This week’s marketing winners, losers and newsmakers.
Marketing winners and losers of the week
Winners
Gritty
The NHL’s most loveable mascot now has his own store. The Philadelphia Flyers this week opened Gritty’s Chaos Factory inside their home arena, the Wells Fargo Center. Gritty, the furry orange googly-eyed mascot, first took social media by storm when he debuted in 2018. In addition to T-shirts, apparel and novelties, Gritty’s Chaos Factory will include a build-your-own Gritty plushie concept called the “Itty Bitty Gritty,” in which consumers can choose from six different costumes worn by the mascot in addition to three different color jerseys and interchangeable belly buttons, according to NHL.com.
Glossier
The direct-to-consumer beauty brand had a win in Austin, Texas over the weekend with an activation for its enduringly popular Balm Dotcom lip product. The “Balm DotWorld” event encouraged customers to get charms for their balms, take photos in a photo booth and shop Glossier’s new Black Cherry collection. A spokeswoman said lines for the activation included a three-and-a-half-hour wait, with some 150 people lined up before 7 a.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.
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LAFC
Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles FC tops Sportico’s latest ranking of the most valuable MLS franchises, valued at $1.28 billion. Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami came in second at $1.19 billion. Five MLS franchises are now worth over $1 billion, Sportico reports.
Losers
Olly
The Unilever-owned supplement seller came under scrutiny by the National Advertising Division for claims that its “Kids Chillax” products calm and relax children. The NAD said a study commissioned by Olly did not support the claims and recommended the brand discontinue assertions that its product “supports a calm and relaxed mood,” that “Z is for Zen,” and that the product “helps support a calm mood for kiddos.”
Lay’s
The PepsiCo potato chip brand is dealing with a recall of its core product, just days before a planned Super Bowl appearance. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said this week it has upgraded last month’s recall of Lay’s Classic Potato Chips because a batch may include “undeclared” milk ingredients. Last month, Lay’s announced it would return to the Big Game after a two-year hiatus with an ad for its All Dressed chip flavor.
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Automotive industry
The industry ranks as the “most disrupted” industry, according to a new AlixPartners survey of business executives, as reported by Automotive News, which notes automotive eclipsed media and entertainment for the top spot. Factors include supply chain complexity, which includes uncertainty over President Trump’s tariff plans. Automakers are also contending with the rise of Chinese automakers while wrestling with how to integrate artificial intelligence. Nearly two-thirds of auto executives said it has become challenging to know which disruptive force to address first, according to survey results.
Quote of the week
“More and more women are watching football—there’s a cultural moment where maybe a year or two ago it wasn’t so obvious that this would be the type of place to make this message and information available.” —Gail Horwood, chief marketing and customer experience officer at Novartis, on why the brand will air its first Super Bowl spot, promoting breast cancer awareness.
Social post of the week
Number of the week
$204.7 billion
Size of resale apparel market following 17.6% growth in 2024, according to market research firm GlobalData.
On the move
Smoothie King hired Claudia Schaefer as chief marketing officer, bringing her back into the quick-service space after an earlier stint as CMO of Jamba Juice. Schaefer was most recently the CEO of Caliber, the parent company of Caliber Collision.
Hy-Vee promoted Kathryn Mazza to senior VP, CMO and president of its retail media network RedMedia; she had been senior VP of RedMedia.
Victoria Beckham Beauty promoted Lauren Edelman to CEO from global CMO.
Contributing: Erika Wheless