Beyoncé redefines the art of the tease with Verizon’s Super Bowl ad
What does it mean to dominate a moment? For the 2024 Super Bowl, Beyoncé not only starred in Verizon’s glitzy commercial, but also turned it into a cultural megaphone for a much bigger announcement: her new album. The ad itself—a playful nod to Beyoncé’s unmatched ability to “break the internet”—was clever and entertaining. But it was the viral exclamation point at the end that mattered most: a few short words dropped in Beyoncé fashion, with a tease that shook the masses, both audience and marketers alike.
This wasn’t just another product-meets-pop-star campaign, it was marketing alchemy. We’ve seen plenty of halftime ads packed with celebrities, humor, or nostalgia in the past decade, but few have felt like events. Beyoncé created urgency, conversation, and anticipation all at once. This is what happens when storytelling meets strategy. This is what media moments are made of, and Verizon expertly combined advertisement with celebrity awe; it was about her moment and the ecosystem she and Verizon could build around it.
The moment set a blueprint for how cultural icons can activate at scale. In 2024, this wasn’t just about being “there”— it was about creating ripples that last far beyond a Sunday night. For anyone taking notes: product marketing taps into and aligns with the moment it creates. Beyoncé didn’t just advertise; she made a statement, teased a movement, and held the world’s attention in her hand. Now that is how you say, “world stop – carry on!” in 2024.
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Inside ‘Wicked’s’ marketing blitz
Although Wicked officially premiered in November 2024, the film’s marketing campaign was a masterclass in early buzz-building and sustained momentum throughout the year. It kicked off with the trailer debuting at the 2024 Super Bowl in February and then was quickly followed by co-stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande jointly presenting awards for Best Original Song and Best Original Score at the Oscars the following month. The duo surprised Met Gala attendees with a duet in May and then took their campaign global by donning their characters’ signature green and pink colors at the Summer Olympics. Behind the scenes, Universal’s marketing team orchestrated hundreds of brand collaborations, ranging from an Emerald City Lego set to Elphaba’s Cold Brew at Starbucks, to ensure Wicked was an inescapable part of consumers’ lives this year.
The Wicked campaign is a textbook example of how early and consistent messaging can build excitement without crossing the line into oversaturation. Universal chief marketing officer Michael Moses described his marketing goal with Wicked as being “just short of obnoxious.” By rolling out moments strategically—Oscars, Met Gala, Olympics—the campaign avoided fatigue while keeping the film top of mind for consumers.
However, even the best marketing strategy can’t succeed without a strong product. With a 95% audience approval rating on the Popcornmeter, Wicked proved that all the hype was justified. For marketers, the lesson is clear: start early, go big, but make sure the substance lives up to the spectacle.
Written by: Leigh-Anne Borkowski
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Has Spotify Wrapped run its course?
For years, Spotify Wrapped has been a cultural moment, flooding social media with neon-colored slides of users’ most-played tracks and artists. Over the past few years, we’ve even seen brands jump on the moment by creating their own versions, relating to their industries (Palo Alto Networks, Juniper Networks).
But in 2024, the magic seemed to fade for many. What was once a fun, data-driven year-in-review now feels like a brand exercise trying too hard to stay trendy. This year’s Wrapped leaned heavily on generative AI to craft personas and quirky narratives, but many users found the results generic or even cringeworthy. The aesthetic left something to be desired, with garish visuals and missing metrics from previous years, such as top genres or listening hours, leaving folks frustrated. It seems Spotify tried to evolve Wrapped into something more cutting-edge, but in doing so, lost sight of what made it special: the music itself.
The backlash begs the question—has Spotify Wrapped overstayed its welcome? The annual feature once stood out for its simplicity, offering listeners an authentic look at their listening habits without unnecessary frills. But as Wrapped becomes more of a spectacle, it risks alienating users who appreciated its straightforward charm. The reliance on AI-generated content this year highlights a growing tension between creativity and connection. Instead of enhancing the experience, these changes made Wrapped feel impersonal, as though it was designed for virality rather than for the user. Spotify may need to rethink its approach before the novelty of Wrapped wears off completely and the masses tune out for good.
Consumers call AI-generated video ads annoying, confusing, per NIQ
Following a trend this year in which holiday ads are being developed by AI, research conducted by NIQ found a consensus among consumers – we don’t like it. Their research found that consumers see AI-generated ads as low quality, boring, and confusing. Despite rapid investment in AI within the marketing space, it doesn’t seem to be paying off for consumers who are not being given a positive or lasting impression of the brands using AI – the experience is being described as having an “uncanny valley” effect on viewers.
This research underscores the belief held by most regarding AI advancement – it should be used to augment human creativity and ideas rather than taking its place completely. Especially in a high visibility moment like the holidays, leaving advertisements largely in the hands of AI is a risk that has clearly not paid off for many notable brands like Coca-Cola and Toys R Us.
Investment in AI is a positive step, and it opens countless doors in our industry to explore the bounds of creativity and innovation. However, just because we have it, doesn’t mean we should use it haphazardly. We can think of this as an experiment, a failed one at that, about how overtly AI can be used to save costs and drive scale for creative fields. Let this be a lesson for us all to embrace the legacy of human creativity in marketing, some of which has to be manual, and use the next year to ideate on how AI can simply offer improvements rather than replacement.
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