Don't Overthink It

Happy Friday,

How was your week?

Did you catch the Grammys on Sunday? If someone is having a banner year, it's Bad Bunny, winning his (and the) first Album of the Year with DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS and doing the Halftime show this Sunday while the Patriots try to change the odds (69%) against the Seahawks.

It's also the Super Bowl of brand building. 

And this year's harvest is bananas (nanobananas)

If 2025 was the year of the "Strategic Siege," where we saw brands move from a single 30-second sprint to a multi-week digital marathon—then 2026 is officially the year of "Kooky Brand Storytelling." With spots hitting a record $10 million, brands are no longer just buying awareness; they're buying an insurance policy against being ignored by getting as weird as possible.

Here's the deeper look at this year's "weird and wonderful" categories:

The Unhinged

Amazing copywriting, take no prisoners sprinkled with Easter Eggs, the best

• Kardashian Curse Fanatics Sportsbook | A GEM and my fav so far, spoiler alert, it's not even her last name.

• The AI Feud | Anthropic is taking on OpenAI, with not one but 4 (amazing) videos: Violation, Betrayal, Deception, Treachery. Let the games begin.

• The Choice by Pepsi | Taking no prisoners with Polar Bears, Astronomer scandal to the rhythm of I want to be free, awesome. 

The Weird

Surrealist fever dreams that shouldn’t make sense, yet you can’t look away. Peak bizarre.

• Skittles Deliver the Rainbow | Surreal spot featuring Elijah Wood.

• Love at First Bite by Pringles featuring Sabrina Carpenter falling for a man made of chips, can’t be easy.

• Hair Ballad by Manscaped | featuring hairs of all kinds singing they have feelings too (what?)

• Honourable mentions to Yes Bueno and Disco Banana

The funny ones

Expert-level comedic timing, self-deprecating as hell, and proof that a good laugh is the best ROI. Bars.

• Golden Cringe for Dunkin | Ben Affleck (I don't think he directed Fargo) returns with more creative ideas. No One Can See This.

• Halfway There by State Farm | A great take on Livin' on a Prayer, so good Jon Bon must be rethinking his lyrics for real.

• Find your inner Greg | Ultra keeps at it after the late great Catherine O'Hara and Willem Dafoe duo, with the one and only Kurt Russell.

• Honourable mentions to Hellmans and Uber Eats

Special mention to Budweiser with American Icons, clearly a fan of 30 Rock and Jack Donaghy (like me); don't overthink it.

But what if you don't have $10M to buy a spot, mind you, produce it with at least 3 celebrities. What's a brand builder gotta do?

Well, as read in the Eat Big Fish latest newsletter, if you're broke, you can't be boring… and need to embrace a Challenger Mindset, where your ambition consistently outweighs your available resources.

If your budget is more "hand-crafted" than "Hollywood-funded," here is your hijacking guide:

1. Own the Screen in Real-Time | With over 70% of viewers on their phones during the game, Use Meme-jacking to align your posts with real-time trends like the OG Oreo, 13 years ago. 

2. The "Pre-Game" Loop | Engagement started weeks ago on YouTube. Use that "pre-buzz" period to release scrappy, "unfiltered" companion content to surf these waves.

3. The Treasure Hunt | As we learned from Kendrick's "easter eggs" last year, the internet loves a digital treasure hunt, so have fun and drive traffic back to you. 

4. Leverage the Hybrid AI Model | In 2026, AI is the ultimate challenger collaborator. Use it.  to produce content and agile "slice-and-dice" versions of your message to stay relevant all night long.

The Sip Takeaway

Whether you are a big fish or a small fish with a bold idea, the rule of the game is the same: relevance is the only currency that doesn't devalue.

If you can't outspend the giants, out-think them by owning the conversation where and when it actually happens.

So, as you settle in for the Seahawks and Patriots (and let's be real, mostly for Benito for me), keep an eye on who/what is actually moving the needle. The best brands don't just fill a time slot; they find a way to become a distinctive part of the story.

Stay Thirsty.

See you next week

P.S. I always have fun writing these, let me know if you do too and give me the gift of forwarding it to a friend.