The Marketing Mixtape: Where Culture, Collabs and Comebacks Rule (September 29 to October 6, 2025)
Redken x Sabrina Carpenter, GapStudio, Miley Cyrus x Maybelline, NikeSKIMS, Billie and Bose: the campaigns of September 29 to October 6, 2025.
Comebacks and collaborations ruled this week. Maybelline handed its famous jingle to Miley Cyrus, NikeSKIMS launched with heavy community buzz and Billie and Bose turned packaging and outdoor ads into something you want to touch.
About the Mixtape
The Marketing Mixtape is our running commentary on campaigns worth studying. The brands featured are not The Vibe Curator co. clients. We highlight them because the strategy behind the work is worth learning from.
The campaigns
Redken’s partnership with Sabrina Carpenter isn’t just about a famous face; it’s a cross-platform celebration, using music video vibes, TikTok tutorials, and star energy to reframe haircare as pop storytelling. GapStudio leans on Gap’s heritage of iconic portraiture, casting Gwyneth Paltrow and her daughter Apple Martin for its Fall 2025 collection under creative director Zac Posen (DesignRush).
Maybelline names Miley Cyrus its global face and hands her the “Maybe it’s Maybelline” jingle to reimagine, using sound, nostalgia, and UGC to energize the beauty buyer, while Nike and Skims break the internet (again) with a collection that’s as inclusive as it is headline-worthy, relying on heavy community involvement, viral teasers, and athlete partnerships.
Billie continues to own the street with scratch-and-sniff OOH that’s literally interactive, tapping into humor and tactile surprise to make deodorant as talk-worthy as tech. Bose turns its color launch into a trend moment with butter-inspired packaging and cheeky, foodie-adjacent imagery.
The takeaway
The verdict? The strongest campaigns didn’t just make noise; they created experiences: online, offline, and in the community. If you want brand buzz that lasts, look for the intersections: nostalgia + newness, story + senses, inclusivity + influence.
Go deeper
Want the full playbook behind this? Read Brand Collaboration Examples: 12 Partnerships and What Small Brands Can Learn. 12 recent brand collaboration examples, from Gap x KATSEYE and Rare Beauty x Tajín to Pop-Tarts x Liquid Death, and the lessons small brands can use.
Keep reading
Brand Collaboration Examples: 12 Partnerships and What Small Brands Can Learn 12 recent brand collaboration examples, from Gap x KATSEYE and Rare Beauty x Tajín to Pop-Tarts x Liquid Death, and the lessons small brands can use.
How to Market to Gen Z in 2027: What Actually Builds Loyalty How to market to Gen Z in 2027: what the latest research says about discovery, trust, AI content and loyalty, plus a practical playbook for small brands.
Beauty Brand Marketing: How Indie Brands Compete With Giants Beauty brand marketing for indie and small brands: positioning, packaging, creators, community, email and the moves that help you compete with giants.
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Erika Gardner, Founder and Chief Strategist, The Vibe Curator co.
Erika Gardner founded The Vibe Curator co. in 2016. She leads brand strategy, websites, email and SMS, and fractional CMO work for growing brands from offices in Houston and Atlanta.
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