The Daily Carnage

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

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Vegas’ Hottest New Social Club

Game nights are back on.

Uno is launching a new social club campaign this July at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.

The pop-up suite, decked out in Uno’s iconic color palette, will feature themed decor, tournament-style play, and exclusive variations like Uno Show ’Em No Mercy. Fans can win a stay by posting TikToks using a custom Uno Reverse Card filter.

This Vegas activation kicks off a nationwide series of Uno-themed pop-ups at bars and venues, complete with custom drinks, photo ops, and live events. Wild!

A Race to Relish

Oscar Mayer is revving up six of its iconic Wienermobiles on the oval ahead of the Indianapolis 500 with the debut of the “Wienie 500″ this Friday.

Each Wienermobile will represent a different U.S. regional hot dog, from the Chi Dog (Midwest) to the Sonoran Dog (Southwest). It’s the first time in over a decade that all six hot-dog-shaped vehicles have gathered in one place.

The event is part of Oscar Mayer’s partnership with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the brand has been named the Official Hot Dog of the Indy 500.

Expect custom racing suits, a winner’s trophy in the “Wiener’s Circle,” and a condiment spray celebration, whatever that is.

Stream it on the Fox Sports app and @INDYCARonFOX.

Sick & Tired

Since 2021, Theraflu has advocated that rest during illness should be a right, not a privilege.

Led by brand director Yasmin Gonzales M., the “Right to Rest & Recover” campaign has combined financial support, policy advocacy, and cultural storytelling to address a systemic gap: nearly 27 million U.S. workers lack paid sick time.

What began as a modest $150,000 fund to cover unpaid sick days has grown into a nearly $1 million initiative. Theraflu has partnered with advocacy organizations like A Better Balance and influential voices like Reshma Saujani to amplify the call for change, especially on behalf of working mothers and caregivers.

The campaign also uses creative content—like the “Sick Talk” video series and Spanish-language outreach with journalist Mariana Atencio—to spark conversation and reduce stigma around taking sick leave.

Pucker Up

German bidet brand Bidetlity has launched a visceral campaign with JOAN Berlin that finally answers the question:

How do you visually represent the benefits of a bidet?

With tight close-ups of pursed human lips paired with the tagline “So Clean You Can Kiss It,” of course.

The campaign hits the streets of Berlin and Hamburg with vibrant OOH placements, especially near kink-friendly hotspots, and is sure to get people talking on social.

“This isn’t just about a product,” said Corinna Jaensch, Head of Brand at Bidetlity. “It’s about confronting shame and shifting the culture.”

It’s a Love Story

A lot of Gen Z-ers would rather scroll BookTok for romance fiction than bother with a dating app IRL.

So, Hinge took a page out of their book.

The dating app has launched its second installment of its unique “No Ordinary Love” campaign.

Each week, Hinge publishes a real love story on Substack, featuring real Hinge users and written by contemporary authors like Hunter Harriz and Tomasz Jedrowski.

A limited-edition hardcover anthology of the campaign will be distributed to book clubs in New York and London, with OOH placements and creator partnerships rounding out the push.

Post-Mother’s Day Glow Up

Bubly is flipping the script on the usual Mother’s Day letdowns with its new campaign, The Bubly Gift Glow Up Shop.

The online shop launched the day after Mother’s Day and gives 100 moms a day the chance to treat themselves to gifts they actually want, like concert tickets, weekend getaways, and of course, Bubly sparkling water.

Backed by influencer moms like Shawn Johnson and Kristen Knutson, the campaign pokes fun at classic fails like burnt toast in bed and glitter bomb gifts.

Way to own the week after a holiday, Bubly.

Subway Has Meatballs

Got news? Sponsor this spot.

Subway hijacked the buzz around IKEA’s new Oxford Street flagship with a stunt crafted by Saatchi & Saatchi, Fabric, and Taylor Herring.

Playing off IKEA’s iconic flat-pack aesthetic, the campaign served up IKEA-style vouchers offering free 6” Meatbäll Marinara Subs with “assembly instructions.”

Brand reps handed them out right outside IKEA, positioning Subway as the one with “the biggest balls on Oxford Street.”

That’s the Allen key to success.

Sorry.

Power Play

After some Carnies shared Swedish EV maker Polestar’s clever ads in our Facebook group, we decided to pop the hood and see what they’ve got going on.

Beyond the “No Conquering Mars” tagline, which is a powerful anti-Tesla differentiator that appears across all of their branding, Polestar is now poaching Tesla consumers directly.

Since February, the brand has been offering discounts of up to $20,000 to Tesla owners in the United States who lease its Polestar 3 model.

In fact, according to Polestar, the campaign is responsible for nearly half of its model 3 sales in the U.S. sales in Q1.

Amid tariff threats and EV demand slowdown, it’s the perfect time to be aggressive with a campaign like “Tesla Conquest Offer.”

AI for Lunch

Sigh. You can now use AI to write lunchbox notes for your kids, courtesy of Welch’s Fruit Snacks.

The brand is launching the Lunchbox Notes Translator, developed by Makers with AI, to transform candid sentiments like “you make me tired” into more uplifting lunchbox notes, like “I love how independent you are.”

It’s medium funny and admittedly timely, but when we input “Please don’t use ChatGPT to cheat on your homework,” it returned:

“Your brain is the real magic—let it solve the puzzle before you ask for help!”

Isn’t AI supposed to free us up to have more energy for things like… writing our kids love notes?