DTC1039: Not April Fool’s Campaigns? and Cherene Aubert on Growth Capital

Good morning,

Here’s what you’ll find in today’s DTC:

1️⃣ Can you guess if these are April Fool's campaigns or actual product drops?  
2️⃣ How to build a creative engine that isn’t overly reliant on Meta

You’re reading this newsletter along with new subscribers from: Zia Tile, Uncommon Goods, and Mary Brown's. 👋

‍😂 From Pickle Filled Puffers to Peanut Butter Toothpaste

It's that time of year again...when brands gleefully troll their own customers in the name of engagement.

But here's the twist: not everything that sounds unhinged is a joke.

Below are three product drops that made the internet collectively ask, "…wait, is this real?"

1. KFC's Pickle Puffer Jacket

KFC UK dropped a transparent puffer jacket filled with pickles (yes, you read that right) to promote its new pickle-themed menu.

Comments ranged from "Why???" to "it looks like a sensory nightmare," which honestly tracks.

The fast food brand claims the jacket was inspired by a viral AI-generated video, and one lucky fan can enter its pickle giveaway on Instagram to win it.

Take a guess!

Real drop
‍April Fool's gag

2. Reese's Peanut Butter Toothpaste

Reese's teamed up with oral health brand Hismile and launched a peanut butter-flavored toothpaste.

It's sugar-free, fluoride-packed, and comes with Hismile's signature cooling finish. Somehow, the internet actually loved this one.

Take a guess!

Real drop
‍April Fool's gag

‍3. David Protein's Frozen Cod

Protein bar brand David expanded into... frozen seafood?

Their DTC site began selling $55 flash-frozen, wild-caught Pacific cod because apparently the path to a high-protein, low-calorie diet runs through the ocean.

Something about this feels a little fishy.

Take a guess!

Real drop
‍April Fool's gag

The Reveal (Spoilers Ahead!) 👇

All three are real product drops.

Every single one.

The pickle jacket exists. The peanut butter toothpaste is on shelves. The $55 cod is in someone's freezer right now.

What Marketers Can Learn

Absurd product drops aren't just a stunt. They're a legitimate content strategy.

Here's why they keep working:

1️⃣ They grab attention. Visuals this bizarre make people do a double-take and stop the scroll.

Is it real? AI-generated? A joke?

That moment of confusion is exactly what earns the click.

2️⃣ Build brand affinity through shared humor. Nobody needs a pickle jacket.

But a brand willing to make one? That's a brand with a personality, and people want to be entertained.

3️⃣ It’s engagement bait in the best way. Absurd content gets liked, shared, debated, and screenshotted.

It divides the internet, which gives it legs long after the launch date.

Reply back and let us know how many you got correct!

‍5 Content Pipes That Scale DTC Growth Beyond Meta Ads

Cherene Aubert, founder of Growth Capital and former growth leader at ILIA and Bobbie, returns to the DTC Podcast to talk about what actually breaks when brands try to scale.

She shares that too many brands are still treating Meta like the whole strategy, when the real edge now comes from better creative systems, smarter offer journeys, and more varied content pipelines.

In this episode, we get into:

• Why Cherene is still bullish on Meta’s scale, but bearish on brands depending on it blindly
• The 5 content pipes brands need now, from founder content to influencers to organic social production
• Why the standard 15% off pop-up is usually lazy funnel design, not strategy
• How TikTok Shops can outperform Meta for the right demographic
• How to use AI agents inside Slack and Asana to automate reporting, analysis, and presentation work

▶️ Watch on YouTube | 🎧 Listen on Spotify

‍Instagram tests premium offering. Instagram Plus gives users access to exclusive features. Read more →

Claude Code disruptions? Anthropic admits users are hitting weekly usage limits quickly and are investigating why. Read more →

Create Wellness raises $20M. The supplement brand plans to scale retail distribution and launches creatine electrolyte sticks. Read more →

Win your own Birkin. AI shopping assistant Phia is giving away the luxury bag to a lucky user who downloads the app. Read more →

‍📥 Got a B2B Biz?

Join dozens of B2B companies finding demand-gen success through our niche community of 150k brand leaders and founders this year. Talk to our team to learn more.

Don’t forget to rate the DTC Podcast on Apple (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

DTC Newsletter is written by Rebecca Knight and Frances Du. Edited by Eric Dyck.

Please note that items in this newsletter marked with * contain sponsored content.