Brands are feeling 22 after Taylor Swift’s new ‘Red’ release

This morning, Taylor Swift released “Red (Taylor’s Version),” an expanded re-recording of her hit 2012 album that comes as the Grammy Award winner seeks to reclaim her older music catalog following a dispute with her ex-record label. Originally containing 16 tracks, “Red” was met with critical acclaim upon its debut nine years ago. This time around it’s not just so-called “Swifties” who are greeting the singer’s 30-song release with praise—social-savvy brands are getting in on the action, too. Many corporate accounts have spent the day lining up on Twitter to react to “Red (Taylor’s Version),” taking the album’s re-release as an opportunity to make a witty pun, reflect on some inner heartbreak, or simply hate on actor Jake Gyllenhall. Below, Ad Age has compiled some of the most notable release-day brand reactions to Swift’s album. Don’t miss the latest news. Sign up for Ad Age newsletters here. Starbucks Taylor Swift’s favorite drink is a grande caramel non-fat latte, at least if Starbucks’ Twitter bio is to be believed. The company took to social media this morning to encourage consumers to try “Taylor’s favorite drink,” which can apparently be ordered at Starbucks locations nationwide simply by asking for “Taylor’s Latte.” Watch it all begin again…with a Grande Caramel Nonfat Latte (Taylor’s Version).🧣 pic.twitter.com/Ww1g9tMs26— Starbucks Coffee (@Starbucks) November 12, 2021 Sour Patch Kids Mondelēz-owned candy brand Sour Patch Kids started off the day on Twitter by wishing everyone a good morning—except Jake Gyllenhaal, tweeting that the brand “just wants to talk” to him alongside an image of a vaguely threatening gummy. (Swift and Gyllenhaal once dated, and many fans point to their romance and break-up as the impetus for much of “Red.”) Good morning to everyone except Jake Gyllenhaal… actually where is he I just wanna talk pic.twitter.com/3IoxffKRbH— SOUR PATCH KIDS (@SourPatchKids) November 12, 2021 Kansas City Chiefs The 2020 Super Bowl champions took to Twitter to wish their followers a “Happy Red (Taylor’s Version) Friday,” seemingly playing on the team’s primary color with a photo of a red “Chiefs Kingdom” flag. Happy Red (Taylor's Version) Friday, y'all 🚩 pic.twitter.com/HRqSvKSHr5— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) November 12, 2021 Panera Bread Panera Bread went with a deep cut on Twitter that only a Swiftie could recognize. The brand simply tweeted “Loving you was bread,” a nod to the phrase “Loving him was red” and the new album’s theme of heartbreak. Loving you was bread.— Panera Bread (@panerabread) November 12, 2021 TikTok While TikTok’s U.S. Twitter account hasn’t directly tweeted anything about Swift’s new album (yet), the short-form video platform did change its account display name to “TikTok (Taylor’s Version)” in a riff on the new release’s title. Taco Bell In reference to the “Enchanted” lyric “Please don’t be in love with someone else,” Taco Bell pleaded the same thing—except instead of cautioning against a vague “someone else,” the Yum Brands-owned chain warned of “someone who doesn’t eat Taco Bell.” PLEASE DON'T FALL IN LOVE WITH SOMEONE who doesn't eat Taco Bell.— Taco Bell (@tacobell) November 12, 2021 Olive Garden Italian restaurant chain Olive Garden looked for a piece of the “Red” action with a tweet of its slogan that reads “We’re all family here,” crudely striking through the word “family” and replacing it with “fans.” Alongside the trending hashtag #RedTaylorsVersion, the account tweeted an image of a phone playing the new album in front of a breadstick mid-marinara dip. We’re all f̶a̶m̶i̶l̶y̶ fans here. #RedTaylorsVersion pic.twitter.com/v2ak8NWl77— Olive Garden (@olivegarden) November 12, 2021 Scream In honor of Swift’s new release, the Twitter account for the “Scream” horror movie franchise created a visual collage of bloody knives, characters dressed in red and a mobile app capable of unlocking doors captioned “Red (Ghostface’s Version).” Red (Ghostface’s Version)🩸 pic.twitter.com/yZwj2HwZVO— Scream (@ScreamMovies) November 12, 2021 Etsy Taking a “new twist on the classics” approach, Etsy tweeted an image of a woman in a red knit hat and scarf in celebration of “Red (Taylor’s Version),” articles of clothing that tie into Swift’s discography and her relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal. She mentions such a scarf being held onto by an unnamed ex-boyfriend in her song “All Too Well”—a re-recording of which is more than 10 minutes long. Here's to new twists on the classics. 🧣❤️ https://t.co/BmaIpTWQQQ pic.twitter.com/uiWF1JUubT— Etsy (@Etsy) November 12, 2021 Chips Ahoy Chips Ahoy—or, at least, whoever runs the Mondelēz cookie brand’s Twitter account—got pretty emotional after listening to Swift’s 10-minute version of “All Too Well,” because instead of thinking of a clever tweet, they apparently had to just lie down on the floor and reflect. Tried to think of a clever tweet about #RedTaylorsVersion but I'm still lying on the floor after the 10 minute version so this is all I've got— Drips Ahoy! (@ChipsAhoy) November 12, 2021 Don’t miss the latest news. Sign up for Ad Age newsletters here. ~ ~ ~CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly referred to the "Red" lyrics "loving him was red."

Brands are feeling 22 after Taylor Swift’s new ‘Red’ release

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