Reddit, reconsidered
Wisdom 💡: Reddit may have spent years scaring PR pros away, but AI just turned the internet’s favorite chaos forum into a serious reputation channel. As ChatGPT and Google increasingly pull answers from Reddit threads, companies that ignore the platform risk disappearing from the conversations shaping consumer decisions. The catch is that Reddit punishes anything that smells too much like marketing, meaning authenticity and actual expertise matter more than polished messaging. The brands winning here are not the loudest, they’re the ones quietly showing up where the AI is learning and the people are already talking.
Taste the rainbow
Wit 😁: Skittles is once again proving that no brand weaponizes weird quite like they do. To launch its new Gummies line, the candy maker unleashed a cast of deeply unsettling soft creatures, including a man-kangaroo hybrid and a balloon dog with hygiene issues, all in the name of highlighting the product’s squishiness. The campaign doubles down on the brand’s signature formula of mixing absurdity with just enough discomfort to make people unable to look away. While everyone else is chasing relevance, Skittles keeps winning by staying unapologetically, gloriously strange.
Frankly fast
Wit 😁: Apparently, the road to brand relevance is paved with giant hot dogs. Oscar Mayer’s annual Wienie 500 turns the Indianapolis Motor Speedway into a full-blown wiener showdown, complete with racing Wienermobiles, regional “hotdoggers” and a coveted Borg-Wiener Trophy. With millions tuning in and fans voting on contenders like Corn Dog and Slaw Dog, the stunt transforms a century-old racing tradition into branded entertainment people genuinely want to watch. Oscar Mayer’s genius is understanding that when a brand fully commits to the bit, consumers will happily ketchup.
Pepper Pick
With the 2026 midterms approaching and stakeholder expectations rising, join Peppercomm’s fireside chat on 6/9 featuring leading experts from Dartmouth, NYU and UNC for a timely conversation on how brands can navigate political uncertainty, protect reputation and communicate with clarity when the pressure is on.
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