Dieline's Friday Wrap-Up: Crypto Celeb Fails, Balenciaga Trash Bags, and a Knocked-Up Samuel Alito

The Friday Wrap-Up is a newish column from Dieline where we talk about some of our favorite stories of the past week from the world of packaging and branding, whether it’s from Dieline or elsewhere. Expect a few shout-outs, fun, weirdness, and maybe even a little music.

I will never not be a fan of cheap brand stunts, especially when they’re all dolled up as innovation. This week, we saw hot wing lip gloss from Applebees, sneakers with a sole full of Heineken, French’s mustard donuts, and Snicker Shakers, i.e., bottled and chopped-up Snickers that you can dispense like a condiment if you so choose. Basically, all of the wonderful, weird shit brands can cook up during a sleepy, sweaty summer to break through the marketing noise when consumers are too busy staycationing and reading Tana French in a kiddie pool because of a legit gas panic.

And, on an unrelated note, maybe a sociopath right-wing conspiracy theorist will go bankrupt and face time behind bars for perjuring himself multiple times.

I say that makes for a pretty, pretty, pretty good week. Anywho, on to the not-golf links!

Junior, Rebooted, Starring Samuel Alito

Saatchi & Saatchi’s infamous “pregnant man” ad turned heads in the 70s when it asked folks, “would you be more careful if it was you that got pregnant?” The print ad featured a very pregnant man and was a master class in challenging our notions of sexual health and a patriarchal society. This past week, the British advertising agency decided to update its provocative ad by replacing the man with none other than SCOTUS justice (and noted online troll) Samuel Alito, saying, “would you be more careful with your vote if it was you that got pregnant?” 

“We should be using every platform we have in the UK to show support for women’s rights as they are rolled back in the US. We are proud to be able to lend this iconic piece of Saatchi creative to highlight the hypocrisy and the regression of the Supreme Court’s decision,” said Franki Goodwin, CCO of Saatchi & Saatchi, of the work.

Anywho, kudos for calling it your ad of the day, Drum, and even more kudos to voters in Kansas showing up last Tuesday to strike down the state’s proposed law that would kill abortion protections in the state.

“Matt Damon”

Thank you, Emmanuel John Milton, for breaking down the relatively short history of celebrities schilling crypto with disastrous results. And speaking as a forever fan of ABC’s Bachelor and Bachelorette universe, no way am I taking financial advice from Insta-influencers like Matt James.

Property of Roy

Now that we’re more than 40 years removed from Bob Dylan’s much-maligned “Christian” phase, some of us know that there are some true-blue nuggets from that era. What I hadn’t ever noticed, however, is something that the Jokermen podcast called out the other day on Twitter—that Pearl Beach’s cover for Shot of Love looks remarkably like pop artist Roy Lichtenstein’s cover for Newsweek back in 1966.

Also, does anyone know anything about Pearl Beach? The only significant album cover I could find that she also designed was Neville Brothers’ Fiyo on the Bayou.

Hefty Price Check?

So you can buy a trash bag from Balenciaga for $1,790 bucks. Rich people do the darndest things.

Demna designed it and gifted one to Kim Kardashian last March at Paris Fashion Week. It’s constructed of calfskin, and it’s likely a comment on something, I guess, and more than 38 million people in America are food insecure. But go on, king, get that bag.

Broth of the Loom

Speaking of fashion, here's the most important article of clothing ever, especially if you still buy Cup Noodle in bulk. Japanese fashion brand Ziorish has developed a “ramen t-shirt” with anti-staining properties that wards off slurped broth. 

Will a Dry Cleaner Finally Admit That Something Was Their Fault?

Shout out to Fast Company’s Elizabeth Segran for her piece about plastic waste in the dry cleaning industry. More than 300 million pounds of plastic film in the US alone get used to wrap your starched shirts, and you definitely can’t recycle it. Reusable garment bags from Idea Stage are a suitable alternative for dry cleaners looking to get a little more sustainable. But, according to the article, dry cleaners are hesitant to adopt them as customers might think they’re getting something less-than-clean.

Mark Hamill Appreciation Post

I worked at Pizza Hut in high school, and every weekend I would go in at 6 am to make and prep the dough for the day (this was before they converted to just dropping off frozen discs made elsewhere). My unofficial title was “dough master,” and I relished having a few solo hours under the red roof where I would blast Jawbreaker and REM and do something that was both mind-numbingly repetitive and cathartic. And yes, I still refer to myself as the “dough master.”

While I wasn’t fired from Pizza Hut, Star Wars regular and Billy Big Mouth Bass aficionado Mark Hamill was shitcanned from his drive-thru job at Jack in the Box for doing a clown voice while taking orders (apparently, the speaker in the drive-thru also used to be in the shape of the Jack in the Box clown head). This past week, the beloved fast food chain rehired Mark Hamill to take a few orders from some definitely not-real customers and flex his voice acting skills for a mostly cute commercial. Like Hamill, I have no desire to resume my high school job, but I still have plenty of nostalgic, sentimental feelings toward the Hut.

Got a news tip for us? Questions? How about some high praise or mean-spirited criticism? Or maybe an odd fact or statistic? I want to hear from you! You can reach me at bill@dielinemedia.com