Aerie amplifies “100% Aerie Real” campaign with creators, Jeopardy launches a YouTube edition, and a creator rides his horse through Chick-fil-A drive-thru
Jeopardy Youtube edition with creators, creators rides horse through Chik-fil-A drive-thru, and Aerie amplifies campaign with creators
Aerie extended its "100% Aerie Real" campaign and will creators to amplify the message starting in April. Jeopardy is debuting a YouTube-exclusive edition with creators like Rebecca Black and Monét X Change competing for charity. And a TikTok creator went viral after spontaneously riding his horse through a Chick-fil-A drive-thru in Florida.
Creator Economy Stats: March 30, 2026
What Should Marketers Know This Week?
TikTok rebrands its advertiser pitch around full-funnel ambition.
TikTok has rebranded its global advertiser pitch to "Watch it. Love it. Want it." to formalize its message as a full-funnel platform. This move aims to convince marketers that the entire consumer journey, from discovery to purchase, can occur within TikTok. For marketers, this signifies increased opportunities for comprehensive brand engagement and monetization as TikTok positions itself as a unified, end-to-end solution.
Daily Mail publisher DMG Media has significantly invested in the creator economy, hiring over two dozen creators since October 2025.
This initiative, producing 10-20 daily videos for its social channels, has successfully generated higher average views than traditional content and attracted branded partnerships. For marketers, this highlights a growing trend where traditional media leverages creators to engage new audiences and unlock fresh marketing and sponsorship opportunities.
YouTube unveiled a "Bring, Build, Boost" strategy at its NewFronts presentation to entice advertisers.
This initiative, supported by the revamped YouTube Creator Partnerships, emphasizes leveraging creators and AI to repurpose existing ads and build new campaigns, promising higher ROI and unique audience reach. For marketers, it highlights new avenues for ad effectiveness and creator collaboration, while for the creator economy, it signifies YouTube's continued investment in facilitating brand-creator partnerships.
Aerie has pledged against using AI-generated bodies in its marketing, emphasizing a commitment to authenticity.
The "100% Aerie Real" campaign, featuring Pamela Anderson, extends its anti-retouching stance to explicitly reject AI. This strategy matters to marketers as it showcases a deliberate choice to differentiate through transparency and 'realness.' This potentially sets a precedent for brand positioning amidst evolving AI capabilities and consumer demand for genuine content.
Zoom's Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Kimberly Storin, launched a new "Zoom Ahead" campaign featuring former SNL star Bowen Yang.
The initiative aims to educate users about Zoom's extensive product portfolio beyond video conferencing, leveraging humor and creator talent to address low feature awareness. This strategy is crucial for marketers looking to deepen engagement and expand perception for established brands, highlighting the power of creative partnerships.
Connected TV (CTV) shopping got the full limelight at NewFronts, with YouTube expanding its Shopping affiliate program to creators with as few as 500 subscribers.
This move, alongside new partnerships like Amazon/Samsung and Walmart/Vizio integrating shoppable ads, signals a major industry push to transform CTV into a direct commerce channel. For marketers and the creator economy, this means new opportunities for monetization and direct sales, requiring adaptation to a seamless "couch to cart" consumer journey.
What Changed on Social Platforms?
Meta
Meta unveiled new ad formats and features at its NewFronts presentation, aiming to embed advertisers directly into cultural moments and trending content, similar to TikTok's strategy. This includes enhanced Reels trending ads for major events and redesigned creator partnership hubs. (About)
TikTok
TikTok used its NewsFront showcase to highlight a two-month-old joint venture with USDS and announce significant improvements for advertisers, including richer storytelling formats. This aims to create a stronger, more secure, and creative platform. (MediaPost)
YouTube
YouTube expanded its Shopping Affiliate Program access, lowering the follower threshold from 1,000 to 500. This enables a much broader range of creators to earn sales commissions directly from product links in their videos. (Blog)
Snapchat
Snapchat launched "Total Snap Takeover," a new holistic ad feature that allows brands to be the first ad spot across all major app tabs simultaneously. This aims to significantly boost brand exposure, reach, and conversions for advertisers. (MediaPost)
Which Brands Are Working with Creators Right Now?
Jeopardy
Jeopardy is launching a new YouTube-exclusive spinoff featuring popular creators like Rebecca Black and Monét X Change as contestants, hosted by Ken Jennings, starting March 31. This strategic move aims to attract new, younger audiences by blending traditional broadcast entertainment with digital consumption. (Dexerto)
Jeep Grand Wagoneer
Stellantis is launching a sequel to its award-winning campaign for the 2026 Jeep Grand Wagoneer, bringing back comedian Iliza Shlesinger to star in "The Real Deal...ership." This move highlights the brand's commitment to consistency and leveraging successful influencer partnerships, using humor to cut through the 'sameness' in the three-row SUV market. (MediaPost)
Chick-fil-A
A customer, Felipe Delmora, went viral after riding his horse, Gitano, through a Chick-fil-A drive-thru in Florida, capturing the entire interaction on video. The unexpected event, featuring the surprised and gleeful reactions of employees, quickly gained traction online. This highlights how authentic, unusual content created by individuals can generate significant brand visibility. (Dexerto)
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