This week in branding news, Skechers caught some flak for an allegedly AI-generated ad in Vogue, Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper debuted a functional drink brand, and the Skims-North Face outerwear collab went all-in on flesh tones. Here’s everything you need to know.
An AI footwear misstep
[Image: Sketchers]
The news: A new Skechers ad is turning heads, and not for the right reasons. In a recent video, TikTok creator @polishlaurapalmer found a Skechers ad in the print copy of Vogue’s December 2024 special edition that showed some rather obvious signs of AI hallucination.
Big picture: Upon first glance, the ad in question seems like a classic, ’50s-inspired drawing of two fashionable women (though oddly neither is actually wearing Skechers shoes). But a zoomed-in look reveals several telltale signs that the whole composition is AI-generated, including gibberish printed on awnings in the background, a confusing dress detail, and some haunting background figures who appear to be faceless. “I wish people who use AI for art understand that now I hate this,” the TikToker said. “You actually didn’t save any money because now I hate you. Now I don’t want to ever buy a Skechers shoe again.”
Why it matters: Several other creators have since commented on the ad, with one X user posting an image of what appears to be an out-of-home print campaign. Skechers has yet to reply to Fast Company’s request for comment on whether generative AI was used to create the illustration. If that’s the case, it won’t be the first time a company has run AI-generated art that had the internet up in arms. Earlier this year, Michaels copped to accidentally selling AI canvas art from one of its many external vendors. Still, if confirmed, the Skechers ad feels like an escalation of the problem. Using AI during the design process certainly isn’t objectionable across the board, but failing to proof and edit its outputs—especially for a print ad in a publication like Vogue—seems like a pretty egregious oversight.
Alex Cooper’s new drink
[Image: Unwell Hydration]
The news: Eat your heart out, Prime energy: You might as well call Alex Cooper an entrepreneur, because the host of the popular podcast Call Her Daddy just announced her very own electrolyte drink. The beverage, called Unwell Hydration, is billed as “a drink by women . . . FOR EVERYONE,” though it’s not exactly getting a universally positive reception.
Big picture: Unwell is positioned as a “gently caffeinated,” healthy pick-me-up for the morning after a wild night—a choice meant to fit with Cooper’s personal brand as a filter-free, down-to-earth influencer. Its branding is rather underwhelming, with a simple curved red logo on three pastel bottles of similar hues.
Why it matters: At this point, new functional beverages from celebrities are old news. We’ve seen Bella Hadid’s Kin Euphorics, Dwayne Johnson’s Zoa, and, of course, Logan Paul and KSI’s Prime, which seems most relevant to Cooper’s launch given their statuses as content creators for male-dominated and female-dominated audiences, respectively.
Cooper is not shying away from Unwell’s women-focused marketing. In an interview with Bloomberg, she said, “We don’t need another makeup brand. That is a place where women are dominating, which is amazing. But this is yet another time in my career where I’m like, ‘Move over, boys. We don’t need to be drinking Prime or Gatorade.’”
But is the overt gendering of energy drinks really a leap forward for womankind? A good chunk of Cooper’s audience doesn’t seem to think so. One commenter on her Instagram announcement wrote, “Wait, was this the big surprise? Because this is the most disappointing surprise I’ve ever gotten in my life how lame.” Another added, “Not going to lie, this announcement is a bit disappointing given the hype she created.”
Barely-there outerwear by Skims
[Photo: Skims x The North Face]
The news: Skims just teamed up with the North Face for a winter sports-focused outerwear line, and its basically the polar opposite of the iconic ’80s ski suit. The collaboration includes a head-to-toe collection of neutral-toned gear for cold weather, so hitting the slopes in what looks like your birthday suit has never been easier.
Big picture: The North Face is a fitting collaborator for this first-ever take on outerwear from Skims, the company cofounded by Kim Kardashian. The line includes Skims’s signature base layers in a range of cream and brown tones, as well as matching outerwear—a down jacket, shell waterproof pants, and accessories like hats and gloves.
Why it matters: Skims’s timing on this launch feels almost prescient, given that Pantone today announced its 2025 color of the year: brown (or, more specifically, “Mocha Mousse”). Kardashian’s clothing brand, alongside other apparel giants like Yeezy and Nike, are some of the key players to elevate neutral tones like chocolate brown and beige from boring to quiet luxury status symbols.
The Wicked box blunder lives on
The news: Something bad is happening in Oz . . . again. Several weeks ago, Mattel was swamped with backlash when a misprinted label on its limited-edition Wicked Barbie dolls led to a parody porn site instead of the actual Wicked movie website. Now it looks like the blunder could have legal consequences.
Big picture: According to court documents filed on Tuesday, a South Carolina resident is launching a class-action lawsuit after her daughter accidentally visited the site in question via the link on her Barbie box. Per the lawsuit, the resident claims that Mattel has not provided a refund for the doll, and she is seeking damages because the product is “adulterated, worthless, and unfit for its intended and advertised age-appropriate audience.”
Why it matters: Mattel has yet to share any information on how the misprint may have impacted the company financially, or to provide comment on the lawsuit. According to Universal’s chief marketing officer, Michael Moses, though, the mistake—which came just before the release of the Wicked movie—didn’t have any measurable impact on the film’s ticket sales. “I always categorize incidents between what might actually damage the desire to see the movie and what might not,” Moses told Variety. “I think that was an example of one that’s an anecdote more than a threat.”
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{Author}Grace Snelling{/Author}
{Image}https://images.fastcompany.com/image/upload/w_1280,q_auto,f_auto,fl_lossy/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit/wp-cms-2/2024/12/p-1-91241217-branding-round-up_d0cb68.jpg{/Image}
{Keywords}Design{/Keywords}
{Source}Applications{/Source}
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