A brand puts out a new campaign with imagery that looks like it could be AI-generated, eagle-eyed observers point out that said campaign is likely AI-generated, backlash ensues, the brand (sometimes) makes a vague statement of acknowledgement, and everyone moves on. Rinse and repeat.

That cycle has come for big-name brands like Guess, J.Crew, and Skechers in recent weeks. The use of (or, at least, accusations of the use of) AI-generated imagery in ads by major brands may signal a shift in the marketing landscape—namely that, slowly but surely, marketers seem to be getting more comfortable using AI-generated imagery, regardless of whether consumers are comfortable seeing it. (The brands did not immediately respond to Marketing Brew’s requests for comment.)

“You’re already seeing things that used to be a photo shoot, even if it’s just stock imagery, you’re seeing that now be replaced by AI imagery,” Jon Weidman, SVP of development and head of brand content at production studio Wavelength, said. “[Your feed is] filling up with quote, unquote, slop, a volume of content that wouldn’t be possible without these tools. We see it. We’re watching it. I don’t see a world in which the cat goes back in that bag.”

Continue reading here.—KM

Football players love golf, but do golfers love football?

At Topgolf, the high-tech indoor golf chain, it seems they do. The brand surveyed its customers and found that more than 80% of them are football fans, according to VP of Brand Marketing Katie Van.

That’s why Topgolf’s latest campaign is about football, not golf.

“We always think about, ‘What’s our competition for your time and your dollar?’” Van told Marketing Brew. “During football season, that competition shifts a little bit because football is such a huge part…of every single weekend.”

Since there’s no competing with college and NFL football for the attention of many American households, the Topgolf marketing team embraced that passion to give football fans what they want during the season “without leaving Topgolf on the sideline,” Van said.

Read more here.—AM

Sephora and Vogue publisher Condé Nast are looking to cash in on the power of influencers, both unveiling new creator-led marketplaces to compete with affiliate marketing leaders like LTK and ShopMy.

Speaking at the Fast Company Innovation Festival last month, Sephora President and CEO Artemis Patrick announced the launch of My Sephora storefront, which allows creators and influencers to curate their own shoppable Sephora.com storefront. Patrick said the retailer was inspired to create the platform after receiving 14,000 applications this past year for its content creation program, Sephora Squad, which can only accept 50 annually. The platform, currently in alpha, is set to debut next month, she said.

Condé Nast’s new offering, Vette, also announced this week, allows influencers to operate their own online storefronts filled with products they picked. The platform will use “AI-powered merchandising and marketing tools,” the company said in a statement, which includes recommendations for inventory creators can add to their storefronts, per Vogue Business. Vette, set to launch in early 2026, will use a revenue share model with creators and brands.

The new platforms are both efforts to get in on the nearly $16 billion affiliate marketing space, competing with major players like LTK—used by 40 million monthly shoppers and bringing in $5 billion in annual consumer sales, according to the company—and ShopMy, which scored $77.5 million in funding this year led by investors that previously backed Shopify and Rent the Runway.

Read more on Retail Brew.—EC

Executive moves across the industry.

• Spotify founder and CEO Daniel Ek will step down as CEO and become executive chairman on January 1, when the company’s current co-presidents, Alex Norström and Gustav Söderström, will take over for Ek as co-CEOs.
• Nielsen named Sacha Weinberg, formerly a brand marketing and creative strategy head at Amazon Prime Video, to the role of SVP, brand marketing and strategy.
• Firehouse Subs tapped Tim Hortons alum Carolina Berti as CMO.