puppet fever
🦀 hairy croissants + just jimothy things + tomato lemonade + 5 expensive things + la la land wrist drama + gloss boss + android fan cams + AI still sucks + superdupes 🦀
Welcome to Silence, Brand!, a tri-weekly potluck of internet absurdity at the intersection of brand marketing and internet culture written by a collective of award-winning digital marketing professionals.
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damn. wednesday again.
already?
what’s next…
thursday?
shit.\
we have to talk about the elephant in the room …
no, not jimothy (thats a racoon).
did you guess
MUPPETS???
In today’s issue, we have not one, but two ✌️ mentions of brands launching a puppet character and over the weekend The Muppets covered The White Stripes “7 Nation Army” at the World Cup half-time show.
Guys. We are so back.
Liberty Mutual just introduced Liberty Biberty, a yellow fuzz-ified anthropomorphic ball designed to symbolize “the feeling of getting insurance at a fair price.” The launch on social also included behind the scenes content of the character being built at the infamous Jim Henson Creature Shop.
In a different brand sector, Halloween cereal icons Count Chocula, Boo Berry, and Franken Berry return to shelves with reimagined puppet designs on their boxes—also with characters brought to life by Jim Henson Creature Shop that made their debut last year.
While these may appear to be a critter and creature coincidence, puppets are brought to life with a human touch which feels refreshing in a world of AI slop, and this isn’t the first time we’ve seen this. Puppets encourage you to embrace whimsy without irony, which feels refreshing.
We saw Bob Baker Marionettes make their Coachella debut this year. First on the Gobi Stage, and then with again with Ben Platt who covered of Addison Rae’s hit song “Diet Pepsi.”
Project Hail Mary brought their beloved alien character, Rocky, to life with puppetry and practical effects alongside Ryan Gosling last spring.
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At the end of last year to promote their annual Pinterest Predicts report, Pinterest enlisted a felt cabbage to break down the leafy green aesthetic predictions for 2026.
And we saw Amtrak play with a very Stick Stickly meets Mr. Bill-style hot dog character to show off the amenities of their trains — proving that even low-lift puppets are ready to play and not ever puppet needs to be made in the Jim Henson Creature Shop.
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Puppets are no longer confined to children's entertainment, but can be positioned as cross-generational wonder-making driven by nostalgia. The human element behind the puppetry arts (yes, even just a hand holding a hot dog) feels relatable in a human way that is more than a gimmick. [🦀 dayna]
Editor’s Note: I highly recommend Bob Baker Marionette Theater in LA and the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta. Also if you would like to tell me about your favorite puppets, pls send a DM to 🦀 Anonymous Crab 🦀
🦀📈 TODAY’S POLL
📲🦀 Viral Topics
‘Hairy’ croissants topped with seaweed go viral in Thailand (kursiv.media)
Thailand’s latest viral pastry looks a bit… fuzzy. “Hairy croissants,” topped with wispy strands of seaweed, are taking over social media thanks to their unusual texture and scroll stopping appearance. It’s reminder that unexpected moments are the ones that get blasted across socials.
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Michelin-star restaurant owner faces jail for using ants in food (Dexerto)
A celebrated chef in South Korea is facing possible jail time after prosecutors alleged his restaurant illegally served imported ants as a dessert garnish. While edible insects are common in some fine-dining kitchens, anAnts are not approved for human consumption under Korean law.
Good Read: “I realised, even in a crowded room, I only had myself to root for” via Zafra // Everything I got Bullied for is Cool now
Just Jimothy Things
This time last week, this space was reserved for The World Cup.
Now this is a safe space for Jimothy appreciators.
In the same vein as his predecessors Moo Deng and Punch, Jimothy has taken the internet by storm as a tattoo-worthy beacon of hope in these trying times, but also as a hot digital commodity.
As artists pen their own renditions of the critter, brands are also attempting to tap into Jimothymania. We are admittedly haters when it comes to brands making copies of copies of the same concept, but the true cryptid nature of Jimothy means that brands have to be more creative about which brand truth to associate (instead of just slapping their logo on a flag and calling it a day).
Roku snuck JimJams into Roku City.
Google replicated the dino in The Dinosaur Game with Jimbo.
Jaymus is getting shoutouts in all the major gaming platforms.
Even Zillow dreamed up the ideal property for Big J to live in with all the amenities.
But then there’s the “Jimms has a bag” idea.
Both Sephora and Ulta (via Dime Beauty) ended up with the same posts in feed.
Is the first concept the best concept? Is there a better way to tap into this trend?
In the same vein, plushie brands Warmies and Ty both said, “hey we have a racoon plush” and plopped it on a colored background with a bit of text on screen.
What if the first idea is actually the gateway to the bigger, better, more unique idea? [🦀 dayna]
🦀 Trending
Tomato 🍅 Lemonade 🍋
This summer, we’re getting creative when it comes to cooling off in the INSANE heat coming our way. This year, that looks like tomato lemonade! You can make it in a variety of ways, so click around and find your ideal recipe!! Sip sip!
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