THE SUPER VALENTINE’S DAY BOWL: with Jackie DeJesu Center

25:21We're being sold more, more, more, more, more. I don't know. I liked it. I thought it was good. Jesus always shows up at the Super Bowl. Oh, yeah. Jesus has a fucking killer ad team. Whoever is doing the work on Jesus. Yeah. My personal power rankings were one, Jesus. Two, Guy Fieri. Oh, the Guy Fieri won. is good yeah for i like to seeing drewski in a t-mobile commercial good for him yeah yeah drewski is too funny he's doing a lot drewski yeah he's he's he's very much out here yeah i think uh jesus typically um yeah they they got me they typically get me but i guess i was out of the room or i must have missed it i mean these uh i was only half i think they were really playing up a lot of like the the human-centered stories they're really waxing about some bullshit a lot A lot of people were.

26:07The Jesus Haddon was good. I liked it. They're really waxing about some bullshit. When Rocket Mortgage is telling a story, telling some super human feel-good story, it's kind of just like, shut up. That's my old boss, Jonathan Mildenall. I don't know if it was that. I thought that was cute. No, it was that. It was Lady Gaga singing Won't You Be My Neighbor from the sort of Mr. Rogers. And then it was this heartwarming tale about people needing neighbors. Oh. Okay, yeah. Sure. It really played into people's narcissistic tendencies. Yeah. Thank you, Massive Bank. I mean, it's kind of a fun, like, to get the Mr.

26:46Rogers theme song and have Lady Gaga record it, but, like, why so much Lady Gaga? You know? I think she focus groups well. Yeah, probably. She's probably universally loved. I think she's universally respected, at minimum. That's fair. And, yeah, brands. No one can ever say that Lady Gaga didn't, like, do the damn thing. That's totally fair. You know what I mean? I think a lot of people really respect that. Like she started playing. She did that huge. She took all those creative risks. And then she only started showing her face a couple years. What's the bad got to be, though, for Lady Gaga to do a song in your commercial for Rocket Mortgage?

27:24You got to say you got it. I don't know. I think part of the reason why she might be everywhere is because her team has a different type of pricing strategy. I think she's like, I'll do it for five mil. She shows up in studio. She sings for like three hours and she goes home and she collects the. See, I think she probably is like whatever the market rate is. It's like also a volume play a little. Yeah. I mean, I think I don't know. I just don't think she needs to do a rocket mortgage commercial. And I feel like, you know, she she she will if she gets the bag. I think Lady Gaga is not about the bag.

27:58I think Lady Gaga is about the fact that she would have multiple touch points of presence throughout the Super Bowl. like that she strikes me as that kind of person i think she's really passionate about mortgages i mean listen guy fietty uh you didn't know that commercial was coming and you're like what the hell's going on i was like oh that's got regular guy fietty and that's sort of guy fietty fietty and you were you were you were pretty mind blown i mean it's a power it's like the it's a showcase in the power of a personal brand it really is also it's also a showcase in uh male grooming I mean, he's got a vibe.

28:35He's got a look. You only have so many decisions that you can make. As far as like they gave him a haircut, like they groomed him like that. Is that what you're talking about? Well, it just stripped of all of those wacky decisions that make his personal brand. Like homeboy looks like he's. Yeah, I think it's a great point about personal brand. Like his personal brand is rings and spiky hair and the thing. And then it's like he's iconic. You recognize him instantly as Lady Gaga Sky Fieri. and then without it it's just regular guy. Exactly. Just regular guy. Yeah, regular guy versus Guy Fieri. Yeah, yeah.

29:09Regular guy. That's your guy. That's Kevin's guy. Do you like him like that? Yeah. Yeah. He's my goat. All right. Updates on us as a couple. We celebrate 10 years wedding anniversary. Hell yeah. Check. A decade. A decade of us. I ran the New York City Marathon. No, you guys ran the New York City Marathon. We ran the New York City Marathon. We did? Yeah, yeah. We went to Coachella. Well, I supported the milestone moment of you running. But I would say we trained together. That was a journey. All the training, I was going to say, that was just as much me running as you dealing with me having to run all the time.

29:44And then talking about running? Talking. Oh, my God. It was his whole personality. Kevin was there for a while. His whole personality. Aren't you glad it's over? um i'm glad that you accomplished like such a big milestone thing that was really cool to watch and witness and be a part of and i'm also glad that i had like such a key part in what could have been you not doing it um i really felt like i wifed hard yes at that mile 10 i don't think i told the story on the podcast but we don't need to why not everyone likes adversity yeah there There was a moment in the marathon where I really thought maybe this wasn't going to happen for me.

30:28And there was a real moment of adversity where I had to look in the mirror and I had to dig down deep. And I didn't think I could do it. And I made a call to my partner. And I needed a pep talk. I needed a speech. I need to be talked off the ledge that I should keep going. And she provided one. I said, babe, I can't do this. And she said, you got this. I said, yes, you can. Yes, you can. You were built for this. And you know what? And then he hung up on me. And then he called back. And then he called back. And then I couldn't get in touch with him for like another 10 minutes. It was really hectic because it sounded like he wasn't going to do it.

31:11And also that my pep talk didn't work. So I don't know what he hung up. Yeah, at that moment where you were like, oh, fuck, he's not going to do this. I was like, he hung up on me. He didn't even let me continue to try to give him the pep talk. And then after you called back, then we actually, and then we saw your little dot move. It was really, we all were there. Thanks. We did it. Cheering you on. But yeah, I mean, that was a touch and go moment for all of us, I think. Me. And then what else? We went to Coachella. We're going to go back to Coachella. We went to Coachella. Confirmed. Beberchella.

31:47Beberchella. We're going. 2026. it's right around my birthday which is so fun that's right and we're gonna align on the schedule prior with the people that we go with so that Alex does not have another temperature yeah it's crazy you guys just left on Lady Gaga a lot of people don't know this about my husband and the center family in general it's been indoctrinated to me quite early that they don't leave like if we're at a game if we're at a concert like it could be like extra innings fucking excuse my language like hailing at city field and we we don't get to leave that's good um centers don't quit yeah centers don't quit that's it which is great for a husband we don't quit um we stick it to the end great for clients marathon coachella coachella wedding wedding wedding one we don't quit oh yeah we we don't we don't quit that's the decision um i got new diamonds oh that's true which was really cute because we're we're still in love we're still we're still we're still love we still love each other and that's why she's here i think i love you i think i love you more today than i've loved you ever wow that's captured on one two and three cameras here for the people no for real i i fell in love with you in a whole new way this year wow that's a really beautiful thing say it back i love you too baby

33:15and you know what did you fall in love with me in a whole new way this year i did fall in love with you a whole new way um that's true that's not not true is it hard with all these men that what want to be you oh that's what you know what else we did what else did we do baby we went through ivf and i got bruises all over my arm and then i shot nude in a bath to celebrate it. That was pretty iconic. We froze some embryos. We froze some embryos. We created some potentially maybe potential life. That's true. But that was pretty cool. What else did we do? Yeah, we loved each other. We went to Puerto Rico.

33:56Oh, we did go to Puerto Rico. I think we learned. We also like really learned how to communicate. I don't think this is like some real stuff. We're both creative directors and we're both very we we unlocked the fact that like outside of our marriage, everyone listens to us. Like it's a very interesting communication dynamic, especially because when he first started his career or like when we first started dating, he was internal. So he had a lot and he was junior. So we had a lot of people to like please and like listen to. and I was internal at an agency. I had to level up to my creative directors.

34:36I had to collaborate with my partner and da-da-da-da. But like the past five to 10 years, right, we've been in these environments where like we're the creative directors. We're the owners. It's like, what does Jackie want? What does Alex want? What does Jackie want? What does Alex want? And then we come back home and we're like, no, listen to me. I mean, marriage is a lot like - Listen to me. A creative collaboration, if you will. That's true. Oh, that's the other thing that we did. we've been in development of our packaging design for our hair care line with center and shower cap for yeah literally four and a half going on five years this past year we locked it right so our marriage that's like a creative collaboration was also a creative collaboration is what you're saying yeah and it almost broke us i mean listen it's hard to do some of those meetings were like Like, it was like, you know, that feeling like before you go, you go over the cliff in a roller coaster.

35:30I would get that sometimes at the door. Yeah, I mean, because I would just know. It's hard. Like you said, we're two people that employ and work with other people. And those people, they never question us. That's right. Kevin sees this all the time. I've never questioned. No, no, never questioned once. But it's listen, we've done great. And we're here again. year five episode 200 episode 200 is pretty sick of the fucking podcast front center and we have some topics we got to talk about six stories that are all valentine's day related and that's why we're here because we talk about advertising we talk about the super bowl uh but we also talk about what brands are doing for valentine's day and to be honest i think these are some of the best stories that i've seen in this um in the show's history because i i would say half of these things I think are really good and then half of them trash but hey look half of them are good we'll start with McDonald's um uh Jack are you familiar with McDonald's to be known is to be loved and we know our fans love pairing our crispy chicken McNuggets with their favorite caviar inspired by this perfect match they're dropping their first ever McNugget caviar kits featuring premium Bieri sturgeon caviar on February 10th, exclusively available online.

36:50Nothing says I love you quite like a limited drop from McDonald's. There's a time for your Valentine's Day plans. What do you think about McDonald's doing McNuggets and caviar together? I love a high-low anything combo. Right? Is that your take? Yeah. I love that. I think it makes a lot of sense for them. I think my issue, because we do this every year, and the roundups for these corporate collabs are always like really lackluster or they like miss the mark. I think that caviar bumps on nuggets is like that feels spot on. It feels irreverent. It feels smart. It feels like an elevation. It also feels like Valentine's like appropriate.

37:33It's very on trend. It's very chic. Very chic. Very Valentine's. not very McDonald's-y to do like a very high-end kind of caviar thing. Right, right, right. But that's what makes it interesting and kind of buzzworthy. And I love it. I think this is like Cocoa Doc, right? That like fried chicken place that has the nuggets and you get the caviar on them. Like very popular here in New York. Way to go, McDonald's. This is a good move. We went there for your birthday once, right? We did. Yeah. Like two years? Yeah, we took my parents, remember? It was nice. That was great. We should go back. Yeah, it's a great place.

38:03Very popular. Very cool. Kevin, thoughts I love it yeah I want to eat it yeah I want to eat it too high-low you're right and I know some people do like a lot of couples do like Popeyes or fried chicken and champagne and stuff like that like that's like people go into White Castle shout out White Castle people go to White Castle on Valentine's Day oh man I swear to God yeah no I think you're right Cincinnati thing no it's a it's just a thing it is a thing it's a thing where there's more White Castles around Yeah. But I've heard of couples that like to do the high-low thing. You need to get reservations?

38:35Yeah, you need a reservation. We've talked about this in the White Castle. For White Castle, yeah. Yeah. They didn't make this year's roundup, but we have talked about them in the past, the White Castle thing. I do think this is part of certain couples' traditions of high-low, like you said. They're not necessarily going to the five-course tasting menu restaurant. They just get fried chicken bucket, and they get champagne, and throw in some caviar. It's a nice thing to do for Valentine's. I agree. Did you make our reservations? I did. Did you get my present yet? What? I was just putting him on the spot.

39:07Did you see his face? Oh, I think you got medical glasses too. Did you see his face? Oh, you got medical glasses? Did you see his face? I want lingerie. Next topic. We got Vaseline and Red Lobster, two brands that I didn't see coming together. Yeah, they're new. But this Valentine's Day season, Vaseline and Red Lobster are making it unofficial. After a playful flirting in the DMs, these two iconic brands are inviting everyone in on the love with the debut of Vaseline Red Lobster Kissing Booth, a limited time Valentine's Day experience taking over selected booth reservation only at Red Lobster's Times Square location from February 10th to February 12th.

39:50Wait, so it's Vaseline for your lips and Red Lobster for your belly. Yeah. It is a kissing booth that you can reserve at the Red Lobster Times Square location that comes with a five-course dining experience, especially made for two. You get five courses and then a special complimentary Vaseline limited edition Valentine's Day lip therapy product that is served as the final course to keep your lips smooth, soft, and smooch-worthy. It feels like Red Lobster's carrying so much of this collab. I don't know why Vaseline is even involved whatsoever. This should just be a Red Lobster thing. I guess it's because it's a kissing booth, so you get like a...

40:35It should be the lobster booth or something. You go to the Red Lobster in Times Square. So that you can make out in the booth. And then you get this kissing booth motif that looks like it has a lot of red velvet. And, yeah, you get five-course kiss featuring Cheddar Bay biscuits, lobster flatbread with main and langisto lobster. But it's just a booth. It's just a booth. Next. It's just five courses. Next. I think the menu seems pretty good. And you just get Vaseline at the end for kissing. Here's what I'm saying. It's a strange combination. Something about lobster and Vaseline together is just strange.

41:18Lobster and kissing. Lobster and kissing is just kind of bizarre. Also, if you bring your partner to Times Square on Fountains, I say that is a unique type of torture. I don't know. I think the Red Lobster fixed menu could be fire. Yes. It sounds pretty good. Have you ever had those cheddar biscuits? I'm going to say something controversial. I don't know if I've ever been to a Red Lobster in my entire life. Me neither. Me neither. Should we go? Just for funsies. Not on Valentine's Day. No, certainly not on Valentine's Day. I hate the fact that they called it a kissing booth and it's not an actual kissing booth.

41:54That's such a reach for me. It's a booth that you sit in that you eat dinner. That's not a kissing booth. A kissing booth is very much its own thing. Yeah. But it's a booth. It's a booth. But it's like I would rather have somebody dressed up as a lobster like kissing with Vaseline or something. Yeah, but then you got to have like some random person kissing a bunch of people. That's what kissing booths are. Yeah, but then it's like, oh, my wife kissed the lobster. And then, you know. We have two quotes. You know how that goes. One from the Vaseline brand side and one with the Red Lobster brand side.

42:28And wife kissed the lobster. Which one do you would like to hear a quote from? My wife talked about wanting to kiss the lobster. Which quote would you prefer? Which head of Vaseline brand, which head of branding do you want, or marketing? Do you want the Vaseline side or the Red Lobster quote? this is a choose your own adventure segment. Are you going to read the second one after? No, I'm just going to read one of them because. I think you should read them both. Okay, fine. I pick Vaseline first though. Okay, fine. Quote, Valentine's Day fosters moments where people get a little closer, said Kate Goodbot, head of Vaseline brand North America.

43:00Partnering with Red Lobster, a classic date night destination, to create the kissing booth. Is it a classic date night? Was a fun way to take the cringe out of those moments, pairing craveable food, cozy booths, and Vaseline lip therapy to help lips feel soft, smooth, and ready for whatever comes after the dessert. I am... Wink, wink, nod, nod. Oh, oh. You got it? What's that Ice Cube song about Vaseline? Can you do it again? Is that what we're talking about here? It's so cute. Do it one more time. Do you know how to wink? No. Can you wink again? Behind the Oakley Meadow Vanguard glasses. Okay, here's the second quote.

43:41Quote, Red Lobster has always been a place where people come together. Am I winking? I'm reading a quote here, baby. Am I winking? Yeah, you nailed it. You totally nailed it. Is this a wink? We just found out on this podcast. Neither of us know how to wink. How did I land you not knowing how to wink? Terrible. Is that hot? I think yours is better than mine. Quote, Red Lobster has always been a place where people come together for special moments, from first dates to anniversaries at Heather Tim, senior director of marketing of Red Lobster, quote, partnering with Vaseline to celebrate their limited edition lip therapy collection felt like the perfect match, allowing us to bring their exclusive menu to life with a brand that understands what happens when great food sparks connection.

44:23We're out on this one. It's, you know. So forced. Red Lobster, not a great place to bring your partner on Valentine's Day, I don't think. You know what is a great place to bring your partner? Dave and Buster's. Oh, yeah. That's fun as fuck. Dave and Buster's has something that I really like here. That's a really fun date. I love an arcade date. This is where my reservation's made for yes, it's Dave and Buster's. I love an arcade date. I love a Chinatown arcade date. I love a random town. Like if you're like upstate and you're like, what do we have to do? It's raining. I love that type of arcade date.

44:54I love like a Dave and Buster's like anything that you can like put a coin in and get tickets. It's a fun date and they know this and that's why this Valentine's Day, Dave & Buster's is delivering a proposal experience unlike anything couples have ever seen before. The brand is transforming its viral human crane into a one-of-a-kind engagement moment by placing five 15 ,000 three-carat diamond engagement rings designed by Platinum Days inside the game at select stores for couples that are ready to take their relationship to the next level. One thing to note there, the human crane they talk about it like we should all know what it is yeah because it's viral so that means it reached everyone it is i had to look this up because i wanted to see what this looked like you know the famous claw game that you play in an arcade you're the human yeah people know what it is i think but you they they've created a giant one where the humans get suspended in air and then you go down like the crane and then you collect things with your hands it's iconic were aware of this human crane?

46:01I was aware of it. Can we do it? I don't know where it is. Oh, it's in Dave & Buster's. It's in Dave & Buster's. It's only select locations. Yeah, but there's got to be a New York one. They have New York ones. I don't know if they have the space for that, to be honest. Yeah, you bring up a good point. Can you Google really quickly where the human crane is? No, I have a picture in the dock of the human crane with a picture. You didn't see that? No, but I'm curious where we can actually do it. Oh, where it is. I'm not going to do that live on the show. So we got stuff to go through. But here's the thing.

46:32We can look into it. Maybe we'll be. God forbid a girl wants to add interest. How about this? I will look up Dave and Buster's where the human cranes are in North America while I'm reading this promo. That's great. You can let somebody else talk. Okay. Kevin, you want to talk about the human crane? I don't really have a lot to say about the human crane. Okay. I do think it's a fun idea. I like how they have valuable things in there. I like it too. That you could grab. Yeah. it feels hard because like the box compared to the yeah i wonder what they i wonder what they got like as far as well yeah what's going on in there inside of the human crane yeah and what's what's in the human crane when it's not jewelry is also the question you know probably just like regular prizes i would imagine but i think putting what are prizes like koosh balls yeah i feel like a human crane if you're gonna put yourself up there it still has to be like a valuable thing Possibly.

47:30We can look into it. There's probably a range of value. They weren't really specific. When we do it, can we live stream? They weren't really specific, yeah. Just kidding. I'm not live streaming anything. I think putting five$15 ,000 engagements that you can win, that's pretty legit. Is it five? They weren't very specific on the story. No, it's five separate$15 ,000 rings that they're putting at different Dave & Buster's locations. Again, I don't know how many human cranes there are in this nation. Again, I can look it up. Well, I was just trying to get people to go to the human crane and guess what?

47:59It's working. Yeah. It's only 15 bucks. To be a human crane? That's all it costs? Yeah, it's all it costs. I really want to do it. Oh, they have them at 73 out of their 170 nationwide location. Wow. So five. And Kevin is right. It's actually$20, but only$20 per ride. Wait, hold on. Yes. There's 73 human crane locations. Yep. And then there's five engagement rings at those human crane locations. I think spread out. Where's the nearest human crane? Probably Jersey. I think you also have to be under four foot five, or there's some height and weight restrictions that I don't know. Under four foot five?

48:39No one's under four foot five. I think it's for kids, but then how are those kids getting married? No, they're not. There's definitely adults in the room. A lot of confusion around this story. The human crane, guys. I will say the one thing that I actually think is really cool outside of the Human Crayon and the 15 engagements, it's part of the 99 date night duo deal, which you're ready for this. You get you get 90 minutes of all you can play. Fire. Cards. I would do that with you tomorrow. You also get. Wait, when does the promo start? 90. Wait, 90 minutes of all you can play at Dave and Buster's is so fun.

49:18for$99. You get 90 minutes of all you can play. Wait for it. One app, two entrees and one dessert. Wait, can we literally do this? I'm not kidding. Can we do this on the drive-up state? Cancel the Valentine's Day. Yeah, yeah. Cancel my plans. No, can we? I really want to. Go to Times Square. You know what, baby? I'll take you to Dave and Buster's. Thank you. Because I've been trying to go. We were going to go because we had a couple hours to kill. Where were we? Philly? Wait, where were we? Somewhere weird. North Carolina. Not weird. We're all in a family. A great place to be. Great place to be.

49:48All my aunts retired there. But I got really excited about going and it was closed. It had just closed. We had like two hours to kill before a movie. Right? Yeah, we went to see Marty Supreme. Oh, that's where we saw Marty Supreme. Yes. This Valentine's Day. Wait, will you take me? I will take it. You heard it, listeners. Yes. You heard it, listeners. I can't promise there'll be a human crane there, but you know what? 90 minutes of - But I think we should try to go to one that has a human crane. You already got an engagement ring. ring. I don't need an engagement ring. Yeah. Nor do I need a 10 year diamond stack.

50:20I got that too. It's not about the engagement for me. It's about the 90 minutes. It's about the 90 minutes of unlimited play. And the two entrees and the one appetizer. I'm all about 90 minutes of unlimited play. I also am all about play period all the time. I think it's one of the sexiest, most fun things that you can do with a lover is just to like have fun and do something silly, especially as an adult. Wow. Yeah. Remember that time that we went to the bouncy, we went to like one of those trampoline places we were talking about it last night and we were really stressed out. Like shower cap was like on like a crazy like growth tear and you had just launched center and we were like so flippant stressed out and we just like drove to New Jersey and went to one of those like trampoline.

51:05Yeah. Like what are they called? Trampoline enterprises. Trampoline parks. Trampoline parks. Sounds right. Yes. Yeah. Yeah, and we just bounced and jumped and bounced and jumped and laughed and collided. It was so fun. It was really fun. It was so fun. And people were like - Like, I would do it again. Yeah. Everyone's there with their kids, and we're just like, we're there bouncing. We're there to bounce. We are the kids. We are the kids. Actually. Yeah, and - Yeah, and once we stop enjoying things like this, that's when we'll actually have them. I don't think to be an adult, you have to be. You have to get rid of your - Every other adult is trying to find their child, their inner child in their play.

51:43Right? Yeah. Don't give up on play. Pierre Guilardi is literally writing books about it. Yeah. Don't give up on play. It's really important for creatives. Right? Yeah. I never play. Wow. That's a lie. I never. Kevin, you're out there skiing all the time. People tell me I play too much. That's true. I think your persona, your public persona. No, I'm playing all the time. Where are you playing? Are you playing with like kids things like arcades and jumping? I'm goofing around. You're goofing? I don't know. Yeah, I'm goofing. You do a lot of outdoorsy stuff, right? Yeah, I do it moving my body and stuff, playing sports and whatnot.

52:22Do you guys want to know a secret? I can't stop thinking about the Cheeto Puffs. What Cheeto Puffs? That we took home from Super Bowl. I've thought about it five times. During this interview? Yes. Well, then we got to get out of here. The next story, got the balls to propose. Move over, roses and chocolate. Buzz Balls is putting love to the ultimate test by offering a pink diamond to one bidder with the balls to propose this Valentine's Day. The nine-carat stunner hits the auction block alongside the launch of the brand's newest flavor, Pink Lemon Squeezy, a pink lemonade-inspired cocktail with a hint of sweet citrus.

52:55So valued at$35 ,000, this pink lemon squeeze me engagement ring is the ultimate statement piece for lovers ready to take their connection and their buzz balls obsession to the next level. So what this is, is a one ring that is literally designed to look like a buzz balls packaging, which if you're not familiar, is sort of a round dish, kind of looks like a tennis ball. Hard pass. And it says buzz balls on the side of this engagement ring. And then on the top, it has like a sort of like can opener thing. And it's on eBay. The only people that should be bidding on this are people who like got their first kiss or got their first lay as a couple like drunk on buzz balls.

53:42I'm sure. I'm sure a lot of people have, you know. Exactly. But I'm saying like the only the only way this works is if you if you like have an authentic connection, a personal connection. to buzz balls there's uh 87 bids right now and it's the the price is$6 ,500 on ebay that is at this current moment because i agree with you jack like my thought was like who wants an engagement ring with the buzz balls logo on it i don't care if it's worth$35 ,000 like that's crazy like can i see a pic of it who are these people in the doc but yeah and it's like they have to be buzz balls super fans right or buzz balls has to have something meaningful in their like relationship.

54:23Otherwise, like, why would you? I mean, it's kind of a dope ring. I'm not going to lie. No, it's really sick. Like it's really well designed. It's a pink diamond. I'll describe it for the for the viewers. Yes. It's or the listeners, because the viewers, you're going to have an overlay, right? The it's it's a pink diamond, nine carats, you said. Sure. Yeah. So it's a pink, it's a pink, like faceted diamond round with a like with an anchored like pop top. And then it is a pave pink diamonds all around the edges. And then also pave diamonds around the band. I mean, it's kind of sick. Do you think someone is trying to buy this for like 7 ,000 and then sell it for 30?

55:10I hope so. Yeah. I hope so, but also I would rock this. I mean, it's kind of sick, but it's like - And I don't even drink. But I think you got to have some sort of - Alcohol is for losers. Yeah. That's my hot take, but I will push it. Yeah, probably it's just people who like, you know, I think there's a lot of young people out there who drink it in college, probably have some college sweetheart or whatever, high school sweethearts that grew up and now they're getting married and they're like, yeah, I love drinking. And so does my wife. and she will love this buzz ball. They're saying, I love getting fucked up on alcohol so much.

55:45I think after viewing the design, they were smart to make it not look like an engagement ring, but just make it look like a dope cocktail ring. Yeah, it's cool. It's a cool ring. No, it's really well designed. I would not disagree. Get it? Cocktail ring? Is that what they call it? That's good, yeah. That's really good. It does look like a cocktail. But yeah, I mean, this is perfect for couples, Galentine's gifting, or anyone who thrives on bold moves and bigger than life moments. or anyone who likes nine carat pink diamonds. I love this quote. Bless you. Thank you. Bless you. Bless you. Quote, every main squeeze deserves the best and at Buzz Balls, the best means going bigger and brighter than anyone asked for, says Jess Sheerhorn, vice president of Buzz Balls.

56:22How do you not have ads on this podcast? Quote, we couldn't resist giving pink lemon squeezy a launch that lives up to Buzz Balls. His reads are so good. Over the top vibe from the ring's pink hue and iconic round shape to an unforgettable moment. Is it going to ruin the pot if I just keep talking? Only a true Buzz Balls power couple could pull off. No, it's great. People love when people talk over. No, don't cut it. It's great. Thank you, guys. Wait, that's it? That's it. So I'm going to drop my favorite campaign for Valentine's Day. Oh, wait. No, no, no. Sorry. We're not done. We have two more shirts.

56:53Oh, well, I'm just going to squeeze mine in right now. Okay, yeah. Squeeze yours in. After the pink lemon squeezy. I am Gia, which is like this Gen Z hot girl brand. They did this campaign called Thirst Traps. and this is like I've wanted to do our own thirst trap campaign for shower cap for quite some time and I almost did it for this year but they did it and it's a collab with I am thirst traps and it's really really funny and really good and really hot and they made all of this like I love thirst traps merch and it's just it's just really well done and like unlike all these like corporate smash is this is like a fashion brand that took like single girl valentine's day but did it in a way that's not like galentine's day with your girls you know so you're saying there's no promo with a vaseline company or uh the red lobster only for butt stuff uh i'm just kidding so cool brand doing cool thing for can you use vaseline for butt stuff i don't i don't know am i not allowed to say butt stuff on the podcast i just keep mentioning that in one of his songs.

58:01Kevin's right. I think he has a song called Vaseline. Really? Because of butt stuff? Well, he's like... I don't like butt stuff. He's gonna... He's like... The song is called No Vaseline. Yeah, No Vaseline, yeah. Ew! It's a famous 1991 diss track. Yeah, it's a... Very... Because it's like, I'm gonna fuck you with No Vaseline. I guess he... Pretty much literally. We're talking about his manager. One of the most intense and effective diss tracks in hip-hop history. Wow. Kevin, bringing some knowledge to the show. I love to see it. Two more stories. One of our - I just wanted to make it uncomfortably sexual.

58:35You did. It would not be this episode unless I - Success. Speaking of, one of our favorites from the past, Jackie, is Build-A-Bear. I love this one. Because Build-A-Bear, we discovered a couple of years ago, it feels like. Yeah. They have something called Build-A-Bear After Dark. So good. It was the first one. Oh, really? Okay. So we've been talking about this for years now because - Yeah, they do it every year. Is a beloved - And we do this every year. brand for kids in malls and it's literally like bring your like you know nine-year-old yeah but during valentine's day they get saucy they get really but remember last year sexy but but remember last year it wasn't sexy they were all just like alcoholics and we were like what what out of marketing drinks too much like it was just like the after dark was just turned into like party not like sexy.

59:25Well, this year they do have Valentine's Day sort of gift sets where there is some martinis involved and some rosé involved. So they haven't moved away from that. I mean, they must know that they're like midwife moms or like midwife moms. I really don't know who this is for. Yeah. Well, it's got to be for the people on the newsletter list now. I guess this must work because they do it every year and it's build a bear after dark. This Valentine's Day ages in just a number. It's an asset, especially when it comes with silver fur. It's an asset? Build a Bear Workshop. Silver fur? The iconic retail brand known for adding a little more heart to life is debuting the Silver Fox Plush as a newization to its After Dark collection available exclusively online through the brand's popular 18 plus Bear Cave micro site.

1:00:15There's so much to unpack there. so they have a separate part of their website called the bear cave which again is just some sort of weird sort of sexy side of the build-a-bear collection and so this year they're introducing the silver fox who is an older build-a-bear who has a tuxedo on and has a little martini he has a martini yeah so they don't change the lineup every year they just add one They have two different. They're just adding new ones, I feel like, to the collection. So do they still have like the drunk housewife one or whatever? I believe so, yes, potentially. But they have new ones.

1:00:51Like fuck me after housewives? I don't know. And they still have the, for an extra personal touch, you can add a record your voice sound chip, allowing them to include a custom message. I think that's one of the coolest parts. Sizzling or sweet and turn each gift into something uniquely memorable. Speaking of housewives, remember when once her name got that unicorn and then they threw it in the ocean? Yeah, that was fucked up. It was fucked up, but she got that from her lover. Yeah. From her lover. That's true. I think recording a voice note is so nice. I don't know about the Silver Fox thing, though.

1:01:21Yeah. Shit's weird. It is weird. I think brands, if they want to be sexy, they can. But maybe some brands shouldn't be sexy. Maybe the children's brand from the mall that you go to as a child and create a beloved best friend for yourself. Maybe that brand should stay not sexy. Especially this year. In the year 2026, I was going to say any headline that starts with age isn't just a number is maybe just like, don't do that. Yeah. Yeah. I applaud their balls. Yeah. That's pretty good. Is there CMO in the Epstein files? I don't know. We haven't. I mean, the Sower Fox is giving Jeffrey Epstein. I am obsessed with the headline.

1:02:02Build-A-Bear After Dark turns up the riz this Valentine's Day with the debut of Silver Fox. Wait, they had multiple headlines? No, that was the press release for PR. So wait, where's the one that's age is just a number? That's the Newswire sort of press release. Newswire should know better. Newswire, they send them this copy and they just spit it out. Also, this is raw press release. This image is giving very creepy energy. Yeah. It's just, what is going on? Wait, are those multiple women around the Silver Fox? I hope not. It looks like some shit that would be redacted in the Epstein files. Do they look, can you turn it around?

1:02:44Do they look like pageant girls? Turn around? What? Turn around? Yeah, I don't know. Do they look like young pageant girls? I don't know, but that's an older bear. Yeah, that is an older bear. That's like the old silver fox bear. Oh, I don't love that. This is just bad timing and just altogether just a little creepy. Well, I started by saying I like this, but after that visual. It's just dark. It's after dark. I know. But also like they're kind of playing up the like furry thing. And like maybe in years past that was kind of like cheeky and fun. I'm sure there's – I think it's probably – Yeah, but now getting turned on by stuffed animals is like let's just sort out the big picture issues first.

1:03:21Maybe let's just like pump the brakes on the sexy side of Build-A-Bear. Like generally – The sexy side of anything related to childhood. Yeah, I don't know. It just feels weird. Decentralized pedophiles. but he does have a martini um and actually i mean he's kind of cute he is kind of cute all right last story and this is another brand that we've talked about in this episode that i think does it right it's sweetheart so sweethearts for those people new to the show are those sweetheart they're the candies they're the hearts they're basically just sugar but they have little messages on them they've been around for fucking what feels like decades centuries who knows how long they've been make and those things.

1:04:01But each year they kind of have a new way to bring in new phrases to the sweetheart game. And this year, the name of the sort of campaign is called Love in This Economy. So they're adding new words to this, new sayings to the iconic conversation hearts. You ready? Quote, split rent, share login, carpool, buy in bulk, and cook for two. I like it. I think it's funny. I think it's topical in this economy that the sort of sweethearts, conversation hearts are talking about sharing logins. That's love. That's modern love. That is modern love. And I think that's kind of cool. I don't know. It just feels like a scarcity mentality to just owe it to like in this economy, in this economy, in this economy.

1:04:50It's just a funny comment. Yeah. I mean, Americans are seeking more affordable options when it comes to dating this year with 80 percent of survey respondents saying the economy is impacting their Valentine's. estate plans oh that's possible so to reflect this year's new reality that's why they've added be loving the economy it's tough out here loving this economy uh sayings i think they got to do something every year to keep it new and interesting and this i i plot them they're funny you know i like it it's like a we we too broke i like it and if you're eating these you kind of are broke yeah i mean these these are nasty way to stay relevant sweetheart so that's what that's my thought it's like hey you got to do something and like you know it's hard to come up with new ideas Share login, cooking for two, split rent.

1:05:33They get one moment each year, and they make the most of it. And I like that about Sweethearts. This is their moment, and they do something funny and something smart. Remember last year they did the blurry ones that were the situation chips, which we know were just defects that didn't print that good. That was fine. I liked it. But this one's better. This is better. This is better. Also, here's another thought. how much money does this company make? Are people buying these in droves? I think so. This is the one time of the year they got. Such a seasonal business. And I'm sure they're probably a part of another conglomerate or some shit, so it's probably not that big of a deal for them.

1:06:12Kevin, you know what I like when Valentine's Day brands, they have surveys. They've done some research. The data. The data. For the sweet tooth sweethearts out there, despite the economic uncertainty, candy still tops the list of Valentine's Day wish lists for millennials at 33%. It's cheap. Mm-hmm. And that's the show. Thank you, baby, for coming in. Thanks for making this a great episode. Thanks for having me. Every year. Never know what to expect, and yet it is always a good time. I love you. Thanks for coming. I love you too. I love you. I love Center. I love all of the listeners. I love everybody who buys a shower cap.

1:06:50I'm going to put a promo code on showercap.com. This is my free plug. It's not going to get there in time for Valentine's Day because I think this comes out then. But just use Front End Center for 20 % off. We got a promo code. Promo code. Front End Center on S-H-H-H-O-W-E-R-C-A-P.com. It actually comes a couple days out. Can I actually get it? Sure. Yeah, sure. Oh, you actually want to promo. Yeah, why not? The actual. I'm sorry. Please hold. He's going to edit this anyway, right? Mm-hmm. thanks for the assist okay this is this is a shower cap and this can you leave this in yeah okay this is a shower cap and this one is relevant to our valentine's day because it's actually named for our celebrity couple name which is ajax it's one of our most popular it's out of production but it's coming back for the upcoming fan vote because this is a fan favorite we're bringing back all of our prints so you can vote for the next collection and if you don't know what a shower cap looks like.

1:07:56This is what it looks like. You've never seen a shower cap like this before, but now all over Amazon there's dupes. And yeah, this is named after Alex and Jackie, a.k.a. Ajax. If you notice, Alex wears the medallion. That's what that is. And I wear this one. And it's the best shower cap in the land. Okay, thanks for coming. Alrighty. Thanks, everybody. We'll see you next week with a fire guest. Another fire guest. Or no, I don't know what's going to be next week, Kevin. I don't I just work here sounds good