JLo’s alcohol venture rubs fans the wrong way

Welcome to the second day of a new work week. The brands are at it again, so let’s see what’s going on in the world of marketing.

Sober JLo Brings the ABV—for Consumers

Another celebrity has launched an alcoholic cocktail line as a new revenue stream. Jennifer Lopez created a line of three Italian-inspired spritzer flavors, Paloma Rosa, Bella Berry and L'Orange, called Delola. JLo’s value proposition for the line is that the drinks are “made with natural botanicals, are gluten free and lower calorie than traditional cocktails.” Plus, it’s brought to you by Jenny from the Block.

But JLo is facing an online backlash for it. Why? Because she doesn’t drink alcohol. In 2016, she told Us Weekly, “I don’t drink or smoke or have caffeine. That really wrecks your skin as you get older.” Consumers wonder why she’d sell a product she doesn’t use herself. To complicate the situation further, her husband, Ben Affleck, is in recovery and consumers find her launching an alcoholic beverage disrespectful to his sobriety journey.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: today’s consumers are savvy and know a cash grab when they see one. On top of this, they want to buy from brands with values—values that they practice and stand by.

Customers aren’t listening to your audio ads by their lonesome

Spotify Advertising and Magna’s Media Trials research joined forces to helm a study entitled “The Togetherness Effect: Why Brands Should Be Paying Attention to Co-Listening.” According to their findings, 74% of podcast listeners actually “co-listen” or gather a group of friends to experience a podcast episode together. This dynamic changes the way in which individuals hear and process the content—and any audio ads run with it.

In response, brands are beginning to tailor their audio ads to target these “co-listeners.” The study’s data indicates brands looking to speak to co-listeners should “target on connected devices like gaming consoles, TVs, and speakers” and “common downtimes such as lunch, commute times, and night.” Perhaps most importantly, storytelling ads performed better in these instances than product-focused advertisements.

By crafting audio ads specifically for groups to experience together and discuss, marketers have a higher chance of staying in the consumer consciousness. But these co-listening groups don’t want to feel like their hangout time was interrupted by someone trying to sell them something. Lean into storytelling and give these groups an experience to share.

Around the Web

• Twitter now disables likes, replies, and retweets when a tweet links to Substack.

• The CMO of The North Face shares her strategies for the brand—including looking at macrotrends.

• Amazon Prime Video’s Marvelous Mrs. Maisel takes over Fifth Avenue to promote the show’s final season.

• The fallout from the Silicon Valley Bank fiasco is finally hitting the ads industry.

• Ad-supported media commanded less time in 2022 than it did in 2017.

Just Can’t Get Enough

Weird Spotify playlists. Because some people just want to make strangers laugh—or have very eccentric tastes.

• Here’s the Twitter feed.

• Or you can scope the subreddit.

• You may even want to make a drinking game with JLo’s spritzers out of the “Russian Roulette” trend.

Do you feel your brand is showcasing its values and standing behind them? How are you creating an authentic experience for your consumers? Reply and let us know!

Thanks for joining us, and we’ll see you Thursday!