🎃 2025’s top Halloween ads, according to AdAge.

🇨🇦 Re: Canada’s Reagan tariff ad that caused a ruckus.

🤖 Well… the ChatGPT Atlas browser could drain ad budgets by mimicking human clicks.

🛒 Amazon’s “Help Me Decide” AI will assist users in choosing what to buy.

👻 Snapchat makes open-prompt AI lens free for all U.S. users.

🏈 Now high school football can have streaming ads, too.

⏺️ Crocs is livestreaming on TikTok Shop all month long in honor of “Croctober.”

👟 Nike unveils Air Milano Olympics jacket and powered footwear system.

Brands are mistaking participation for presence. Sorry if that hurts.

Trend-jacking can deliver short-term engagement, but it rarely builds long-term cultural influence.

It’s easy to take a meme format, swap in your logo, and hit post. But as feeds fill up with recycled humor, brands lose their distinctiveness.

Gen Z especially sees through the mimicry. They’re looking for authenticity and purpose over another “relatable” brand that tries too hard to belong.

So, how do you move from participation to ownership? You have to know your brand, have a clear voice, and create moments that feel organic, not opportunistic.

Here’s how:

• Know your identity. The basics! Define your brand voice, purpose, and audience role.
• Lead with originality. Use cultural moments as springboards, not scripts.
• Be selective. Quality over frequency. Not every trend deserves your logo.
• Add value. Join only those conversations where you can contribute meaningfully.
• Own your space. Don’t chase relevance. Create it.

Visibility ≠ influence.

Yelp is going all in as an AI-powered engagement hub with 35+ new features.

Yelp Assistant is a a conversational AI that answers user questions using real reviews and photos.

Menu Vision lets diners scan a restaurant menu to instantly see dish images and customer insights, and Yelp Host and Yelp Receptionist use customizable voices to handle calls, reservations, and lead collection automatically.

Now, users can use voice search to ask, “Where’s the best vegan sushi near me?” and Popular Offerings highlights your business’s top-mentioned services and products.

This will hopefully mean fewer missed leads and more real-time engagement.

Uber Australia scored a mega feature from Shania Twain and Australian comedian-musician Tom Cardy for a new campaign.

The film opens with Cardy jamming in an Uber before Twain magically appears beside him for a little duet, reminding us that solving a Wordle, applying lipstick, or nailing a trombone solo just can’t be done behind the wheel.

Let’s go, friends! 🤠