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Country superstar Luke Bryan, NFL icon Peyton Manning and reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year Lainey Wilson will co-host the 58th Annual CMA Awards on Nov. 20, streaming live from Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on ABC and celebrating the best in country music. This will mark the fourth time hosting for Bryan, third for Manning and first for Wilson, who is also nominated for Entertainer of the Year, making her the first person to co-host while being nominated in this category since Carrie Underwood in 2019.
The CMA Awards offer a prime opportunity for brands like Crown Royal and George Dickel to seamlessly integrate into country music culture through strategic gifting and presence. With the event's celebration of both heritage and modern star power, brands can elevate their visibility by offering exclusive backstage experiences or custom gifts to performers and nominees. This kind of thoughtful integration not only reinforces the brands' connection to country music’s values but also creates memorable, authentic moments that resonate long after the awards show ends.
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Travis Scott will be recognized as the 2024 I Am Hip Hop Honoree at the BET Hip Hop Awards on Oct. 15, highlighting his significant cultural and creative contributions to the genre. Scott, also nominated for six awards this year, including Best Hip-Hop Video and Hip-Hop Album of the Year for Utopia, is celebrated for his visionary artistry and boundary-pushing influence in hip-hop. The I Am Hip Hop Award honors artists who have a lasting impact on music and culture, with past recipients including influential figures like Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg, MC Lyte, LL Cool J and KRS-One.
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Following last week’s teaser post, Beyoncé and Levi’s have recreated a popular Levi’s ad from 1985 to launch their new campaign. The ad shows Beyoncé at the laundromat as she strips off her Levi’s jeans, places them in a washing machine, and dumps a bucket of diamonds on top, all set to her song “LEVII’S JEANS.” In a press release on the campaign, Beyoncé says “Denim on denim has often been seen through a male lens, so this reimagining campaign, which celebrates the iconic female perspective, is important to me.”
Given our brands’ own emergence and presence in the western space, the Crown Royal team will continue to monitor this campaign as the partnership develops and flag new coverage accordingly. We’ll also ideate on ways our other brands, such as George Dickel and Lone River, can leverage this cultural news in media efforts and future western campaigns.
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New trends and fashion themes are emerging from New York, Milan and Paris Fashion Week shows. As Fashion Month continues, some of the trends predicted for 2025 include dramatic and embellished suits, denim as a statement fabric, bags with eye-catching details or shapes and more.
As brands consider producing merchandise for upcoming campaigns, keeping these trends in mind will help as we create products that reflect consumer preferences and can generate buzz and media coverage for fashion-conscious consumers.
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Wrangler recently unveiled the Lainey Wilson collection on their website and at select retailers, launching the co-branded line of jeans, shirts, coats and hats for women and young girls based on the singer’s life. Designs include her signature bell bottoms, graphics of her French bulldog and her guitar, a striped Rodeo Ben sherpa coach and more. According to Wilson, the partnership made sense because Wrangler reminds her of her family.
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Ahead of the Minnesota Vikings-New York Jets matchup in London on Sunday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell confirmed that he is pushing to expand the regular season to 18 games and increase the total number of international games across the league to 16 annually. He says the two changes are linked, with owners already having approved eight international games and the season possibly being restructured. Goodell also emphasized the league’s focus on growing the global games rather than creating an international division. These changes will likely be a focal point in the next collective bargaining agreement, which will be implemented after the current one expires in 2030.
The NFL’s season extension and international expansion plans offer brands a chance to engage with its growing presence, making it key for brands to consider ways to align campaigns and stay ahead of 2030 expansion. The NFL’s plans to extend its season and expand its international footprint offer brands the unique opportunity to engage with the league’s growing presence in new markets. This proactive approach opens the door for brands to explore new cultural influences, particularly in fashion, music and food, as the NFL increases its global reach.
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The NFL, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Houston Texans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers have pledged millions to Hurricane Helene relief efforts. The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation and Atlanta Falcons granted $2 million to World Central Kitchen for emergency meals in Georgia, while the David & Nicole Tepper Foundation and Carolina Panthers committed $3 million to aid the Carolinas. Additionally, the Houston Texans and the Glazer family of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers each pledged $1 million for relief efforts. At the league level, the NFL Foundation is donating $1 million and hosting a disaster relief auction with the Red Cross.
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The WNBA delivered its most-watched regular season in 24 years, finished with its highest attendance in 22 years and set records for digital consumption and merchandise sales in 2024. In addition to the 22 regular-season games that averaged at least 1 million viewers, the 2024 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game delivered a record 3.4 million viewers, a +305% increase over last season. The WNBA also saw sizable growth across merchandise and social engagement during the season, with social media accounts drawing nearly 2 billion video views (more than quadrupling over the 2023 season.)
The WNBA’s record-breaking regular season highlights the rising value of women’s sports in the industry, making it crucial for brands to consider the long-term impact of deeper investments in the space. With no signs of this unprecedented growth slowing, brands have a significant opportunity to tap into this momentum for sustained success in the sports industry.
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Tennis icon and gender equality advocate Billie Jean King became the first individual athlete to receive the Congressional Gold Medal on Friday. King's advocacy for equal pay in tennis led to the US Open becoming the first Grand Slam to offer equal prize money in 1973, which cemented her legacy as a champion of women's rights. During her career, King captured 39 Grand Slam titles and was a key figure in founding the Women's Tennis Association.
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NBC reported that 5.3 million people watched the 50th season premiere of SNL live, the best opening for the show since 2020. The cold open centered around this year's U.S. presidential race, with Maya Rudolph playing Kamala Harris and Dana Carvey playing President Joe Biden. According to NBC, the episode is the most-watched season premier since streaming on Peacock.
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Blumhouse is giving fans a chance to win a trip to the Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 premiere next year and spend the night at Freddy’s house from the film. To enter, contestants must be signed up for the Blumhouse newsletter, The Van, and two winners will receive two tickets each, airfare and hotel accommodations. The giveaway runs until Halloween. The film will debut in theaters on Dec. 5, 2025 and will attempt to build on the success of the original movie which debuted to $78 million – the highest opening for any Blumhouse title to date.
As brands like Smirnoff brainstorm activating with up-and-coming movies, brands can host pop-up events or immersive experiences in or near a film’s iconic locations to replicate the film’s setting and allow fans to engage with the brand in a memorable way. We can also look to use images and themes from the film’s settings in social campaigns to recreate the film’s atmosphere and engage fans.
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Wendy's is launching a Krabby Patty Kollab burger and Pineapple Under the Sea Frosty on Oct. 8 in celebration of SpongeBob SquarePants' 25th anniversary, in collaboration with Paramount. The Krabby Patty features a quarter-pound burger with cheese, veggies, and a special Krabby Kollab sauce, while the Frosty combines vanilla with pineapple mango purée. Los Angeles fans can preview the meal through an immersive drive-thru event before it becomes available nationwide in the U.S., Canada and Guam.
Based on the news attention for this release, it further shows the value in activations and products that appeal to consumers’ nostalgia, especially among millennials who grew up with cultural influences like “Spongebob Squarepants.” Our brands can use this insight to brainstorm which cultural moments trigger nostalgia amongst our millennial and Gen Z consumers to ideate around future activations and media efforts.
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7UP has confirmed the launch of its limited-time Shirley Temple flavor, available from Oct. 15 to Dec. 31, 2024, after rumors circulated on social media. The nostalgic mocktail will be sold in 12-packs of 12 oz cans, 2L bottles and a Zero Sugar option. Featuring pomegranate, cherry and citrus flavors, the drink is a festive addition to the holiday season and is likely meant to compete with other holiday LTO offerings (e.g, Sprite Winter Spiced Cranberry).
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On Tuesday, Ohio Sen. JD Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz participated in their first Vice Presidential debate. The clearest divide of the night came when Walz brought up the January 6 insurrection and Vance dodged the topic. During a debate over immigration and border security, Walz invoked Vance’s claims about Haitian immigrants eating pets in Springfield, Ohio. Walz admitted that he “misspoke” about the frequency of his travels to China since it was confirmed that he was in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989. On the topic of abortion, Vance argued for the decision to be placed in the states, while Walz brought up human rights and restoring Roe v. Wade. The two VP candidates agreed that gun violence is getting worse and needs to be addressed – especially in schools. Overall, the debate is being highlighted for the civil and “normal” behavior from both parties which led to constructive discussion on U.S. domestic issues.
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Hurricane Helene, a Category 4 hurricane that originally made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend area, has killed at least 161 people, according to the latest reporting. The storm appears to have inflicted its worst damage in the Carolinas, where officials said more than 113 people have been found dead amid historic flooding, particularly in the western region of the state. Both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have said they will visit the region when it won’t disrupt rescue response efforts. Research has found that record-warm water in the Gulf intensified the storm with sea surface temperatures in the path of Helene as warm as 89 degrees Fahrenheit – 2 to 4 degrees above normal. According to Climate Central, the record water temperature was likely caused by climate change produced by human-driven greenhouse gas pollution.