HOLIDAY AD CHAOS — Sephora, Calvin Klein, Subscription Boxes (Ep. 019)

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From Sephora’s “striking” elves to Calvin Klein’s viral thirst traps — Joanna and Michelle unpack how brands are losing (and winning) consumer trust this holiday season. Plus, how you can turn this chaos into marketing gold.

What You’ll Learn:

• What the Sephora x Mariah Carey ad got wrong — and how to avoid tone-deaf marketing during hard times
• Why humor, relatability, and repetition are the real keys to shareable content
• How subscription boxes became a $40B business model (and how coaches and creators can steal their strategy)
  
  

Timestamps:

00:00- Introduction
03:35 – The controversial Sephora holiday ad: “elves on strike”
07:50 – When “no press is bad press” doesn’t work anymore
15:20 – Uber Eats and Calvin Klein: ads that actually nailed storytelling
25:30 – Double standards in advertising: Sydney Sweeney vs. Calvin Klein
27:45 – Why people share content: the psychology behind “contagious” marketing
31:10 – Real estate agents and car dealerships making viral, personality-driven content
39:10 – Subscription boxes: recurring revenue, retention, and brand loyalty goldmine

References & Resources:

• Sephora — Mariah Carey holiday ad
• Calvin Klein — Jeremy Allen White & Jungkook campaigns
• Contagious by Jonah Berger (book)
• Wildgrain — subscription bakery doing $31M/year
• HelloFresh, Stitch Fix, ButcherBox, Above the Bar
• HubSpot’s The Hustle newsletter

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📱 Social: @themichellepualani | @joanna_atwork
📩 Michelle: [e-mail]
🌐 Joanna: millennialmktr.com

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