20 brands that are having a moment
A creator who parlayed her social success into her own popular TV sitcom. A decades-old beauty brand that is trending on TikTok. A record-setting series that is helping to revive Netflix. These are the stories behind some of the marketers making Ad Age’s 2022 list of America’s Hottest Brands. It includes 20 products, people and services that are both new and familiar. But they’re all getting buzz—one restaurant chain even counts a big anthropomorphic bee as its mascot.
The list includes up-and-coming brands like footwear company Hoka, which is breaking into the crowded sneaker market of established players, and fast-growing NFT purveyor Doodles, which recently tapped Pharrell Williams as chief brand officer. High-concept metaverse The Sandbox is attracting brands like Mastercard and movie studios including LionsGate.
Older labels such as Clinique and Vaseline are proving they are not your grandmother’s brands anymore by reviving themselves for younger generations using a new social media brand playbook. GasBuddy, the 22-year-old app that shows consumers gas prices in their area, is getting a leg up as per-gallon costs soar at the pump this summer. And Goldfish is swimming ahead by tapping into ’90s nostalgia with a JNCO jeans partnership.
The strategy is all about “having fun and being a little surprising,” as Janda Lukin, senior VP and chief marketing officer of Goldfish parent Campbell Snacks, put it. We couldn’t agree more.—Adrianne Pasquarelli
Hear how these brands built buzz by watching Ad Age In-Depth: America's Hottest Brands here.
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