May didn’t come to play—it came to disrupt.
While some brands pulled back, others doubled down, dropping campaigns that blurred boundaries, flipped formats, and turned social media into a sandbox for satire, spectacle, and storytelling. Whether it was a fake tech implant making waves on TikTok, lip gloss launches remixing legacy, or pop-ups on wheels, this month’s marketing moments proved that bold is back in style—and Gen Z is still the ultimate audience to impress.
Let’s unpack the campaigns that made us double-tap, double-take, and maybe even question reality.
🖤 Black Mirror'sViral Unboxings Bend Reality
To promote Season 7, Black Mirror resurrected its fictional tech giant TCKR Systems and launched a wave of eerily realistic unboxing videos for a fake neural implant called “Nubbin.” These influencer-style clips flooded TikTok and Instagram, mimicking real tech reviews so convincingly that many viewers weren’t in on the joke.
The Takeaway: By hijacking influencer unboxing culture, Black Mirror tapped into a familiar format to deliver unfamiliar fiction—proving that even satire can spark engagement when it feels native to the feed.
💄 MAC’s #BornFamous Lip Gloss Dynasty
MAC leans into the “nepo baby” conversation with Amelia Gray Hamlin and mom Lisa Rinna fronting a Mother’s Day campaign for Lipglass Air. Y2K aesthetics, cheeky nods to celebrity culture, and a cast of next-gen icons (like Zaya Wade) make the drop both nostalgic and now.
The Takeaway: By owning the narrative with wit and style, MAC turns legacy into a flex—proving that embracing your roots can be your boldest brand statement.
🚚 Get in Loser, We're Moving Out with UO
Just in time for graduation season, UO partnered with U-Haul for a literal take on “hauls.” Think: back-to-school pop-ups, citywide scavenger hunts, and branded moving trucks offering free help to student renters. According to Marketing Dive, it was a Gen Z-targeted experiential play with real-life perks.
The Takeaway: For brands chasing Gen Z, the lesson is clear: meet them offline with experiences that are not just fun, but functional.
💻 IT ≠ I.T. — Tech Is Out, Skin Is In
IT Cosmetics had fun with its own name confusion in a social-first campaign that clarified it’s “IT” as in beauty, not servers. They partnered with influencers across niches—from tech creators to skincare gurus and comedians—to playfully highlight the mix-up.
The Takeaway: Humor + brand clarity = a winning combo. When your name causes confusion, don’t hide—own it loudly.
🚗 Olipop’s Retro Drive-Thru Rolls In
Olipop opened a limited-time retro drive-thru in Los Angeles complete with roller-skating staff, exclusive merch, and rare soda drops. It was a fizzy callback to ‘50s Americana, but make it Insta-worthy.
After the pop-up event, they also opened a Virtual Drive-Thru, letting fans across the U.S. enter for daily prizes like Drive-Thru Kits and the new Orange Cream flavor.
The Takeaway: In a crowded category, Olipop doubled down on immersive brand-building, proving that whimsy, reach, and a photogenic moment can still win hearts.
🦉 Where’s Duo?
Mid-month, Duolingo’s infamous owl went missing from all platforms. Fans panicked. Days later, an unsettling cryptic video dropped: Duo standing in a dark room, whispering, “It’s not what you think.” No context. No caption.
The Takeaway: Duolingo knows it lives in our heads rent-free. Now it’s playing psychological chess—with a side of brand redemption. Silence isn’t just golden—it’s strategic.
IRL, URL, and Everything In Between
From unboxings that don’t exist to scavenger hunts you can literally join, May’s marketing winners embraced the blur between the digital and the tangible. The standout strategy? Take a trend—and touch grass with it. Whether it’s humor, nostalgia, or eerie silence, the brands that won the month showed that being chronically online isn’t about noise; it’s about nuance.
Catch you next month for more brand chaos, cultural commentary, and campaigns that cut through the scroll.