This week on The Daily Carnage Show, Shannon talks:

• The Duolingo social team’s questionable response to “AI-first” backlash
• The state of search after 1 year of Google’s AI Overviews
• Jaguar’s rumored regrets about the worst rebrand of the 2020s
• HBO rebrands… debrands… re-rebrands back to HBO Max
• How The Onion’s new creative agency is a haven for human writers
• Oscar Mayer’s Wiener 500 race, the Pittsburgh Pierogies … and more.

CAMPAIGNS

⚠️ Viewer discretion is advised for this new WNBA campaign by Wieden+Kennedy Portland.

🍔 Uber Eats users can choose from “Heinz Verified” restaurants on the app.

🍕 The Totino’s Pizza Rolls Fridge is kind of iconic.

EXPERIENTIAL

🏀 How the LA Clippers’ new Halo Board is transforming the fan experience.

🍦 Magnum Ice Cream partners with Charlie XCX at Cannes pop-up.

SOCIAL

🧵 Meta is expanding Marketing API support to include ads in Threads.

🥤 This viral Sprite hack hit so right, it became an official flavor.

📊 YouTube has its own podcast charts now.

BY THE NUMBERS

📖 Marketers lean into storytelling over branded content to combat ad fatigue.

👎 Tesla’s Cybertruck is officially a flop.

👗 Gen Z is turning to ChatGPT for outfit advice.

Can you solve this puzzle? 🌊

Monday:  Burning through $5K and seeing barely any clicks? Rising ad costs, shifting algorithms, saturated platforms… it’s rough out here. To make your paid social spend truly profitable, focus on these three core areas.

Tuesday: As AI-driven tools like ChatGPT become go-to sources for information, the objective becomes being seen, cited, and surfaced in large language model (LLM) outputs. If OpenAI can’t see your content, it can’t cite or include it in responses. Here’s a quick checklist to prepare your site for AI visibility.

Wednesday: The biggest problem in content today isn’t a lack of substance. It’s sameness. So, how do you keep readers awake? Here are 8 ways to make content interesting.

Thursday: Warner Bros. Discovery’s decision to bring back the HBO name after stripping it from its streaming service in favor of the simplified “Max” is a rare reversal. After the initial rebrand, brand equity was diluted, consumer recognition dropped, and the share price tumbled 15% this year. Here are four lessons for navigating rebrands.

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Answer: Whistles.

In the 1950s, you might have found a Wiener Whistle in your pack of Oscar Mayer hot dogs. But today, you’ll need to flag down a Wienermobile to get your hands on one.