Brands and internet culture

Member lesson

When a brand should join in, and when to stay out

Lesson 3 of 10 in Brands and internet culture.

Checked against the makers' documentation on 9 October 2026.

Lesson

Every week offers a brand something to join. It might be a final over, a clip everyone is sharing or a festival. Joining well can make a small brand feel present, and joining badly gets remembered for years. A case marketers still cite is Oreo's tweet during the 2013 Super Bowl, when the power failed inside New Orleans' Superdome and the brand posted an image with the line 'You can still dunk in the dark'. The Verge reported the next day that Oreo had kept its advertising team, including an art director, in the office during the game, ready to respond to whatever happened. Agencies still reach for it when they explain real-time marketing to a client.

Member

The rest of this is for members.

You have read the opening of this lesson. The rest of it comes with a membership.

One membership covers all four courses and Brands.

  • All lessons in the four Learn courses
  • All brand breakdowns in the Brands section
  • All quizzes, flashcards and crosswords
  • An AI teacher on every lesson, for up to 60 questions a day
  • All course material published during the membership

Price

Membership is from $12 a month on the Yearly plan, which is charged at $144 once a year. Lifetime access is $59, paid once.Membership is from ₹200 a month on the Yearly plan, which is charged at ₹2,400 + GST once a year. Lifetime access is ₹3,999 + GST, paid once.

Check what stuck

Members only

You can't take this check yet.

Members answer these 3 questions and keep the ticket for this lesson. Every lesson has one.

  1. Question 1, locked

    According to Lisa Mann of Mondelēz, what lay behind Oreo's 2013 blackout tweet?

    • A lucky guess by one junior employee
    • A year and a half of practice
    • A paid deal with the broadcaster
    • A post written months before the game
  2. Question 2, locked

    A small brand plans a reel built on a famous actor's face and catchphrase. What does the lesson warn?

    • It is fine if the clip lasts under 15 seconds
    • It is fine as long as the brand tags the actor
    • A brand post built on a star's face is commercial, so personality rights apply
    • Only the film's studio can object, never the actor
  3. Question 3, locked

    Which of these is on the lesson's checklist before you join a moment?

    • The post uses the trending team's logo so people recognise it
    • At least five other brands have joined first
    • The joke is explained in the caption
    • The scheduled queue has been checked against today's news

Elsewhere in the library

Hear about new courses.

Leave an email and we will tell you when something new lands. We do not write often.