In this episode of The Owlgorithm, JC Perez and David Verjano break down the massive shift from global corporate "vibe" to hyper-local subcultures. We’re diving into why McDonald’s is leaning into the "McMullet" and how the most successful brands in 2026 are trading vanity metrics for high-utility entertainment.

On this week’s agenda:

On this week’s agenda:

🎯 CREATIVE CAMPAIGNS

• The McMullet: Why McDonald’s New Zealand is winning with hyperlocal subcultures.
• LinkedIn x Fernando Mendoza: Proof that your best brand story is already in your community.
• Claire’s ASMR: How to meet Gen Alpha where they live (hint: it’s the format, not just the platform).
• IKEA Sweden’s FRAKTA: The "Point-Of-You" OOH strategy for building distinctive assets.
• Dropbox x Fred again..: Why the "after-experience" is the most overlooked part of your funnel.

🎭 REVIVING A LATIN LEGEND

• We pull back the curtain on the Alvarez Guedes Tribute in Miami. We break down the creative direction, brand identity, and paid media strategy behind turning a comedic cabaret legend into a Vegas-style immersive experience.

🧠 TRIVIA TIME

• How well do you know your marketing history? We test the room on the acronyms and brand moments every creative should know.
• 
  

📱 THE EVOLUTION OF SOCIAL

• Where is social media actually headed? We dig into the tectonic shifts changing how brands show up and stay connected.

Connect with the hosts:

🌐 Cultura Creative Co:

JC Perez – Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Cultura. Systems guy. Pipeline master. Makes ideas scalable and revenue real.

➡️https://www.instagram.com/livinwithjc/

David Verjano – Head of Marketing & Creatives. Storytelling architect. The voice behind brands that actually move people.

➡️https://www.instagram.com/davidjverjano/

📸 Follow on Instagram: @culturacreativeco

Love the breakdown? Rate us 5 stars on Spotify and let us know: Is the "McMullet" a marketing win or a cultural fumble? 👇

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This week on The Owlgorithm, JC Perez and David Verjano are breaking down a massive week in branding and business. From Tostitos ditching real-world photography for bold illustrations to the return of BIC’s most iconic slogan, we’re looking at the strategies winning the scroll in 2026.

Inside this episode:

• Brand Reviews: Why Tostitos went illustrated and why ESPN’s new look is built for the "multi-screen" era.
• State of AI: Ideogram’s huge text update and how Pixa is scaling Claude into a creative powerhouse.
• CPG Moves: Unilever buys Grüns, Proda launches at Sprouts, and the current state of Men’s CPG.
• Creative Revivals: Is the 70s vibe the secret to 2026 success? We talk BIC and Pringles.
• April Fools' Recap: The brands that actually made us laugh (and the ones that missed the mark).

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In this episode of The Owlgorithm, JC Perez and David Verjano pull back the curtain on the biggest "vibe shift" in 2026 branding: The Anti-Campaign. We’re moving away from high-gloss production and leaning into the raw, messy reality of consumer life.

We kick things off with McDonald’s "Camera Rolls"—a brilliant "anti-advertising" play that proves your customer's blurry, accidental photos are more powerful than a million-dollar food stylist.

On this week’s agenda:

• McDonald’s Camera Rolls: Why the "perfect" ad is a red flag in 2026.
• Tennessee Titans Brand Reset: How a legacy sports franchise navigates a full identity pivot without losing its soul.
• The Semrush Evolution: Why the world’s biggest SEO tool is rebranding as a "Discovery Platform" (and what that means for your search strategy).
• Perplexity Computer: Is AI-first hardware the next major brand interface, or just another tech hurdle?
• The "Un-Campaign" Trend: Why the most successful marketing today doesn't feel like marketing at all.

📍 Episode Chapters

00:00 – Intro: The Rise of the "Anti-Campaign" in 2026

04:50 – McDonald’s "Camera Rolls": Why messy is the new perfect

13:10 – Authenticity vs. Production: Breaking the 4th wall

20:45 – Tennessee Titans Brand Reset: Modernizing a legacy identity

31:20 – Semrush Evolves: From SEO tool to Discovery Platform

42:05 – Perplexity Computer: Is AI-first hardware the future?

51:30 – The "Un-Campaign" Trend: Marketing that doesn't feel like ads

01:02:15 – Q&A: Keeping your brand human in a digital-first world

01:10:45 – Final Thoughts: One strategy to humanize your brand today

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In this episode of The Owlgorithm, JC Perez and David Verjano dive deep into the world of Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) following one of the year's biggest industry events: Expo West 2026.

The natural products industry is undergoing a massive shift. We’re moving away from venture-backed hyper-growth and toward sustainable, science-forward brand systems. We’re cutting through the "mushroom-everything" noise to discuss what’s actually gaining traction on the retail shelf.

On this week’s agenda:

• Expo West 2026 Recap: The signals vs. the noise.
• Functional 2.0: Why hydration and brain health are the new industry gold rush.
• Brand Evolutions: Analyzing the recent CPG rebrands that hit the mark—and the ones that missed.
• The Agency Perspective: A look inside Cultura Creative at how we’re building brand systems and solving high-level creative challenges for our clients right now.

The Owlgorithm is a live, weekly conversation about the intersection of brand, business, and creativity. Whether you're a founder, a creative director, or a brand architect, this is your playbook for staying ahead of the curve.

#ExpoWest2026 #CPGTrends #BrandStrategy #TheOwlgorithm #CulturaCreative #ConsumerPackagedGoods #MarketingTrends2026 #CreativeDirection

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We are talking Olympic ads and how brands are approaching the biggest global stage in sports. Who showed up with strategy and who just showed up.

We dig into the latest sports rebrand and what it tells us about where team identity and culture are headed. What works. What feels forced. What actually builds loyalty.

We unpack the current CPG trends shaping shelf space, attention, and consumer behavior. What is signal and what is noise.

And we take you inside our recent agency work. What we are building, how we are thinking, and where we see opportunity right now.

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In this episode, Cultura Creative partners David Verjano and JC Perez unpack three shifts shaping brand and culture right now.

Anti-resolution marketing and why brands are rejecting traditional New Year messaging in favor of more human, realistic positioning.

Super Bowl ad spoilers and what early reveals, leaks, and social-first rollouts say about how the biggest advertising moment of the year has changed.

Third and fourth spaces and how brands are moving beyond digital feeds to create real-world and hybrid community experiences.

We will also open the floor for live questions and discussion around branding, culture, and creative strategy.

Tune in live on the Cultura Talks YouTube channel where brand, culture, and creativity intersect.

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In this episode of The Owlgorithm, Cultura Creative partners David Verjano and JC Perez break down:

🧠 Health Trends from a Business Lens — supplements, longevity, mental health, biohacking, and where brands are winning (or missing).

📈 The Marketing of Wellness — how health brands are positioning trust, science, community, and lifestyle.

💊 What’s Becoming a Commodity vs a Brand — where differentiation actually lives now.

🔮 2026 Predictions — what we expect to see next in health, fitness, food, tech, and consumer behavior.

💬 Open Floor Q&A — live questions and discussion.

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In today’s episode, Cultura Creative partners David Verjano and JC Perez unpack:

🎯 Marty Supreme’s Marketing Playbook — how hype, positioning, and cultural storytelling drove attention

📰 CNBC’s Rebrand — what changed, why now, and what it says about legacy media adapting

🔥 The Best & Worst Brand Moves of 2025 — standout wins, costly misses, and the patterns behind them

🔮 A Look Ahead to 2026 — emerging trends in branding, content, tech, and creativity worth watching

Plus, we open the floor for live Q&A and real-time discussion.

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Here’s what we’re diving into:

🛍️ Shopify’s Black Friday dominance — massive numbers, shifting consumer behavior, and what this means for brands heading into 2026.

🎄 Holiday Ads 2025 — the best, the worst, and why brands keep treating December like the Super Bowl of emotional storytelling.

🤖 OpenAI testing ads? — what this means for creators, brands, and the future of AI-powered discovery.

🎧 Spotify Wrapped 2025 — the design, the data, the cultural chokehold, and how brands capitalize on Wrapped week.

💬 Open Floor Q&A — your questions, our takes.

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💥 PepsiCo’s Rebrand — what changed, why they did it, and how legacy brands can reinvent themselves without losing their soul.

🏟️ Sports Brand Moneyball — new era of team partnerships, merch strategy, creator collabs, and why sports branding is operating like fashion labels now.

Plus, more culture-forward creative stories worth your attention:

🎨 Mamdani’s Campaign Identity — the political brand refresh that shattered traditional campaign design norms.

🤖 AI Ads & Creative Risks — from Coca-Cola’s glitchy AI holiday spot to the rise of machine-assisted storytelling.

💬 Open Floor Q&A — your questions, our takes.

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🦉We’re diving into:

🪦The Death of Search → how AI is killing SEO and birthing a new era of discovery-driven content.

🏀Sports Branding & Merch → the creative strategies turning teams into lifestyle brands.

👻Gushers Horror Film → a perfect case study in nostalgia marketing done weird and right.

🧟‍♀️Blumhouse’s Scary-Good Formula → lessons from the masters of low-budget, high-return storytelling.

Plus, we close with Q&A and live feedback on projects you suggest.

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▪️Crisis Control in the Age of Influencers – how brands manage backlash when the faces of their campaigns go off-script.

▪️Sports Social Design Done Right – the teams and designers setting the bar for creative storytelling in sports.

▪️Domino’s Sonic & Packaging Refresh – what a pizza box and jingle can teach us about brand sensory strategy.

▪️Hooks Aren’t Just for Social – how strong ideas and storytelling structures keep audiences locked in across every medium.

▪️Plus, an open Q&A with the Cultura Creative team on branding, content, and campaign trends.

Tune in for sharp, culture-driven insights made for marketers, designers, and creative thinkers.

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This week on The Owlgorithm 🦉 Live, Cultura Creative’s David Verjano & JC Perez unpack the brand strategies behind:

▪️Stiller’s Soda → nostalgia + humor as a launch formula.

▪️Claude, OpenAI & Friend → three AI campaigns, three different brand personalities.

▪️Reebok x Kodak & PlayStation → the sneaker brand’s nostalgia-fueled comeback attempt.

▪️Pizza Hut’s new logo → why evolution, not revolution, is sometimes the smartest design move.

Tune in for sharp insights on where business, creativity, and culture intersect.

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We’ll explore the Everything Protein trend taking over CPG, why the Micro-Community Era matters more than follower counts, and how Graza’s creative campaign proves packaging can be a marketing weapon. We’ll also break down the viral 1993 Burger King credit card clip and other technological misconceptions that teach us about tech and AI adoption today.

Want to chime in? Have a topic you want us to discuss? Drop a comment during the stream.

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In this first episode, we unpack:

1. Cracker Barrel Aftermath & Brand Response – How the legacy chain handled its latest PR storm.

2. Dude Wipes x Philadelphia Eagles “Tush Push” – A bold sports marketing play that’s stirring conversation.

3. Cheetos x Wednesday Addams – When snack food meets pop culture collab.

4. Sydney Sweeney Endorsements – The actress’s growing portfolio of brand deals and what it signals.

5. Creative AI Use Cases – Where artificial intelligence is reshaping campaigns and workflows.

6. Our Brand Identity Process – Cultura’s own playbook for building brands with purpose.

7. Session Coffee Roasters Brand Identity – Behind the scenes of a fresh identity we crafted.

8. Q&A Session – Audience questions, hot takes, and insights.

👉 Whether you’re a marketer, brand strategist, creative, or entrepreneur, this episode delivers insights you can apply to your own playbook.

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