SRH

04/14/2026

How did an ad for Levi's 501s also drive the sales of boxer shorts and put an iconic Marvin Gaye song back on the charts after nearly two decades? The SRH TL;DR Dispatch is back with one of the greatest magic tricks in advertising history. Okay, fine. One of the greatest illusions in advertising history.

04/14/2026

The campaign was incredible. The business effects were mind blowing. This week we're talking about one of the most miraculous magic tricks in the history of advertising. A single ad, and the campaign that followed, transformed Levi's 501s from deeply uncool dad pants into hot guy pants almost overnight. The SRH Empirical Marketing Dispatch is back with the story of "Levi's 501 Originals." Does advertising work? Advertising works.

Explore how one iconic ad turned Levi's 501s from ordinary dad jeans into cultural symbols, highlighting the power of advertising in shaping desire.

03/24/2026

You can't start a fire without a spark. You can't solve a massive, 4P marketing problem with advertising alone. How did Levi's win the denim wars of the 1980s? The SRH Empirical Marketing Dispatch is out today!

03/24/2026

Once upon a time, Levi's ruled the world. And then it didn't. In the early 1980s, sales of Levi's fell through the floor into the basement and landed on a pile of old paint cans. What happened? Fashion. Designers. The desire for status. The desire to be cool. In the early 1980s, Levi's had a massive, 4P marketing problem. Bruce Springsteen, of all people, saved them. Well, Bruce Springsteen's ass saved them. Sort of. Not entirely.

The SRH Empirical Marketing Dispatch is out today! As always, the link is in the comments.

How Bruce Springsteen’s iconic 501s helped revive Levi’s—and the marketing lesson on staying true to your brand when competition heats up.

03/16/2026

Huge shoutout to baller/shot callers Peter Jackson (not that Peter Jackson), Alysha Arnold, Maurice Hughes and John Bloss who repped SRH at The Ability Center's 4th annual Unstoppable Cup.

The Unstoppable Cup is all about inclusion, teamwork and the power of play, and SRH WON THE WHOLE THING!!! Wait, no. That’s not right. WE CAME IN 12TH!!!

A huge thank you to The Ability Center. They rule the Earth. We had a blast. You can still donate to the SRH Team Page (link in the comments) to support people impacted by disabilities through daily opportunities for health, wellness, recreation and connection. The connection part is super important. It's all important.

03/10/2026

Should your brand show up in AI search? Uh, yes. How? The TL;DR answer might surprise you.

03/10/2026

So how do you get the robots to love you? How do you get your brand to show up in AI search? This SRH Empirical Marketing Dispatch goes out to anyone who has been asked to "Hack the algorithm ... or whatever."

Learn how robots, AI, and LLMs like ChatGPT decide which brands to recommend—and how marketers can build the signals that make AI include their brand.

02/24/2026

If brand love is a myth, how has e.l.f. enjoyed 28 consecutive quarters of net sales growth? After all, they've built a passionate fan base, right? Right. Or maybe they're relentlessly focused on the needs, wants and desires of their customers. Maybe they're showing up everywhere their customers are. The TL;DR Dispatch is out! It's short. Read it.

02/24/2026

The SRH Empirical Marketing Dispatch is out today! We talk about e.l.f. We talk about Nike. We talk about what happens when brands love their customers. We talk about what can happen when brands assume customers love them back. We talk about the One Absolute and Possibly Uncomfortable Truth of Marketing. And Foo Fighters, sort of. A bit. Read it!

The absolute and uncomfortable truths of marketing: why brand love is a myth, what e.l.f. gets right, and where Nike went wrong.

02/10/2026

Is there such a thing as too much clarity? We cannot escape metrics, but do the metrics we live by measure what really matters? Wells Fargo Bank thought so, and a single number nearly destroyed them. Hyperbole? Sure. A bit. The TL;DR Dispatch is out today. R it.

02/10/2026

The number eight nearly ruined Wells Fargo Bank. True story.

Imagine that you are Dennis Rodman. You're probably not, but let's say you are. It is 1997. You are part of basketball's Holy Trinity, mentioned in the same breath as Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.

Your team, the Chicago Bulls, is kicking dynastic, world-dominating amounts of ass. Suddenly, your salary plummets to the ground with all the ferocity of the meteor that killed the dinosaurs. Okay, why?

Because someone in the league front office decided to lock player salaries to their Player Efficiency Rating. Play efficiently, and you get paid more. You, Dennis Rodman, are not an efficient player.

This, of course, is ludicrous. Utterly daft. It didn't happen. Let's say it did. In this bizarro, alternate universe where it is 1997 and you are Dennis Rodman, what would you do? How would this new metric change how you play the game?

The SRH Empirical Marketing Dispatch is out today! We're looking at how metrics change what we care about. We talk about how a single number nearly destroyed Wells Fargo Bank. And? What it all might mean for you. Join us, won't you?

Explore how flawed metrics like player efficiency rating nearly led Wells Fargo to disaster and Dennis Rodman's insights on value capture.