New partnerships and viral social media moments marked another exciting week in the marketing & advertising industry. Catch up on all the latest and greatest stories in our new Weekly Must Reads.

Adidas Goes Green – Literally

For Stan Smith’s Adidas sneakers, there were only a select few collaborators that made sense for a new line of sustainable shoes. It just so happens that those partners are green, non-human, and fictional. The latest Stan Smith sneakers are made from all recycled materials and feature classic Disney characters, including Kermit the Frog, Mike Wazowski from Monsters, Inc. and dinosaur Rex from Toy Story. The first ad for the shoes features Kermit as he discusses the challenges we face in creating a more sustainable world, and why “it’s not easy being green.”

The new sneakers and campaign come just months after Adidas announced a new sustainable initiative to end plastic waste, starting by changing its shoe boxes to be designed with more than 90 percent recycled materials. The line offers various new designs, from their standard all-white with green accents to a shoe covered in Mike Wazowski images. Check out all the details about the campaign here: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/stan-smiths-sustainable-adidas-disney-b1821633.html

Pepsi x Peeps

Marshmallow Pepsi, anyone? In a surprise soda flavor drop, Pepsi has partnered with popular Easter treat Peeps to launch a limited-edition Pepsi x Peeps beverage. The drink will be available in packs of mini cans designed to reflect the classic Peeps colors of pastel yellow, pink and blue. To promote the limited-edition product, the two brands created a series of ads that recreate classic TV moments with “Peeps dioramas” and Pepsi products. Consumers can get their hands on the cans only through a social media contest using the hashtag #HangingWithMyPeeps.

Pepsi isn’t the only brand Peeps has chosen to collaborate with in recent years. They’ve also produced Peeps-flavored Oreos, Peeps-infused Dunkin’ coffee and donuts, and a Peeps Build-a-Bear in past Easter seasons. Find out more about their latest partnership here: https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/a-pepsi-x-peeps-drink-is-on-the-way/?itm_source=parsely-api

A Sweet Vaccine Treat

Last week, Krispy Kreme announced they were offering a free glazed donut to anyone who presents their COVID-19 vaccination card in their store through the end of 2021. Additionally, any customers can receive a free donut and medium coffee every Monday through May 24 to “help Americans get their week off to a good start,” during such a challenging time. To show their support for healthcare workers, Krispy Kreme will also deliver free boxes of donuts to select vaccination sites across the US to show their support for healthcare workers.

The gesture was meant to encourage vaccination among consumers and offer a lighthearted reward, but the conversation quickly devolved into a discussion around health and obesity. Doctors and other health professionals on Twitter criticized the brand for offering an “unhealthy” treat for free every day, and others quickly responded accusing those users of fat-shaming. Do you think the free donut campaign was a clever idea or ill-advised? Read more about Krispy Kreme’s initiative here: https://www.marketingdive.com/news/krispy-kreme-serves-sweet-incentive-for-vaccinated-customers/597082/

ShrimpGate

It was the shrimp saga heard ‘round the world. Writer Jensen Karp tweeted out a photo of the contents of his Cinnamon Toast Crunch box last week, which seemingly included cinnamon sugar-covered shrimp tails. A quick Twitter conversation with the brand soon caught the attention of thousands of other users, debating whether or not the mysterious objects were indeed shrimp tails. Whatever the objects were, they were obviously not the crunchy squares consumers expect from the cereal – but Cinnamon Toast Crunch refused to give their customer the benefit of the doubt.

In the following days, Karp posted screenshots of emails from the cereal brand, which showed the company placing the burden on Karp to send in the tails or deliver them to local law enforcement. Cinnamon Toast Crunch maintained that any contamination could not have happened at their facility, leading Twitter users to voice their outrage over the company’s response. Although Karp has since faced accusations about his behavior in both his professional and personal life, food brands should still use this incident as a lesson to take all product-related claims seriously, handle the situation privately and take action to satisfy the customer’s needs. Catch up on the #ShrimpGate debacle here: https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/24/business/cinnamon-toast-crunch-shrimp/index.html