What a Meme, a Seal, and a CMO Taught Me About Great Marketing
- Miffy Cheng-Thomas
- Jun 21
- 2 min read
You know an ad hits different when your group chat can’t stop talking about it and your professor turns it into a case study. In Campaign Strategy 2, we analyzed Super Bowl ads that didn’t just entertain, they stuck. The kind that make you laugh, go viral, and leave you wondering how a brand pulled it off. I never expected that months later, I’d be at Cannes Lions, hearing the inside story of one of those exact ads from the people who brought it to life.
The panel, hosted by Tubi and titled "Beyond the Logo: What Artists Really Want from Brand Partnerships," brought together a powerhouse lineup:
Seal, the legendary singer and producer
Margaret Johnson, Chief Creative Officer and Partner at Goodby Silverstein & Partners
Mark Kirkham, Chief Marketing Officer of PepsiCo Beverages US
Earlier that morning, I had spoken at a micro forum a conversation on how younger voices can drive fresh, culturally relevant ideas in campaigns. What happened next made that point come to life.
The ad they discussed was for Mountain Dew Baja Blast, a brand known for its offbeat, energetic, and often absurdly funny marketing. This campaign took that legacy even further. It all started with a meme. Someone online had photoshopped Seal’s face onto the body of an actual seal. What could have stayed a throwaway internet joke instead became the spark for a full-blown Super Bowl campaign.
From that meme came a surreal and hilarious commercial and a full-length track recorded by Seal himself, released exclusively on Spotify. A Baja Blast anthem born from internet culture.Hearing the behind-the-scenes story of a campaign we had studied in class made the experience feel surreal. I even got to meet Mark and take a photo. A full-circle moment I’ll never forget.
The biggest takeaway? Culture does not begin in boardrooms. It begins in memes, in group chats, in the corners of the internet where creativity runs wild. The best brands are the ones that know where to look and are willing to follow the signal, even if it starts as a joke.From the Super Bowl to the classroom to Cannes, this experience was a powerful reminder that no idea is too small to spark something big.
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