Brand Waves This Week
Elle Woods becomes a capsule collection, LEGO turns Olivia Rodrigo into a buildable universe, and Reddit redefines the value of communities.
Welcome to The Brand Waves, your weekly snapshot of the most innovative marketing campaigns from around the world. In this edition, discover stories, strategies, and creative ideas that are redefining how brands connect with audiences.
This newsletter is sponsored by Tracksuit, the always-on brand tracker built for marketers and agencies to answer the question “Is my strategy working?”
Today’s newsletter includes: Shopbop celebrates Elle Woods; Valentino Beauty launches a new era of fragrance storytelling with Dakota Johnson and Alexander Skarsgård; LEGO reinvents pop culture with Olivia Rodrigo; BOSS expands the concept of success beyond gender boundaries; Burberry presents Escape to the Countryside; Benefit Cosmetics partners with True Religion; Reddit launches a campaign that puts communities at the center; Gonna Need Milk introduces the Milk Man Hydration Calendar; and adidas debuts its new university partnerships.
Shopbop unveils a new capsule collection inspired by Elle Woods
To celebrate the premiere of Elle, Prime Video’s new series set in the Legally Blonde universe, Shopbop has launched a new exclusive capsule collection.
The collection features more than 60 pieces from a range of fashion brands, including L’AGENCE, Cinq à Sept, LoveShackFancy, and alice + olivia.
Available exclusively on Shopbop.com and The Shop by Shopbop on Amazon, every piece is designed to help shoppers embrace their inner Elle Woods and stand out all summer long.
Dakota Johnson and Alexander Skarsgård become the new faces of Valentino Beauty
Valentino Beauty is launching a new chapter in its fragrance strategy by choosing Dakota Johnson and Alexander Skarsgård as the brand’s new faces.
The two protagonists are positioned as partners in crime within a narrative that places authenticity, connection, and unfiltered emotional expression at its core.
The choice of these two personalities further strengthens the brand’s aspirational positioning, playing on two complementary energies that embody a contemporary vision of attraction.
“We are pleased to welcome Dakota Johnson and Alexander Skarsgård to the Valentino Beauty family. Their unique personalities and magnetic presence perfectly embody the emotional intensity at the heart of this new era,” says Claudia Marcocci, Global President of Valentino Beauty.
Translating The Brand Waves for the Boardroom
If you work in marketing, there has probably been a moment when the conversation in your team shifted from “what works” to “what gets funded.”
Three decades of independent research - from Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, Les Binet and Peter Field, together with IPA and Analytic Partners - converge on the same conclusion: companies grow when they balance short-term activation with long-term brand building.
The debate is settled. The problem is not whether brand “works,” but how it gets funded.
And this is where brand often loses. Not because it doesn’t work, but because it isn’t described in the right language for finance teams and boardrooms.
This is exactly the focus of the first course from Tracksuit University, developed by James Hurman, one of the most cited strategists on the commercial case for brand investment.
A course designed not to explain why brand works, but to teach how to get it funded: translating brand value into a language CFOs and boardrooms are willing to approve.
Discover the course that teaches marketers to speak the language of the boardroom - and use code THEBRANDWAVES to get 20% off the Tracksuit University course.
The LEGO Group launches its new collection with Olivia Rodrigo
The LEGO Group announces a new collaboration with Olivia Rodrigo that captures the emotion and energy that have made the 23-year-old singer-songwriter one of the most defining artists of her generation.
The new LEGO® Editions Olivia Rodrigo collection includes five sets inspired by the artist’s albums, including SOUR, GUTS, and you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love.
The singer becomes the first musical artist to receive multiple dedicated LEGO sets. The minifigures, featuring distinctive expressions and iconic looks, become miniature visual narratives of her artistic identity, highlighting the multifaceted nature of her public persona.
“With this collection, we wanted to celebrate the passion Olivia brings to every lyric, every hidden clue and every album, while giving fans a meaningful way to connect with her. This collaboration is about more than recreating moments - it’s about inspiring fans to build, explore and express themselves through storytelling and creative building,” explains Julia Goldin, Chief Product & Marketing Officer of the LEGO Group.
BOSS introduces BOSS Bottled Beyond for Her
With BOSS Bottled Beyond for Her, the brand continues the evolution of one of its most recent fragrance platforms, built around the idea of success as a relational and shared force.
Following the 2025 launch of BOSS Bottled Beyond, a men’s fragrance that quickly became a symbol of contemporary and inspirational masculinity, the brand now extends its narrative beyond gender boundaries, transforming the project into a true cultural universe.
The campaign brings together three very different yet complementary female figures: Jessica Chastain, Becky G, and Tara Davis-Woodhall. Their presence goes beyond traditional endorsement, acting as an extension of the brand’s message, where strength, authenticity, and performance become cross-cultural languages spanning cinema, music, and sport.
Burberry presents Escape to the Countryside
Burberry presents Escape to the Countryside, building a narrative that goes beyond a simple collection showcase to become a true lifestyle story.
The campaign sees Moses Martin make his fashion debut, alongside Edie Campbell, Nora Attal, and Sang Woo Kim.
The narrative follows a group of friends embarking on a summer road trip with a collection designed for everyday escapes.
“A road trip is a very British thing to do – getting into your car, heading out to the countryside and seeing where the day takes you. That idea of exploration has always been part of Burberry. Listening to music on a long drive becomes part of the memories you make along the way,” explains Daniel Lee, Chief Creative Officer of Burberry.
Benefit Cosmetics partners with True Religion for a limited-edition gift
Benefit Cosmetics is teaming up with True Religion to launch a new limited-edition denim keychain, inspired by early-2000s Y2K accessories.
The collectible design debuts at Sephora to mark the launch of Benefit’s new Pocket Pal, a dual-ended lip duo combining rich tint and high-shine gloss.
The collaboration celebrates the cultural impact of Y2K fashion and the beauty rituals that defined a generation, bringing together True Religion’s denim heritage and Benefit’s playful approach to beauty.
Reddit launches its new brand campaign People Are The Best
Reddit has unveiled People Are The Best, its first-ever U.S. brand campaign, marking a new chapter in the company’s communications strategy under the leadership of its new Chief Marketing Officer, Jim Squires.
Launched in New York and Chicago, the campaign showcases a platform that has strengthened its positioning in recent years not only as a social network, but as a place where user conversations create value, trust, and knowledge.
The ads, centered on the worlds of beauty, television, and soccer, highlight some of Reddit’s most representative communities, turning them into tangible examples of what sets the platform apart from other social networks.
Gonna Need Milk launches the first Milk Man Hydration Calendar starring Charles Melton
Gonna Need Milk introduces the first Milk Man Hydration Calendar, a campaign featuring actor Charles Melton.
The core idea is to shift the consumer’s perspective, encouraging them to reconsider what they reach for when they are thirsty, bringing milk back to the center of the hydration conversation.
The project, shot entirely on film by photographer Camille Summers-Valli, builds a precise visual universe, defined by vintage-inspired aesthetics and intentionally light, playful imagery.
adidas launches its historic partnerships with the University of Tennessee and Penn State University
To celebrate its new partnerships with the University of Tennessee and Penn State University, adidas is releasing two campaign films that focus on each institution’s heritage.
For the University of Tennessee, the narrative takes on a collective and celebratory dimension. Peyton Manning, a Vols legend, joins student-athletes across all 20 varsity sports in a story that highlights pride, competitive spirit, and the tradition of Tennessee athletics.
In the case of Penn State, the campaign builds a narrative that blends sporting legacy with pop culture, featuring alumni and ambassadors such as Abdul Carter and Ali Krieger. The symbolic protagonist of the film is the Nittany Lion, reimagined through a makeover that dresses it in an adidas fur-style tracksuit, enriched with the Three Stripes aesthetic.
If you’re looking for even more inspiration, check out last week’s edition of Brand Waves This Week for more standout campaigns and unmissable creative ideas!
Brand Waves This Week
Reformation collaborates with Umbro; New Balance and Miu Miu bring tennis into the luxury world with Coco Gauff; Mercedes-Benz collaborates with KidSuper; NOYZ turns a restock into a marketing campaign.
The wave doesn’t stop here.
We’ll be back next week with more stories shaping the future of brands, tech and culture. Catch the next one with us.
The Reddit campaign caught my attention. We've spent years talking about "building communities," but Reddit's campaign reminds us that sometimes the community is already the brand's biggest competitive advantage. The challenge isn't creating it, it's showing people why it matters.