The Daily Carnage

The savvy marketer's hub for industry news, insights, resources, and culture.

Today’s Issue

Is Rainbow Capitalism Dead? 🌈

Brands scale back support.

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Mex Gala

For Cinco de Mayo, Hornitos hosted its own “Mex Gala.”

The experiential brand event, held in NYC, reimagined the exclusivity of that other gala into something a little more inclusive and flavorful.

It even featured an “Open Carpet” concept, where attendees participated instead of just being spectators.

Guests also got to engage directly with the brand through live DJ performances and curated Mexican cocktail experiences.

Soft The Rainbow

Chat, another surreal Skittles ad just dropped.

Skittles was unhinged before anyone was unhinged, and they’re leaning into the unsettling humor in a new campaign to support their Gummies product, highlighting… softness.

There are teens inside a human-kangaroo pouch, a man receiving a jellyfish massage, et cetera, and it’s all distinctly Skittles.

Notably, they’ve opted for practical effects like real puppetry, prosthetics, and physical sets, and all that realism draws the absurdity into stark relief.

Unpackaged Goods

IKEA is “repackaging” cereal and candy brands into clean, aesthetically pleasing containers in a new campaign called “Unpackaged Goods.”

Created by Rethink, it has launched on OOH placements and platforms like TikTok and Pinterest, using playful taglines like “Organize the rainbow” with Skittles.

Rather than focusing on product features, IKEA demonstrates real-life use, showing how its containers align with existing consumer behavior.

It’s a great example of tapping into a trend audiences already understand to boost cultural relevance.

Come Back to Earth

For Earth Day yesterday, Miracle-Gro released 24 Instagram posts—one every hour—each acting as a prompt to re-engage with the physical world.

The posts artfully juxtaposed tech with nature (like plants interacting with devices) to emphasize gardening as a sensory escape from digital burnout.

And no AI was used to create the images.

Whopper of a Burger

Burger King UK launched “Whopper of a Burger” around major UK marathons to position the Whopper as the ultimate post-race indulgence.

But instead of polished athletes, they went for real marathon runners, with their medals still on, wrapped in foil blankets, candidly hungry and relieved.

The creative even mirrors race culture, with posters displaying “finish times” for eating a burger.

Finishers could claim a free Whopper at central London locations, and “pacemakers” guided runners to a symbolic “Mile 27” at Burger King.

Chili’s Rests Their Case

Chili’s stays harassing fast-food chains about shrinkflation.

Their latest campaign turns the competition into a literal courtroom drama.

In a New York pop-up called the “food court” (lol), the brand stages a mock trial where competitors like McDonald’s are put “on trial” for poor value, while customers act as jurors.

And yeah, they placed the pop-up directly next to a McD’s.

Outervention

Murphy’s Naturals is staging an outervention.

The plant-based bug repellent brand worked with Fitzco to get people to put down their phones and go outside… with a social-first effort on TikTok and Meta.

“The Outerventionist,” a self-aware mascot who interrupts users mid-scroll to call out their behavior, breaks the fourth wall and encourages people to trade “screen time for green time.”

ROACHCOAT

So, last May, a Boston Celtics reporter called the New York Knicks “cockroaches.”

The rivals met again on April 9, and to mark the moment, Uncommon Creative Studio made an absolute abomination.

ROACHCOAT is a transparent puffer jacket filled with live New York cockroaches.

With the tagline “You can’t kill what won’t quit,” the campaign reclaims the insult to mean relentless and unbreakable.

Sticks and stones, baby. We love a conceptual piece!

Woman of The House

The “Woman of the House” campaign by L’Oréal Paris, created with FP7 McCann, reframes the traditional label of “housewife” (sit bait) into a title of pride, leadership, and authority (Sit Al Bait).

By adding just two letters (“al”), the campaign transforms a limiting term into one that recognizes women as decision-makers and leaders within and without the home.

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