brands pretending to be people

I've been seeing something kind of disturbing, but in a way it's the new norm…

When I scroll through videos, I keep noticing a weird pattern. I’ll see a talking head video (telling a story, giving advice, doing something funny) and then a few posts later, I’ll see a brand doing basically the same thing.

Same tone, same kind of setup. It’s not subtle.

Plus, there’s a ton of green screen marketing breakdown vids studying what made those videos do so well… so that brands can replicate it.

And now, something casual or spontaneous shows up with strategy and meticulous planning. The lines between regular people and brands are VERY blurred. It’s seriously getting harder to tell them apart at first glance.

The worst offenders: brands staging rage bait candid camera moments!

I saw a reel where it looked like someone was filming a lady at Target taking all the products from one brand off the shelves and staged it to look like a confrontation 🤦🏻‍♀️.

As someone who designs for brands, it’s odd to be in the middle. I’m not on the social media side of things, but I still have to think about how a brand shows up and how they present themselves to their audience.

Brands are building entire campaigns around trying to feel like people who make you forget you’re being marketed to.

I'm just getting exhausted with how very obviously brands need to feel relevant and mold themselves into how regular people act.

I think it's okay to act like a brand. I don't think you're fooling anybody.

We’re getting better at recognizing when something is trying to be authentic.

You can see it in the way people are moving to smaller, private spaces: Discord, Substack, Close Friends.

And while brands are out here hiring meme consultants and trend analysts to stay relatable, what used to be scrappy and human just gets a corporate treatment until it’s a formula.

It’s what happens when every brand is trying to be in the loop… in the same exact way.

But when they’re trying SO hard to feel authentic, most of them lose what actually makes them special.

Modelo came out with a non-alcoholic beer in Mexico and I’m loving the design direction to adapt but still feel on brand

The Britt’s new branding has a heritage/Americana feel with custom linocut-like illustrations - works very well for this context.

David Beckham has a trendy new brand (honey energy snack) complete with the oh-so-popular rubber hose style cartoon fruits - a bit chaotic with different styles slapped on the packaging. Very Gen Z. He had a beekeeping hobby + being a well-known athlete, so this checks out.

Goldfish drew a crowd with their branded carwash - so well done by keeping to their demographic with a cheeky play on kids leaving Goldfish crumbs in the car. My favorite, though, is the dispenser wall.

Takeaways from this collection

• If you’re NOT pivoting away from your positioning, play into your crowd - there are always new & meaningful ways to show up - instead of trying something wayyy out there. Because you might not need to.

• Leveraging passions and trends will be more sustainable. Forbes said that Expo West this year highlighted a lot of honey-sweetened brands.

• Test something new in a small way and in a familiar place.

A fun little animation for this newsletter - not sure where I would put it but it’s cute!

What I’m working on:

• wireframing sites

• an advanced Framer course

• practicing painting Ghibli-esque clouds

• rediscovering my flow on InDesign for print

• packaging up a mini brand - y2k + stickers galore

Hire me for brand, web, or marketing design - My retainer slots are totally full but I’m open for project-based work 👩🏻‍💻

Hit reply and let’s chat or go to my page and see more.