BRANDED

Is the economy booming, or is the DOW 50K just a shiny brand hiding a "K-shaped" disaster? This week on Branded, Ben Kaplan exposes why Big Tech is gambling $650 BILLION on an AI future that hasn't paid a single bill yet. We’re breaking down the shift from "one-night stand" commercials to Super Bowl franchises and why the Olympics are turning every living room into a data-driven "addressable unit". In this episode, we dive into: SUPER BOWL Winners & Losers: How Dunkin’ built a "universe" while others spent $10 million just to sponsor a meme. The $650B AI Gamble: Why investors are flinching at Big Tech’s massive spending and "soulless" AI creative. The $600K "Translator": Why Microsoft and Google are hiring creators to make complex tech feel human. DOW 50,000 vs. REALITY: The branding problem of a "strong" economy when groceries cost 30% more. Olympic Micro-Moments: How Milano Cortina 2026 is changing the economics of global sponsorship. Are you building a brand infrastructure, or just paying for a stunt that people will forget by Monday?

From Netflix’s massive $480 million bet on Stranger Things to a four-year-old "invisible" song dethroning Taylor Swift overnight, TOPAgency.com CEO Ben Kaplan deconstructs the week culture moved faster than the boardroom. We’re double-checking the ROI on $8M Super Bowl ads and diving into how a "cheap" Chinese AI model just undercut OpenAI by 50x. Is "Made in China" the new premium in AI, or a race to the bottom? Featuring: The Joe Keery Effect: How the Stranger Things finale created a global #1 hit from a 2022 "side hustle." Streaming Math: Why $60M per episode is actually a bargain for Netflix retention. The DeepSeek Disruption: Can a $300k Chinese model actually beat billions in Silicon Valley R&D? NVIDIA vs. Tesla: Why Wall Street just picked the "platform" over the "product" at CES. The Dictator’s Hoodie: How American brand Origin turned Nicolas Maduro’s arrest into a masterclass in real-time marketing. Jonas Brothers vs. AI: Why the future of "real" advertising might mean ditching the algorithms. Watch on YouTube at: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@branded-podcast Follow on TikTok at: http://tiktok.com/@top_agency Get the merch at: ⁠https://store.nationaltoday.com/

From McDonald's AI Christmas disaster to Disney's billion-dollar gamble on letting you remix Mickey Mouse, TOPAgency.com CEO Ben Kaplan breaks down the wildest marketing moves of the week—and reveals why more brand control might mean letting go.Featuring: Watch on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/@branded-podcastFollow on TikTok at: https://open.spotify.com/show/1c2q2UAA2xDRI2mqCLFeTMGet merch at: https://store.nationaltoday.com/

From Pepsi undoing a decade of design history to Olipop parking a SpongeBob Airstream where digital ads can't reach, we're learning from the week's wildest marketing news. Did you know that BMW paid for an entire highway lane to give their drivers a free ride—and then forced Mercedes and Audi owners to advertise for them to get the same perk? Ben Kaplan (CEO, TopAgency.com) breaks down why the era of "perfect" campaigns is over—and why the next big marketing wins won’t come from data-driven insights alone. Featuring:

Minimalism had a long run. But consumers got bored and brands felt it. BMW pulled off a toll-lane stunt that turned Audi and Mercedes drivers into unwilling brand ambassadors. Apple dropped a knitted “iPhone Pocket” that has more in common with Hermès than hardware. And Pepsi just ended a decade of flat, sanitized branding with a bold return to maximalism. The new wave isn’t clean, quiet, or neutral. It’s loud, emotional, and intentionally polarizing. Because in a crowded market, clarity doesn’t win contrast does. Which brand nailed the moment?

LeBron had millions bracing for goodbye—until the twist revealed it wasn’t retirement at all. And that’s just one part of this week’s story about belief: who has it, who earns it, and how brands weaponize it. From China blocking influencers without real credentials… to Cheetos turning a baseball superstition into an official MLB deal to Prime, Feastables, and Stanley proving that today’s strongest brands start as people, not companies. Ben Kaplan (Founder + CEO, Top Agency) breaks down why trust, identity, and community have become the new moat in marketing—and why the next decade of brand power won’t come from logos, ads, or campaigns, but from belief systems. Featuring: • LeBron x Hennessy emotional clickbait • China’s degree-verified influencer crackdown • Cheetos & the Seattle superstition • Prime Hydration + Feastables as belief-driven brands • The Stanley Cup identity movement • Why attention isn’t enough anymore—belief is the strategy

IKEA made a bed for your phone. Whole Foods turned a grocery list into a cultural forecast. Volkswagen’s top-selling product isn’t a car—it’s sausage. This week on BRANDED Weekly, Ben Kaplan (Founder + CEO, Top Agency) breaks down how brands stopped reacting to culture and started writing it. From IKEA’s behavioral design experiments to Whole Foods’ 2026 trend report and Volkswagen’s nostalgia-driven empire, today’s most powerful brands aren’t selling products—they’re engineering habits, identity, and emotion. We unpack: IKEA’s Phone Bed — gamifying guilt and designing digital discipline. Whole Foods’ Trend Report — transforming food into status and self-expression. Volkswagen’s Currywurst — turning nostalgia into profit. The Death of Millennial Brands — why aesthetic polish stopped working. Because branding in 2025 isn’t about storytelling anymore—it’s about habit formation, desire curation, and emotional anchoring.

Cheetos sold the mess. Domino’s engineered a sound. The Ordinary called beauty a scam while selling it. This week on BRANDED, Ben Kaplan (Founder + CEO, Top Agency) breaks down how brands turned irony into influence and self-awareness into strategy. He breaks down how emotion, irony, and algorithmic storytelling are reshaping the attention economy. From absurd stunts to sensory branding, these campaigns prove that authenticity now means admitting the performance. We unpack: Cheetos & Vogel’s — turning snacks and bread into fashion statements. Ramp — B2B marketing that made pain a spectacle (literally). Domino’s — rebranding taste through sound design. The Ordinary — exposing beauty’s biggest lie while cashing in on it. OpenAI — redefining category ownership as ChatGPT becomes shorthand for AI. Plus, a deep dive into how nostalgia, dopamine, and self-awareness became the ultimate growth hacks in 2025’s marketing landscape.

In 2025, emotion is the business model. From Ferrari’s Apple-designed EV to Doritos’ cheese-pull spectacle — Ben Kaplan breaks down how outrage, nostalgia, and virality became strategy.

MTV didn’t die — we killed it by scrolling. In this week’s episode of BRANDED Weekly, Ben Kaplan and Tom Cain break down how nostalgia, dopamine, and brand emotion are reshaping business. From MTV’s collapse to Build-A-Bear’s 2,000% stock surge, Chili’s viral mozzarella moment, and Michael Jordan’s $70M jet, we explore the one metric that now decides who wins: attention. The real question? In 2025, how much is your brand’s emotion worth?

Beer, Rings, and Body Doubles: The Internet’s Attention Economy Gen Z is putting ice in their beer. Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s engagement feels more like a dynasty merger than a romance, with brands racing to crash the party. And online, people are debating whether Trump really met Putin in Alaska or a body double. In this week’s Branded, Ben Kaplan unpacks how these viral stories spiral, why brands jump on them, and what they reveal about culture, politics, and the attention economy in 2025. From Trump firing Fed Governor Lisa Cook for mortgage fraud the same offense he was convicted of to Swift’s engagement fueling memes and marketing campaigns, we explore why irony, controversy, and cultural collisions keep driving attention. Plus, a few hot takes from TikTok: is ice in beer actually a hack… or still a crime against hops?

In this episode of Branded Leaders, host Ben Kaplan sits down with Brian Irving, Chief Marketing Officer at Lyft, to discuss how Lyft differentiates itself in a rideshare industry that often looks like a race to the bottom. Brian shares how Lyft avoids competing solely on price by leaning into its DNA as a purposeful rebel brand — building services around freedom, connection, and customer obsession. He reveals how Lyft is adapting its identity from quirky early days (pink mustaches and friendly drivers) to serving business travelers, healthcare rides, and diverse audiences with evolving needs. The conversation explores Lyft’s approach to autonomous vehicles, why it’s doubling down on human-first innovation, and how FlexDrive and new partnerships expand the platform’s future. Brian also reflects on his career journey from Flint, Michigan, to Silicon Valley, with pivotal chapters at Apple, Google, Airbnb, and Eventbrite. Along the way, he shares the best advice he’s ever received, how curiosity shapes his leadership, and why learning to say “I get to” instead of “I have to” changed his perspective on work and life. Packed with candid stories, career lessons, and insights into the future of mobility and marketing, this episode offers a rare look at how Lyft’s CMO is steering the brand beyond rides to something much bigger: freedom.

In this episode of Branded Leaders, host Ben Kaplan sits down with Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman of Ogilvy UK, to explore why safe, logical marketing often fails — and why embracing chaos, irrationality, and unconventional thinking can create the biggest wins. Rory explains why capitalism is less about efficiency and more like betting on long shots, how seemingly “bonkers” decisions (like Amazon betting on Prime) can redefine entire industries, and why reframing simple observations is the real engine of creativity. The conversation dives into politics, persuasion, and the psychology of risk-taking — from Donald Trump’s use of concrete language, to Elon Musk’s non-neurotypical way of seeing the world, to why opportunity cost is more important than cost-cutting. Packed with humor, sharp insights, and provocative reframes, this episode is a masterclass in why playing it safe may be the riskiest move of all.

Distraction Marketing: Sex, Scandal, and Sydney Sweeney American Eagle’s ad with Sydney Sweeney sent their stock flying, their mentions surging, and the internet into meltdown. But was the controversy part of the plan? In this episode, we break down how brands are using distraction and deliberate outrage to win the attention economy. From Gwyneth Paltrow being hired as crisis cover after a Kiss Cam catastrophe, to Donald Trump’s strategic smoke bombs to bury headlines he doesn’t like, we explore how controversy converts—and when it backfires. Plus, a surprising look at how AI adoption is following the same curve as e-commerce, and what it means for marketers. All that, and a few hot takes from the TikTok comments section. Spoiler: Colbert vs. Rogan isn't the fight you think it is.

In this electrifying episode, we unpack three stories shaking the world right now: Astronomer CEO Andy Byron's explosive Kiss Cam scandal at a Coldplay concert—is his career truly over, or can scandals this massive become epic comebacks? We then dive into OpenAI's game-changing ChatGPT agent, promising everyone a $38,000/year personal assistant for less than your weekly coffee spend. Finally, we dissect CBS's cancellation of Stephen Colbert—did politics, economics, or digital disruption drive this shocking move? Tune in as we debate scandal survival, AI taking your jobs, and mainstream media’s slow demise.

In this episode of BRANDED Weekly, we break down the brand moves (and misfires) dominating headlines:– Grok’s AI glitch: What happens when your chatbot forgets the filter?– Nvidia’s China play: Smart diplomacy or dangerous double game?– Amazon’s 4-day Prime Day: A flex or a flop?– KFC’s rebrand: Why the Colonel’s now obsessed.– Superman x Roku: Movie marketing meets voice AI.– Sprite’s spicy stunt: Burn your mouth, boost your brand.

The biggest brand moves – July 4–11, 2025 Amazon expands Prime Day to four days, but do longer sales lose their punch? Sephora offers free Lyft rides to stores, Coca-Cola brings back “Share a Coke” with a Star Wars twist, and Ben’s Original tries to move on from Uncle Ben. Plus, TikTok Shop crosses $1B in US sales, Boeing tries to fix its image, and Wall Street sends mixed signals on ad budgets. Also, don’t forget: National Nude Day is coming (Tom might not be dressed for next week’s episode)

Nike’s back to its roots. Unilever just paid $1.5B for a soap brand. Cloudflare declared war on AI. Oh, and Pamela Anderson is suddenly a branding icon again. This week, Ben Kaplan and Tom Cain unpack the smartest (and strangest) marketing moves across the globe: Smart takes. Big brands. No fluff.

This week on BRANDED Weekly, Ben Kaplan and Tom Cain dissect the marketing strategies hidden in world news, tech headlines, and viral campaigns. Why did Iran give advance notice before launching missiles? Is Meta’s $100M talent grab a turning point in the AI arms race? Why did job site giants like CareerBuilder collapse? Plus, we debate scratch-and-sniff armpits as a marketing tool, the fall of PewDiePie, and the future of AI in law. And yes, the Liver King might’ve tried to fight Joe Rogan.

In this episode of BRANDED, Ben Kaplan and Tom Cain dive into the biggest business and culture stories of the week, blending serious insight with sharp wit. They discuss Meta's aggressive push to poach OpenAI talent with $100M offers, the Trump family launching a gold-plated smartphone and mobile network, and why Airbus is feeling confident while Boeing flounders. Plus, they explore the impact of rising tariffs on Hasbro’s workforce and Elon Musk’s relentless AI spending spree. As always, the show ties in viral holidays, major birthdays, and whether Tom would board a pilotless plane.