17410: The New Sprite Platform Is Not Fresh.

 

Advertising Age spotlighted Sprite’s new identity and pseudo culture-first platform: It’s That Fresh.

 

Yo, that’s anything but fresh.

 

For starters, fresh is an old-school term, arguably outdated for the youth audience targeted by the brand.

 

How did the word even gain legal approval? The FDA has guidelines for products to be labeled fresh. Sprite bottles and cans do not include freshness dates.

 

Sprite has embraced hip-hop culture for decades, and the refresh recruited rappers and music artists to deliver authenticity. Yet the agencies and enterprises Ad Age identified as responsible for the work appear to be predominately White—and lame to boot.

 

The scenario demonstrates how White advertising agencies and brands love hip hop—and use cultural appropriation as a marketing ploy.

 

Somebody should ask Will Smith to recreate The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air role and slap everyone behind the new Sprite platform.

Sprite unveils new identity and culture-first ‘It’s That Fresh’ platform

 

By Tim Nudd

 

Sprite is hitting refresh with a new global platform that turns up the flavor of culture.

 

The Coca-Cola-owned soda’s new “It’s That Fresh” effort brings its branding, partnerships and product pipeline under one umbrella across 180 markets. The push centers on culture, with a focus on music, streetwear, basketball and food trends that shape younger audiences. The campaign acts as a reset of sorts, aligning everything from visuals to collabs into a single global system.

 

At the core of the effort is a refreshed brand identity, updating Sprite’s look and feel across packaging and communications. The redesign revives the brand’s lemon-lime iconography and pairs it with a bolder wordmark. Also, cans now feature a vertical logo treatment. Alongside the visual overhaul, Sprite is introducing a new sonic identity developed with producer Mustard, designed to carry across ads, digital content and brand experiences.

 

Music plays a major role in the rollout. U.K. rapper LeoStayTrill is among the artists contributing original work tied to the platform, using a custom Sprite-branded instrument loaded with sounds inspired by the product. The move extends Sprite’s long-running association with emerging artists, positioning the campaign as both a branding effort and a content engine for social and streaming.

 

Coca-Cola’s internal design team worked with the agency forpeople on the new identity. Other agencies who worked on this campaign include WPP Open X, Zeno Group, Tuney and Ear Candy.

 

The brand is also expanding its footprint in street culture through a collab with Crenshaw Skate Club, a Los Angeles-based collective known for its crossover between skateboarding and fashion. The partnership is expected to include limited-edition drops and experiences throughout the year, adding a retail and experiential layer to the work while connecting Sprite to grassroots creative communities.

 

“Today’s generation isn’t looking to be told what’s cool—they’re defining it for themselves,” said Oana Vlad, VP of Sprite global brand. “‘It’s That Fresh’ is Sprite meeting them where they are, spotlighting the freshest takes across culture and the people who aren’t afraid to play by their own rules.”

 

Food is another pillar, with Sprite continuing its “Hurts Real Good” effort focused on spicy flavors. Partnerships with Takis, Tabasco and McDonald’s will include social activations, live events and co-branded offerings, tying the drink to late-night eating and bold flavor profiles. The campaign positions Sprite as a go-to pairing for heat-heavy dishes, a trend that has gained traction among younger consumers.

 

On the product side, the platform is backed by global expansion plans for Sprite Chill and Sprite+Tea, two newer offerings that reflect shifting tastes and online-driven experimentation. Sprite Chill introduces a cooling sensation layered onto the classic lemon-lime profile, while Sprite+Tea builds on a viral trend of mixing soda with tea. Both lines are expected to roll out in multiple flavors and formats depending on the market.

 

The campaign kicks off with an event in London called Sprite FreshFest, featuring performances, product showcases and brand-led experiences across music, fashion and food. From there, the platform will expand globally through the summer, with localized activations both online and in person.

17409: Pizza Hut Pasta Campaign Is Traditional BS.

 

This Pizza Hut campaign from Publicis Middle East in Dubai, UAE, is explained as follows:

 

Pizza Hut launched a new pasta range. But an American fast-food brand that doesn’t even exist in Italy isn’t exactly the most credible voice on pasta. So we went after approval from the ultimate experts: Italians.

The problem? Our pasta doesn’t follow tradition. Traditional Italians would never approve it. But we used them anyway.

 

Um, this concept probably should not have been approved.

17408: On The White House & White Advertising Agencies, Part 10.

President Donald J. Trump’s return to supremacy continues to mirror Adland.

 

The Independent reported Trump clumsily delivered a culturally clueless Pearl Harbor joke to a Japanese reporter and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

 

Was Trump inspired by iconic Adman Jerry Della Femina?

 

Incidentally, the president’s comedy routine, well, bombed.

 

Trump cracks Pearl Harbor joke when pressed by Japanese reporter on lack of warning over Iran attack

 

Oval Office crowd left briefly silent after Trump makes light of 83-year-old attack

 

By Andrew Feinberg in Washington, D.C.

 

Just over 83 years ago, President Franklin Roosevelt called the Imperial Japanese Navy’s December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor “a date that will live in infamy” as he urged Congress to declare war.

 

On Thursday, President Donald Trump turned it into a punchline.

 

Trump was finishing up a question-and-answer session with reporters during a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi when a Japanese journalist asked why he did not inform key American allies — such as Japan — before the start of the joint U.S.-Israeli air campaign against Iran on February 28.

 

The president initially replied that the U.S. “went in very hard” and “didn’t tell anybody about it because we wanted surprise.”

 

But Trump’s response took an awkward turn moments later when he said: “Who knows better about surprise than Japan?”

 

After some muted laughter from the U.S. officials who’d joined him for the meeting, he turned to Sanae — who was born two decades after the attack — to ask her another question.

 

“Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor, OK?”

 

At that point, laughter turned to audible groans. The room went silent.

 

Takaichi, who spent two years in Washington working on Capitol Hill during the Reagan administration and has a strong command of English, was clearly taken aback by the president’s attempt at humor.

 

The smile she’d had on her face disappeared and her eyes widened as she realized what Trump had just said.

 

After an awkward pause, Trump returned to the topic he’d been asked about, telling reporters, “He’s asking me about surprise, and we did.”

 

“And because of that surprise, we knocked out ... we probably knocked out 50 percent ... and much more than we anticipated doing. So if I go and tell everybody about it, there’s no longer a surprise,” he said.

 

The surprise Pearl Harbor airstrike against the U.S. Pacific Fleet on Dec. 7, 1941 left more than 2,400 American service members dead and nearly 1,200 injured from bombs and shells that sunk four American battleships and left four more severely damaged. It was the deadliest attack on American soil until the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks on New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

 

Seven of those ships were salvaged and returned to service, while the seventh — the U.S.S. Arizona — was left where it had settled just below the harbor’s surface after a Japanese bomb detonated inside a explosive powder magazine.

 

The attack took place after months of failed negotiations between Tokyo and Washington over economic sanctions imposed by the U.S., the U.K., China and The Netherlands in an attempt to deny Japan’s military the raw materials it needed to prosecute wars in China and what is now Vietnam.

 

Japan declared war on the U.S. on the day of the strikes, but the official declaration did not arrive in Washington until afterwards.

 

The Pearl Harbor attack gave Roosevelt the leverage he needed to push for the U.S. to formally enter World War II — allowing him to join ally Great Britain in fighting Adolf Hitler’s march through Europe — with the House and Senate approving declarations of war against Japan by margins of 388-1 and 82-0, respectively.

 

Less than four years later, Japan would accept America’s demand for “unconditional surrender” after the U.S. dropped the first two — and thus far the only two — nuclear weapons to be used in combat in separate strikes on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

 

The Japanese government has never formally apologized for the infamous sneak attack, though one of Takaichi’s predecessors — the late Shinzo Abe — delivered a speech expressing "sincere and everlasting condolences" to the American and Japanese personnel killed in the fighting that day during a 2016 visit to the Pearl Harbor memorial above the wreck of Arizona.

 

Abe, who was assassinated in July 2022, said at the time that the U.S. and Japan “must never repeat the horrors of war again.”

17407: Burger King Not Flame-Broiled—Just Fired.

MediaPost reported Burger King launched a new campaign, firing its iconic King mascot.

 

No word yet if the unceremonious ouster inspires public backlash like the Cracker Barrel ‘Old Timer’ debacle, or if it’s just a promotional stunt like the Mr. Clean unretirement.

 

Will cries of ageism erupt?

 

Did BK concede to anti-DEIBA+ right-wing pressure that might be delayed outrage from the 2020 Finland Pride advertisement depicted below?

 

Scenes of the King’s dismissal seem insensitive in today’s job market, where even BK crew members face sudden termination.

 

The commercial admits the fast-food chain dropped the ball, especially in recent years; however, BK corporate executives don’t appear to be adversely affected by their self-acknowledged failures.

 

Regardless, the new campaign is hardly breakthrough and smells of appeasing desperation.

 

Dumping the responsible White advertising agency and BK CMO would represent the ultimate irony and/or king-sized karma.

 

Burger King Mascot Gets Pink Slip

 

By Tanya Gazdik

 

After several decades of dedicated service, Burger King’s mascot — yes, the King — has been shown the door. 

 

“Over the last several years, the brand has been updating its restaurant operations, technology, and appearances, as well as adjusting menu items and changing its packaging, Joel Yashinsky, CMO of Burger King US and Canada, told Marketing Brew. “Many people found the king to be creepy,” Yashinsky said. “So we’re firing the king.”

 

The brand debuted the 90-second “There’s a New King, and It’s You” spot on Sunday evening during the Oscars.

 

“What happened?” begins the ad. “There was a time when Burger King used to be king.”

 

The question has been the center of a $700 million effort to revamp Burger King’s image after the brand lost its spot as the No. 2 US burger chain in 2020.

 

“The ad traces the history of Burger King through the years and admits that ‘fast food just fell off, us included,’ noting guest complaints about ‘old restaurants, slow service [and] simple mistakes,’” according to Marketing Dive. 

 

The campaign builds on recent efforts that put the brand in consumers’ hands, including Burger King President Tom Curtis giving out his phone number to solicit feedback.

 

“Burger King took the crown for Oscars 2026 ad domination,” notes Business Insider. “It ran several spots and got host-read callouts throughout the ceremony. Its main ad saw the fast-food chain fess up to missteps and promise changes.”

 

On Tuesday, Burger King’s Instagram included a re-post from The King’s LinkedIn account where his profile photo now includes the #OpenToWork hashtag. 

 

The QSR’s financial problems run much deeper.

 

"Burger King has heavily invested in the Whopper, offering new limited-time-offer variations and basing much of its marketing around the signature sandwich,” according to The Street. 

 

But a new study from Datassential shows that beef prices have climbed much faster than burger prices.

 

Perhaps the fast-food chain hopes having one less salary (the King’s) on its payroll will offset those expenses. 

17406: WPP = White Party Pooper.

 

More About Advertising reported WPP gave up its prized Miramar Beach location at the upcoming Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

 

The White holding company probably partied on the beach last year after being named Holding Company of the Year. In 2026, WPP can expect to get sand kicked in its face.

 

WPP CEO Cindy Rose recently remarked, “I’m amazed at how many buildings we own around the world.” Looks like she’s deciding to reduce buildings and beaches—along with bodies.

 

WPP surrenders prized Cannes beach place

 

By Stephen Foster

 

WPP has given up its prized beach at the Cannes Lions, the core of its festival presence. Last year it won Holding Company of the Year, which doubtless led to party time at the beach although, with things back at London HQ rapidly heading south, this wasn’t necessarily a good look.

 

No word yet on whether new CEO Cindy Rose’s economy drive will result in fewer or even no awards entries. When Publicis canned these pre-lockdown to spend the money on Marcel it was reported as saving €50m. A worrying prospect for new Cannes owner Informa.

 

Taking over the Miramar Beach location is independent agency PMG, which plans an AI-focused space to position itself as a tech leader rather than a conventional agency. PMG founder George Popstefanov says: “Since day one, I’ve forbidden people to use the word ‘agency’ internally. I’ve always thought of us as a technology company that just happens to do marketing.”

 

Cannes is rapidly turning into a version of CES by the sea, dominated by tech companies who already bag most of the yacht places. The last fun one was arguably 2016 with the highlight Johnny Hornby and client News International’s yacht party featuring Take That and Fatboy Slim. The fact that Brexit was announced the next morning took the shine off it for some.

17405: On YABs, YACs, YAPs, YUCK.

 

Advertising Age and PR Newswire spotlighted YABs, YACs, and YAPs—Youth Advisory Boards, Youth Advisory Councils, and Youth Advisory Panels—which are described as follows:

 

Youth advisory panels (YAPs) are groups of Gen Z and Gen Alpha consumers (e.g., SuperHeroes’ 80-member panel) employed by advertising agencies to provide direct, authentic insights for marketing strategies, creative development, and client pitches. These panels help brands connect with younger demographics by providing feedback, producing content, and identifying emerging trends. They are increasingly used to ensure authentic youth engagement, particularly in social media and brand strategy.

 

Based on the images above and below, YABs, YACs, and YAPs appear to be consultants of color.

 

White advertising agencies routinely appoint committees for cultural appropriation and approval, a storied tradition of delegating diversity started by tapping mailroom staff, cafeteria workers, security personnel, custodial services, and elevator attendants.

 

In recent years, White ad agencies have used such schemes to win pitches and prizes.

 

Seems like a slick workaround to conceal diminishing employment opportunities for entry-level youth in Adland.

 

Do YABs, YACs, and YAPs experience forms of Prime Redlining and crumbs compensation?

 

Probably YES.

 

YIPPEE-KI-YAY.

17404: On Pioneering & Profiteering.

 

A previous post noted Omnicom Chairman and CEO John Wren’s honorary title is changing from Pioneer of Diversity to Pioneer of Divestiture.

 

The label switch underscores the devolution of Adland and warrants consideration, criticism, and commentary.

 

For starters, Pioneer of Diversity was always a farce representing performative posturing, pseudo philanthropic propaganda, and heat shields of the past.

 

Pioneer of Divestiture symbolizes a different direction.

 

While Pioneer of Diversity feigned interest in people, Pioneer of Divestiture focuses on profit.

 

Pioneer of Divestiture priorities descend in the following order: 1) shareholders who must see quarterly reports; 2) clients who must see quarterly sales, while providing revenue, and; 3) workforce who must see to delivering products with cost-effective efficiency and/or be replaced by AI.

 

In summation, Pioneer of Divestiture is trailblazing toward Adland Armageddon.