Pamela Anderson is a master class on rebranding

WRITING IT TOGETHER // This letter is 20% about IP today. A new blockchain platform, Incention, is making IP communal. Fan fiction is a huge industry, but hard to monetize. Now, creators can contribute to a franchise and get paid. The writer-director of Blade, David S Goyer is using it to launch a new sci-fi concept “Emergence,” about a universe “w... See more

PAM PRIME // Pamela Anderson is giving a master class on repositioning. Being cast by Jacquemus. Check. An interview with the mother of reinvention, Martha Stewart (with stunning photography). Check. A great rebrand shouldn’t be predictable. But it should feel foretold. She’s nailing it.

OH MY SHOPMY -> The Information // ShopMy, the affiliate link site (with great customer service) raised $77.5M and is now valued at $410M—wow. And no doubt Substack has helped. Ana Andjelicsaid it best: “The new rule of retail (and something surprisingly obvious): good quality at accessible price sells, powered by the new gatekeepers, affili... See more

NO PAUSING // Now we’re at 20% IP, 20% perimenopause. Canyon Ranch is launching M/Power (wow, the names), a peri/menopause retreat. 3-nights and $7K later, 15 people will get “blood work, hormonal panels, and body composition scans” and daily group sessions covering sex, stress, and sleep. Book me in and I’ll report back.

NOT ENTRY LEVEL // Many successful businesses have been built on college-town economies. So when Emily Sundberg pointed to a new group, Study Hotels, catering to parents wanting “to stay somewhere nicer than traditional ‘college town’ spots” it felt smart. The website needs love, though, dear lord.

Customer brand trips > Influencer brand trips.

HEAVY STUFF // Hims & Hers is all gloom. Maybe it’s the impending ban on GLP-1 dupes? This ad is dark. The soundtrack says it all. It’s quite the opposite of their ‘approachable’ brand. Healthcare branding is getting more daring but ‘grim, docuseries-trailer’ is not the right direction.

SOBER SPORT // Ever since the World Cup went sober, non-alc and sports have been having a moment. Athletic Brewing is now the official non-alc beer sponsor for Arsenal. Which, at a glance, feels like nothing. But 2 years ago, this would have been unheard of, so it’s well worth noting.

SILVER BOWL // Silvers are all over the Super Bowl. It’s only February and already my predictions are coming true. Hellmanns cast Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal. Uber Eats paired Charlie XCX with Martha Stewart (Martha is busy!). And Willem Dafoe and Catharine O’Hara teamed up for Michelob ULTRA. The theme? Silvers are funny, sexy, cheeky, sporty, spic... See more