don't know about the Ramoa suitcases, they're really expensive. Yeah, they're these like massive silver suitcases, very visual sign of luxury. Um, John Summit has owned, I want to say I heard like five or six. Five or six, yeah. What's the number? He travels all the time. Obviously, he's a DJ, so he's going to all these different venues, and almost every time his suitcase has come out of the luggage carrier completely like battered and broken.

SPEAKER_01 10:59

This is it's so funny. And it's just this instance of what what it culminated in was him lighting his suitcase on fire. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 11:07

And he got a little upset. Rightfully so.

SPEAKER_01 11:10

Rightfully so. He's been betrayed by the brand five or six times now. I really couldn't say why he kept going back. It's kind of embarrassing.

SPEAKER_03 11:17

And it's also not because he's going back, it's not like he's and he's not like doing a partnership with them. So it's not like they're sending him one. So he is like making it out to purchase them. And I'm not, I'm not surprised by like the first or second time he didn't say something. Yeah. And they should have like reached out to Brandon to be like, hey, why is this happening? How can we help you? But they didn't.

SPEAKER_01 11:38

But so he did, he posted it on social, him lighting it on fire. And of course, brands chemed in. PayPal said, John, have you heard of PayPal purchase protection? Adweek said, This is the first item on the agenda of Rimois's daily stand-up meeting. I was like making sure I pronounced it correctly. But no.

SPEAKER_03 11:59

Billy Jackson and I are not buying this$1,500 suitcase.

SPEAKER_01 12:03

I'm sorry. Mine's like$80. Sorry.

SPEAKER_03 12:05

My favorite one was Bass Commented, which is actually the suitcase that I own. Um they said, I saw this in a dream once, which I thought was kind of funny. So, anyways. Um, but we thought this like really resonated with Gen Z. Obviously, John Summit's a figure for them. He's an influencer for them, a DJ that they listen to, all that kind of stuff. But it's the ultimate like de-influencing moment, I think. Um it's very raw, chaotic, authenticity. It's valued over this prestigious designer logo. I think for a lot of there's a lot of discussion about how, okay, yes, he's owning this really nice suitcase, but and he used to see it as a status symbol, but it's clearly not working for him as a consumer.

SPEAKER_02 12:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:45

So it's another like kind of reminder that even though it's a luxury item, it doesn't need to be a status symbol.

SPEAKER_01 12:52

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 12:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:54

And now the ad news. Let's jump in at the latest ad and PR headlines from the week. First up, we have Google and Meta's digital ad boom. According to an expose done by the New York Times, Google and Meta are experiencing a digital ad boom due to their implementation of AI tools to automate their marketing. Companies can use AI systems on Google and Meta to develop campaigns, target a specific audience, bid for space, and measure results.

SPEAKER_03 13:22

Crazy. No, and we I mean we saw this coming.

SPEAKER_01 13:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 13:26

We saw this coming. It's the it's the AI boom. We knew it was gonna happen. Duh. Unfortunately, in some circumstances, AI does work, as we can see. Um, I think there's a lot of cons to this. Yes. I think there are also some pros. Um, one thing I thought that was really interesting that the expose from the New York Times highlighted was that this is helping a lot of small businesses who would not have necessarily had the funds or like the custo to hire a huge advertising agency to do something like this. They just had a few like small marketing team, but they're able to use these Google and Meta tools to create these targeted ad placements to then generate more revenue, which I think is really interesting.

SPEAKER_01 14:12

It is interesting because those tools that the small businesses are using are the same ones that the biggest corporations are. Exactly. Right? It's kind of setting this level playing ground where any brand can succeed. I mean, obviously the one with more money is gonna win out on a lot of the space, but it is helping those smaller firms. But it to me, it feels like I mean, okay, I think Wesley Tur, Wesley Tur Harr, who's the chief AI AI officer at the marketing firm Monks, said it best technology is ready to meaningfully replace manual effort in our industry. Very positive quote from him, a little scary in my opinion.

SPEAKER_02 14:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:49

I think that this is one of the first signs that AI really can do a lot of jobs in the AI in the advertising industry.

SPEAKER_03 14:56

Especially when it's a job that's like rooted in data.

SPEAKER_01 14:59

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 15:00

In number, number data.

SPEAKER_01 15:01

I mean, it makes sense quantitative data. It makes sense. I mean, AI is gonna be able to skim databases, understand what placements are best, better than any human could. They're just they don't have the speed, they don't have the processing. Human brain doesn't have the processing power. So exactly.

SPEAKER_03 15:16

And I think Gen Z as a whole, obviously, we can expect to see more ads, more ads that are personalized in front of our faces. Um, kind of an unsettling thought for a generation that values authenticity, but we'll see where it goes from here.

SPEAKER_01 15:30

We'll see where it goes. All right, moving into our next story. So, Devil Wears Prada 2 is coming out.

SPEAKER_03 15:36

Highly anticipated.

SPEAKER_01 15:37

I'm excited to see it. I love it first.

SPEAKER_03 15:39

Me too.

SPEAKER_01 15:40

But so Treseme is the signature hair brand of the Devil Wears Prada 2, which is completely unprecedented. There's never been a brand that's really been the official brand of a movie, other than like the Lego movie Lego. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 15:57

I think we've we've seen like a lot of like brand placements. Like, I mean, I can think of like ones in like 80s movies, like Coke being like the main one. Yes, yeah. Oh, Coke can, and the logo is conveniently placed towards the camera, but never a brand like being the entire movie, kind of.

SPEAKER_01 16:15

The entire movie.

SPEAKER_03 16:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:16

And obviously, this is like typically you see it in sports or sometimes, like you said, in Hollywood. But it it this is another thing where it's it's that oversaturation of ads. And you know, I love ads, obviously, but I think I kind of believe in a little bit, you know, separation of the government and the church. Exactly. Like, I want my ads where I want my ads, and I want to watch a movie. Yeah. I don't want to be bombarded with resume.

SPEAKER_03 16:42

I think it's like, how did I don't think Gen Z feels like super lovingly towards um intense brand partnerships that seem to keep growing, growing in both a number and intensity or just like in like levels almost with like major movie releases, not just like small little 30-second influencer video, now it's a two and a half hour movie.

SPEAKER_01 17:03

And people who have been seeing this movie earlier, just to quote one uh Gen Zier who saw it said, there was a brand deal in every scene, dude. Every scene.

SPEAKER_03 17:14

Which is crazy.

SPEAKER_01 17:14

Which is crazy. I'm kind of I'm nervous because of that, and it's really what it's what you expect with something like it's a very over-commercialized sequel that's coming out.

SPEAKER_03 17:23

As we've seen.

SPEAKER_01 17:24

It's not gonna be the first.

SPEAKER_03 17:32

You heard that sound? It's battle time. Our next segment is Battle of the Brands, where two brands will go head to head to see who tackled the brief better. Kind of seguing right off our last little piece of news there. We picked two brands that um worked with Devil Wars Prada to promote the new movie, two kind of technology-facing brands that Jackson and I both liked. So I'll go into mine first with Google Shopping. This was a campaign done by 72 and Sunny and obviously 20th Century Studios. They worked together to put together this campaign. Um, and it's a continuation of a series of AI try-on feature that Google Shopping has to choose an outfit. Um, so this was a similar spot was done by Kirsten Dunce and Gabby Union um when they got together for like a little bring it on reunion moment. Um, and so they did the same thing um with this campaign. So they tapped Simone Ashley and Stanley Tucci to reprise their roles as Amari and Nigel to use Google's AI try-on feature um in the runway closet to pick a dress for an outfit. I thought it was really smart that they capitalized on a campaign that they were already running and that was working for them and that was clearly successful. And then they just organically integrated it into the Devil Ris Prada and how it would make sense for that movie. Um, and a Devil Ris Prada wasn't made when Gen Z was the age to watch it, but it's become a symbol of what Gen Z aspires to be. Um, so I think it's smart that specifically they tapped Simone Ashley to be in this ad. Um, she was in Bridgerton, a known face for Gen Z. So they were able to continue something that they were already doing, but also just Gen Zify it a little bit, which I thought was really smart.

SPEAKER_01 19:16

I thought this was smart. This ad makes a lot of sense to me. You know, you're tapping into this feature that people who care about fashion are gonna care about, right? And and you're bringing it organically into their world with this film that it's gonna be huge in the fashion world or just gonna be talked about at least, even if it's not liked. Yeah. Um that, you know, if you're using if if the main characters from you know the Devil Wars Prada are using this feature where you can try on different outfits, then why wouldn't I? And it was just smart. I can understand it, and I liked I love Stanley Tucci. Come on.

SPEAKER_03 19:50

Who doesn't love Stanley Tucci?

SPEAKER_01 19:51

Who doesn't love Stanley Tucci? All right, moving in to my brand, Samsung, with their new ad for the promoting the Galaxy S26 Ultra phone. Um, so this ad, very tense, very like high pressure moment. Miranda Priestley, of course, demanding an impossible task. So it features Helen J. Shen, who's reprising her role as Jin, and the plot of the ad is all about she's in a photo shoot, she's doing this magazine shoot, and they need this very specific outfit that Miranda is demanding they have for the shoot, right? And one of the PAs kind of starts to freak out. He's like, How the heck are we gonna get this freaking piece of clothing for the shoe? It's like we're doing it right now. Yeah. And Jen doesn't break a sweat, she just opens and opens up her Samsung, goes to the photos app, drags the photo in, circles the little piece of clothing, and then they can order it right from there. It's basically the Google search, image search, but on Samsung, and it's just integrated into the product. And it's just such a smart way to promote this um feature, right? And it really organically goes into what the Devil Wears Part is all about, which is fashion. And it's about those high-pressure moments running a fashion magazine. And then I think it's also smart, important to note that they brought this to life on social, tapping into a lot of different fashion influencers and just different Gen Z influencers, making them bridging the gap between this movie that again it came out before we were really able to care about movies, but it's something that we have grown into caring about. It's something that I feel like when I watched, I don't know, my dad loves it. So I would I saw it as a kid, and it was like my first peek into what the professional world might be like, this and the office. Um, thankfully, it's like neither, but uh unfortunately it's like neither. Well, I don't know, you know, bosses are scary. Uh but it just bridges the gap between you know this world that kind of existed before us and the social content brings it into modern social trends, yeah, and they continue to. Use the S26 as kind of the catalyst that helps them, you know, live their life and do be popular and do social trends. So it's just a cool, it's a cool campaign. It brings the brings the Devil Wears Prada to Genesis.

SPEAKER_03 22:13

I think with both of these, I think they did a great job at like just making it feel like even though you are not in that specific devil wears Prada, high pressure moment, yeah. This is a product that can still be utilized by you as a consumer. I think both did a great job of that. So yeah. Well, you can let us know which brand you think won this segment of Battle of the Brands by going to our Instagram at the AgencyKU to vote on either Google or Samsung. That's all we have for you today. You've been listening to Ad Space by the agency.

SPEAKER_01 22:42

This episode was produced by Brenda Burnett and Joe Bundo, written and edited by the Steam Whistle Creative team, sound design and mixing by Wive Cooper, camera operated by Madeline Rosen.

SPEAKER_03 22:52

Special thanks to our faculty advisor, Dr. Rose. This podcast is a production of Steam Whistle Creative made possible by the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications.

SPEAKER_01 23:01

To keep up with new episodes, follow us on Instagram at the agency KU. And don't forget to like, rate, and review. It really helps us out.

SPEAKER_00 23:08

I'm Elise.

SPEAKER_01 23:09

And I'm Jackson.

SPEAKER_00 23:10

And we'll see you next time. This student-produced podcast is opinions and commentary and does not reflect the views of any organization. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the host or the podcast. Any opinions presented in this podcast are for general information only, and any reliance on the information provided in this podcast is done at your own risk. This podcast should not be considered professional advice. Unless specifically stated otherwise, the agency does not endorse, approve, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization represented or mentioned in this podcast. Copyright the agency twenty twenty five, all rights reserved. They may not reproduce, distribute, or modify this podcast without written permission.