On Brand Ep. 5: Go Viral… in Ten Months

In this week’s On Brand breakdown, Captain Morgan’s marketing team throws down one of the toughest challenges yet: make a Super Bowl campaign that will go viral nearly a year in advance. Ethan and Laura dive into why this kind of brief sets creatives up for chaos, and how understanding your audience—what they drink, where they watch, and how they connect—makes all the difference.

They also break down brand science lessons around distinctiveness, consistency, and creative stretch:

• Why Captain Morgan’s mustache might not be as iconic as they think (but could be)
• How viral marketing myths still haunt brand teams
• The psychology of “big ideas” that expand across channels and culture
• And what makes a campaign truly sticky—not just loud.

Main Topics Covered:

• Why “make it viral” is a creative nightmare
• How research (or lack of it) shapes good briefs
• The reality of Gen Z drinking habits and media behavior
• Understanding brand assets: what’s truly distinctive vs. what’s wishful thinking
• How the best ideas grow “legs” and evolve across touchpoints
• Lessons from Captain Morgan, Diageo, and KFC on risk, timing, and creativity

Premium Stickiness Award: “Captain… Morgan.”

A simple, shoutable call-and-response that anyone can play—fun, familiar, and flexible. Sometimes the stickiest ideas are the ones you already know how to do.

Listen for a crash course in briefs, branding, and the beautiful disaster of trying to go viral on purpose. Subscribe to Cover Brand wherever you get your podcasts, and keep following the On Brand mini-series as we turn marketing chaos into brand science clarity.

Descript used to create drafts and then edited with human eyes, ears and hands. Produced by BiCurean.com

#TeamFreeze #TeamMustache

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