BRAND STRATEGY

Apple Music

Apple is giving fans another peek behind the curtain.

To introduce the new Apple Music logo, Apple and ad agency TBWA\Media Arts Lab created a 78-second behind-the-scenes spot showcasing how the new logo was made using sound waves. Showing the work behind the work is an approach the company and agency took last fall when it showed off the process behind creating the updated Apple TV logo.

Apple isn’t alone in doing so. Over the last year, as the use of AI has many people questioning how things are made, it’s become common for brands to showcase the craft and production expertise of the human beings working on those efforts. Just this week, for example, Prada specified that the company’s whimsical, partially animated holiday campaign was “animated by hand” in the title.

We spoke with James Taylor, global head of design at Apple’s agency, TBWA\Media Arts Lab, about the process of making Apple Music’s new logo, why he views it as important to show audiences craft, and the increasingly common behind-the-scenes videos accompanying marketing and branding efforts.

“We’re in a space right now where audiences are looking to understand how things are done, especially from Apple,” Taylor told Marketing Brew. “What Apple does from a product and marketing standpoint always sits on the edge of wonder…There’s a curiosity, which I think is becoming even more acute at the moment because things are feeling automated and generated, and I think people are looking to feel things a little bit more. This asset, this behind-the-scenes film, does many of those jobs for us.”

For more from our conversation with Taylor about creating a logo and mnemonic that could work in harmony, continue reading here.—KM

      

Sponsored By Roku Ads Manager

The candy corn is still fresh, yet something even sweeter’s on the horizon.

Yes: The biggest streaming season of the year is nearly upon us, and with that comes shopping. In fact, Roku’s #1 streaming weekend of 2025 landed during Cyber 5 (Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday).

Holiday content searches on Roku jumped 86% over the month of October 2025 alone, so the shopping list starts forming before most brands start advertising. 39% of Roku holiday shoppers bought gifts in October, ahead of the traditional Thanksgiving-to-mid-December window, but it’s not too late to catch them.

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SPORTS MARKETING

Dutcheraerials/Getty Images

If you thought ESPN dropping its first 2027 Super Bowl ad less than 24 hours after the 2026 NFL season ended was premature, wait until you see what LA28 is up to.

With more than 600 days to go until the next Olympics and Paralympics, the organizing committee behind the upcoming Summer Games announced a new slogan and released the first ad for LA28 last week, and according to CMO Alex Merchán, it was not a second too soon.

“On the heels of a successful World Cup…we respectfully have to raise our hand,” Merchán told Marketing Brew. “We’re next up. We’re the next big, global sporting event, and so we need to start raising our hands now and generating attention.”

A new campaign film—a 60-second spot that’s running on LA28’s website and socials, as well as the International Olympic Committee’s and International Paralympic Committee’s platforms—is meant to serve as a sort of “love letter to Los Angeles,” Merchán told us. It features shots of iconic LA landscapes and landmarks like the Hollywood sign and Griffith Observatory and is set to “Can’t Stop” by the LA-born Red Hot Chili Peppers.

The assets are meant to rally athletes, fans, and potential volunteers ahead of the Games, Merchán said, and they will serve as a starting point for a narrative that the LA28 marketing team will be building for the next year and a half.

For more on the campaign, the Games’ official slogan, and the awareness play at work, read more here.—AM

      

SOCIAL & INFLUENCERS

TikTok Shop used to be where knickknacks and questionable supplements went to find their audience. Now, brands including Gap, Crocs, and e.l.f. Beauty are setting up shop, and the platform is on track to cross $20 billion in online sales this year.

In this episode of Marketing Brew Weekly, Katie Hicks, Jennimai Nguyen, and Kelsey Sutton unpack how TikTok Shop has evolved, why social commerce works so well for impulse buys, and what brands might risk by showing up.

• TikTok Shop’s glow-up is real. Last year’s Black Friday-Cyber Monday campaign brought in $500 million, and name brands are now arriving on a platform that once felt like a clearance bin.
• Closing the gap between discovery and purchase is the whole game. From get-ready-with-me videos to livestreams, TikTok keeps shoppers in-app, which is why categories like beauty and K-beauty thrive there.
• Regular people are driving sales. Everyday creators and live sellers are a new kind of brand ambassador, and audiences often buy to root and support them.
• Brands face a real tradeoff. Massive scale comes with oversaturation and a loss of control over the customer experience, so it’s no surprise many luxury labels are mostly staying away.
• Trust in big brands on TikTok Shop is holding up. Two-thirds of US users trust a large brand the same or more there, rising 82% among 18- to 24-year-olds.

To hear more, including what they’ve bought on the platform and where it might be going, listen to the full episode here.

      

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Jobs

Real jobs shared through real communities. CollabWORK brings opportunities directly to Marketing Brew readers—no mass postings, no clutter, just roles worth seeing. Click here to view the full job board.

• Marketing Coordinator at Bill Good Marketing
• Product Marketing Manager, Applied AI at Augeo Affinity Marketing
• Marketing Consultant at Above the Bar Marketing LLC
• Growth Marketing Operator at Direct Online Marketing
• Senior Marketing Specialist – Pursuits at GBA Companies

WISH WE WROTE THIS

Stories we’re jealous of.

• Bloomberg wrote about soccer star Trinity Rodman and how her record-breaking deal with the NWSL’s Washington Spirit is transforming women’s sports.
• Bloomberg also wrote about the plethora of celebrities signing up for prediction-market deals.
• Business Insider wrote about stalled growth in podcast advertising and the challenges hampering larger investments.