The Super Bowl Ad Everyone’s Talking About, Freebies You Need to Know & Poppi’s PR Disaster 👀🔥

Hi Millies!

Welcome back! I’m writing this week’s issue from the beach in sunny Boca Raton, Florida. I spent last week with my boyfriend Jared at his company’s Offsite’s offsite in Cancun Mexico so I’ve been getting so much fun beach time in. Connecticut got 4-5 inches of snow, so it was wild to FaceTime my mom (who’s watching my Cavapoo, Bodie) and see all that snow while I’m sitting in the sun ☀️

Freebies You Need to Know About

☕ Free Starbucks Coffee Tomorrow! If you’re part of their rewards program, you can grab a free coffee. Starbucks is making moves to revamp its brand—closing public access to bathrooms and aiming to bring back the café vibes.

📲 3 Free Months of Repurpose.io for YouTube Creators — YouTube is helping TikTok creators transition by giving away 3 months of Repurpose.io, a tool that automates posting to multiple platforms. Snag the deal here before it’s gone.

🚨 An Update on the Fight for TikTok Refugees

📌 Instagram is FINALLY testing a pause button on Reels. They can let me know once they’ve implemented this feature and fast forward, then I’ll be happy.

📌 YouTube is allowing its premium users to 4x through videos - making the viewing experience much faster.

📌 LinkedIn video is blowing up—they’ve seen a 36% increase in views and just released new video tools for creators.

🏈 The Super Bowl: Alix Earle, Taylor Swift & Big Ad Spends

It’s Super Bowl Sunday! The Oscars of commercials. Brands are going all in on influencer marketing.

🔥 Carl’s Jr. taps Alix Earle for its iconic Super Bowl bikini ad. The brand is bringing back its legacy of partnering with “it girls” (Paris Hilton and Kim K walked so Alix could run). With over 7.2M TikTok followers, Alix rose to fame with her “Get Ready With Me” videos, and this campaign proves Carl’s Junior knows they’re on the pulse of who is cool in 2025.

🔥 Hellmann’s revives When Harry Met Sally with a Sydney Sweeney twist. The brand reunited the stars of the 1989 rom-com to recreate the legendary Katz’s Deli scene—modernized with Sydney Sweeney delivering the iconic line: “I’ll have what she’s having.” Chef’s kiss.

🔥 Taylor Swift shows up in New Orleans supporting Travis Kelce and Kendrick Lamar during the Super Bowl halftime show. Rocking a Charlotte Simone fur coat (which I’m obsessed with), Taylor is cheering on some of the favorite men in her life. Fan theories are swirling that she’ll join Kendrick onstage for their “Bad Blood Remix,” or if Travis will propose at half-time but let’s be real—Taylor’s far too self-aware of her megastardom to steal the spotlight.

📩 Reply and let me know: Which Super Bowl commercial is your favorite?

🥤Poppi Under Fire for $25K Vending Machines

Poppi is under fire for sending a bunch of influencers vending machines that cost up to $25,000 per machine. If you scroll through Poppi's latest TikTok videos, you'll see a flood of angry comments like, "I work at a public elementary school—will you send a vending machine for the teacher’s lounge?" Critics are accusing the brand of being out of touch, especially given the current political climate.

kaelimaeee

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I used to be a huge fan of Poppi's cutting-edge social media strategy, which was once very community-focused. When they first launched, they held giveaways for their regular fans. But now, it feels like the brand is prioritizing the lifestyles of the rich and famous over the everyday consumers who helped make it into the mega-brand it is today.

Competitors like Culture Pop are capitalizing on the moment and connecting with their community-focused audience by reminding their consumers that they “don’t have $8 million to spend on a Super Bowl commercial”

drinkculturepop

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💋 The Kiss Heard Round the World

Former OC heartthrob Adam Brody won the Critic’s Choice Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series for one of my favorite shows to come out of 2024, Nobody Wants This. He shared a smooch with his wife, Leighton Meester, former Gossip Girl Star. As an early 2000s teen who grew up watching both shows, this is what dreams are made of. The pair lost their house in the Palisades fires only a month ago, so it’s especially powerful to see them win.

🔥 Trend Alert: “Realizing This Man is My Emergency Contact”

Join the viral trend in 3 easy steps:

• Choose a funny clip of your partner doing something ridiculous

• Write a header like “Realizing I changed my emergency contact from the woman who birthed me to this man”

• Add the sound Miley Cyrus’ Ordinary Girl, hit post and join the cultural conversation.

🧵Come Stitch With Us!

We’re hosting our next Pointina Sip & Stitch in Stamford, CT, and would love to have you!

📍 When: Wednesday, Feb 12, 6:30-9:30 PM
💌 RSVP for FREE here

Last week, we hosted a Junior League of Greenwich workshop and designed custom needlepoint canvases featuring their logo. Each attendee received a fully stocked kit, including everything they needed to get started (needle, thread, scissors, needle threader, and a beginner’s guide).

Meredith and I led a two-hour workshop, starting with a presentation on the wellness benefits of needlepoint—did you know needlepoint can lower cortisol levels by up to 50%?

I also guided a short meditation to help attendees ground into the present moment and embrace a beginner’s mindset, followed by hands-on instruction where we taught the continental and basketweave stitches and offered one-on-one support.

The feedback was incredible! Here’s what people are saying:

• “The Pointina class was so much fun! The girls were super patient and knowledgeable to help all levels of needle pointers. Not to mention how cute the canvases were that they made.” – Haley

• “Pointina put on the best event for our girls' night! I went in knowing nothing, and now I’m completely obsessed. Highly recommend!!” – Sydney

• “The Pointina girlies are sooo fun!” – Sara

RSVP for our FREE Galentine’s Sip & Stitch here.

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The bigger our community, the more exclusives, freebies, and insider scoops I can bring to YOU. Let’s grow this together! 🚀💌

xoxo,

Elizabeth