“Clean girl is out. Mob wife is in.”

That’s according to TikToker Kayla Trivieri, who has racked up more than 200k likes on her video about the aesthetic gaining traction online and in the media.

But while some people are sharing how-tos and expressing excitement around channeling their inner Carmela Soprano with animal prints and gold jewelry, others have wondered whether HBO or its streaming service, Max, could be behind the trend, given that the 25th anniversary of The Sopranos was on Jan. 10, 1999.

Jason Mulderig, SVP of brand marketing and direct to consumer at Warner Bros. Discovery, said the aesthetic trend is something Max has been looking at, “and we certainly appreciate it.” Despite the speculation, the streamer did not initiate the trend—but it is looking to embrace it regardless.

“As we’ve raised [The Sopranos] in the cultural conversation over the last [few] weeks, we have started to see a lot more creators create their own content,”” he said. “If you provide the right spark and the right tinder, it takes on a life of its own, and that’s really what we were trying to do.”

While they may not have started the trend, Max and HBO are leaning into the mob wife life a little bit as part of their wider promotional efforts: Last week, HBO posted on X about the “mob girlfriend” aesthetic, including a photo collage that features some of Adriana La Cerva’s most memorable looks from the iconic series.

Mulderig said Max is looking to continue participating in the mob wife trend, “even if it’s just championing what creators have already made,” as the 25th anniversary campaign continues through the end of the month.

Continue reading here.—KH

It’s been anything but a light year for America’s second-best-selling beer.

In what seems to be an attempt at a comeback, Anheuser-Busch will be running a 60-second Bud Light commercial in this year’s Super Bowl. The brand faced conservative backlash in 2023 for its campaign with transgender creator Dylan Mulvaney, which contributed to sinking sales. In addition to losing its place as America’s No. 1-selling beer to Modelo, the brand also lost its first female VP of marketing, Alissa Heinerscheid, as a result of extended boycotts.

A teaser for this year’s ad, which shows a man in a Peyton Manning Broncos jersey recognizing a mustachioed man in sunglasses to the tune of Steppenwolf’s “Magic Carpet Ride,” indicates a return to the more male-focused image that Heinerscheid once said she was trying to shed. (Her comments added fuel to the flames when boycotters were smashing beer cans on the ground and firing a gun at cases of Bud Light.)

• The overall look of the ad is vastly different from last year’s more subtle “Hold” commercial with Miles and Keleigh Teller, which was created under Heinerscheid’s leadership as part of a “new era” for the brand, and had been well-received.
• In that minute-long ad, the Tellers pass the time dancing to music from a customer service line with Bud Lights in hand.

Kyle Norrington, chief commercial officer at Anheuser-Busch, told the Wall Street Journal that this year’s ad will “dial up the humor and introduce a new brand character.” It will continue to push its “Easy to Drink, Easy to Enjoy” tagline that appeared in last year’s Super Bowl ad. Anomaly, which also worked on last year’s ad, is the agency behind the scenes.

In addition to Bud Light, Anheuser-Busch will be running a 60-second ad for Michelob Ultra with Lionel Messi, as well as a 30-second ad for Budweiser, during this year’s game.—KH

Each week, we spotlight Marketing Brew readers in our Coworking series. If you’d like to be featured, introduce yourself here.

Becky Owen is the global chief marketing officer of Billion Dollar Boy. Before that, she held creator marketing and branded content roles at Meta and the Walt Disney Company.

What’s your favorite ad campaign? I really enjoyed the Maybelline mascara-tube campaign from last year, where eyelashes on trains and buses can be seen getting mascara reapplied to them as they travel along their routes. The concept was playful and surprising, the execution was brilliant, and most of all, I loved hearing the behind-the-scenes story on how the campaign came about. A marketing manager at Maybelline took to TikTok to describe the fun, impulsive idea that sparked the campaign and how she leaned into true creativity following CGI inspiration she saw online. I thought the result was charming and simple, yet creative, and found it to be an example of why you don’t always have to overthink in order to inspire community.

One thing we can’t guess from your LinkedIn profile: I was a drama teacher in Birmingham for four years, teaching students ages four to 18. I taught elocution and acting—I often joke that I made my first living teaching kids how not to sound “Brummie,” though I personally find it a really charming accent. It was the most rewarding job I’ve ever had: teaching students from different backgrounds, capacities, and abilities, and watching them shine through the experience of being onstage.

What’s one marketing-related podcast/social account/series you’d recommend? I gather a lot of marketing insight from different podcasts that I discover on TikTok—the algorithm is constantly offering up new thought leaders for me. But our very own senior marketing director hosts an incredible podcast called House of Content alongside two other hosts who have diverse and extensive marketing backgrounds. It’s a great place to get the scoop on trending topics and updates within the creator economy.

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Mergers and acquisitions, company partnerships, and more.

• TelevisaUnivision and marketing agency Known are partnering on an effort to connect brands with Hispanic audiences.
• Amazon canceled its planned acquisition of iRobot, the maker of Roomba vacuums, following regulatory pushback.
• Flutter, the parent company of FanDuel, listed on the NYSE Monday as the sports-betting space continues to heat up.