The Daily Carnage Show

If AI handles the research, first drafts, reporting, keyword research, and routine execution, how are the next generation of marketers supposed to gain the experience they need to become senior marketers? In this episode of The Daily Carnage Show, Shannon explores AI’s impact on entry-level marketing jobs—and the potential talent pipeline crisis that could follow. Companies are already hiring fewe...

Brands are spending big to turn TikTok scrollers into soap opera addicts. Microdramas — short, episodic video series built around characters, cliffhangers, romance, plot twists and ongoing stories — are becoming a serious marketing format. And brands like Crocs, JCPenney, Bilt, P&G and Dr Pepper are already experimenting with them. But there's a big question: do microdramas actually drive...

Meta just launched Muse, an AI agent designed to do more than answer your questions—it can actually take action for you. Muse can clean out your inbox, shop for products, book travel, make reservations, fill out forms, negotiate on your behalf, and even work in the background while you're away. But there's a catch: the more useful Muse becomes, the more access it needs to your digital life...

AI’s biggest players want to slow down the AI race. But there’s one problem: nobody wants to lose. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is calling for the AI industry to “pace the frontier,” arguing that AI capabilities are advancing faster than safety research can keep up. At the same time, the U.S. and China are competing for technological leadership, investors want companies to keep building, and AI infr...

Reddit has evolved from an internet forum into an increasingly important part of the search ecosystem. Today, Reddit threads appear in Google results, product researchers are actively adding “Reddit” to their searches, and AI platforms are pulling Reddit conversations into their answers. So what does that mean for marketers? In this episode of The Daily Carnage Show, Shannon breaks down Reddit’s e...

What happens to video game marketing when physical media disappears? In this episode of The Daily Carnage Show, Shannon sits down with Dwayne Waite Jr, Associate Director of Marketing at Schell Games, to talk about how the video game industry is changing and what marketers in every industry can learn from it. Following Sony’s announcement that it will discontinue physical production for new PlaySt...

Dark patterns are a UX problem—but increasingly, they’re becoming a legal one. In this episode of The Daily Carnage Show, Shannon breaks down the growing legal scrutiny around Meta’s Facebook and Instagram products and what it could mean for marketers, designers, and anyone building digital experiences. We’re talking about deceptive design (aka dark patterns) : the interface choices that steer use...

A brand apology is a lot more than just a statement designed to respond to audience reaction, soothe the situation, and calm the backlash. The best brand apologies acknowledge what went wrong, provide specifics on how the internal process broke down, and detail the corrective actions the brand is currently taking to address it. Let's dissect some recent brand apologies from Neutrogena, Target,...

Instagram debuts a new logo that divides the design community. Let's talk about who gets permission to be experimental, the importance of legibility vs. personality, logo design in the age of AI slop, and the public's tendency to hate design choices they'll later fight to death to preserve (RIP skeumorphic Instagram camera icon from 2010).

Google is making the biggest change to Image Search since it was created 25 years ago: The homepage is being redesigned into a personalized, Pinterest-like feed. AI can now generate images directly inside Search. The interface itself is getting a major refresh. And together, these updates signal a substantial shift from Google Image Search as simple visual retrieval tool into a place for discovery...

Sony has announced it will stop production of physical discs in January 2028, shifting to digital only. The public backlash was swift, sparking a conversation about physical media and the meaning of ownership. In this episode, Shannon breaks down why consumers respond emotionally to business decisions, how Sony mishandled the PR, and ways you can use physical media and ownership to differentiate y...

Today, AI is integrated into nearly all of our marketing workflows, whether we like it or not. It's tempting to think of it as a free productivity tool, but the truth is that it comes with significant energy, water, land, and social costs. In the latest episode of The Daily Carnage Show, Shannon gives an overview of: How AI demand is stressing global infrastructures Increasing efficiency vs. e...

This year's Cannes Lions Titanium shortlist is stacked,  but we're breaking down our five favorites that change the game and raise the bar.

🌈 It's been another quiet June. For more than a decade, it's been all rainbow logos and limited-edition Pride Month merch drops. But after DEI rollbacks across the U.S. (and the 2023 Target incident), many brands have scaled back their financial and public support for LGBTQ+ initiatives inside and outside of their organizations. In the latest episode of The Daily Carnage Show, Shannon bre...

At the annual I/O conference, Google announced it would overhaul search as we know it. Our current experience will be ultimately replaced with an intelligent, dynamically expanding search box, 24/7 AI-powered information agents, and interactive "Generative UI" that builds mini-apps and custom widgets directly on your results page. Now, we're all left to wonder... If AI agents become...

GLP-1s are disrupting demand at a biological level, leading to booms in some sectors and busts in others. Shannon breaks down how grocery, restaurants, CPG, retail, beauty, pharma, and even airlines are affected. Plus, how the current protein trend is related.

Let's talk about "Spirit 2.0," the crowdfunded effort to purchase Spirit Airlines—in the wake of an abrupt closure—and operate it for the people. Shannon breaks down a little Spirit Airlines history, what led to the shutdown, how the Green Bay Packers serve as a model structure, and what this cultural moment means for brands and consumers alike. Will this petition for collective owne...

We're recapping social platform updates that turn ads into conversations, search into chat, and quietly reshape where content actually lives. Instagram launches Instants, an app to rival Snachat. TikTok now lets creators suggest relevant keywords for clips. YouTube tests comprehensive AI responses to search queries. Snapchat announces AI Sponsored Snaps, allowing brands to reach users in chat thro...

Shannon breaks down the "Walkers Tolerated" Nike controversy, and how competitors Altra, Asics, and Ecco responded with their own inclusive campaigns. Plus, ChatGPT ads move from outrageous CPMs to reasonable CPCs, Facebook wants to dip into your camera roll for inspiration, deviantArt sells its soul, and Starbucks and Little Caesars are taking orders through ChatGPT.

Shannon gives a brief history of out-of-home advertising—from ancient murals to Mail Pouch Tobacco barns to augmented reality—before diving in to examples of transgressive OOH in the 21st century that have disrupted how we move through space and time in fragmented digital world.

Shannon shares new research about a new occupational hazard: AI Brain Fry. Plus, will AI replace marketers? Why does Gen Z wish TikTok was never invented? What are Verts? And more. 00:15 — AI Brain Fry 04:10 — Will AI replace marketers? 05:35 — Anthropic's decision pays off 06:35 — Gen Z on TikTok 08:51 — Disney+ Verts 09:19 — YouTube Digital Literacy 10:36 — Ad from The Past: Apple, 1983

This week, Shannon breaks down the ChatGPT boycotts after OpenAI's contract with the Pentagon. Plus, Meta's new creation and reporting features; why out-of-home campaigns are cool now; and the puzzling mukbang from McDonald's CEO. 00:16 — OpenAI, Anthropic, and the Dept. of War 04:25 — Meta Updates 05:51 — OOH is Transgressive 08:56 — McDonald's CEO Mukbang 12:49 — Ad from The Past...

Welcome back to Season 2, Carnies! Shannon kicks us off with an ethical discussion of ChatGPT's decision to integrate ads — along with Australia's youth social ban, TikTok's new Local Feed, Meta's sneaky facial-identification update, and Ring's Super Bowl campaign backlash.

The marketing and advertising world is in burnout crisis. Shannon outlines signs of burnout and some of the primary causes, including digital overload, multitasking, unsustainable demand and unrealistic expectations, role creep, generative AI, and more. Finally... how do we fix it?

Why are brands getting so weird? In this episode, Shannon traces the rise of unhinged marketing through the lens of postmodernism and surrealism—two art movements born from periods of cultural instability. Discover how marketers use chaos, irony, cynicism, and disruption to resonate in a fragmented, meme-driven media landscape.