2022 will go down as the year of the Liz Truss lettuce, the Jennifer Coolidge “Jenaissance,” and the $8 “$5 meal.”

It’s no secret that seemingly everything has gotten more expensive in the last year, and some brands have taken it upon themselves to address consumers’ economic woes head-on.

• Earlier this year, Everlane had an “anti-inflation sale.” RV-rental company Outdoorsy made an ad about inflation not existing in nature.
• A Hardee’s campaign featured a faux newscast about inflation to hawk burgers.
• And now, with the holidays on the horizon, more brands are incorporating language around tightened budgets into their campaign messaging.
  

Big picture: But when it comes to marketing around inflation, how beneficial is it to mention the elephant in the room—particularly when consumers are struggling while corporate profits are at an all-time high? And how can brands resonate with people otherwise?

Keep Be the change

Kaitlin Ceckowski, associate director at Mintel Consulting, told us that brands looking to address inflation are likely better off positioning themselves as a solution. One example she shared is Chase, which markets its apps as a budgeting tool.

“Obviously, it’s not radically changing consumers’ everyday lives, but they are brands that are in a position to help consumers navigate financial concerns,” she said, adding that “if you’re not a brand that's going to be able to radically change consumers’ day-to-day financial situation, it's probably not best that you try to be.”

Keep reading here.—KH

It’s been a bad month week for crypto.

The Federal Trade Commission is reportedly “probing several crypto firms over allegations their advertisements were deceptive or misleading,” according to Bloomberg.

“While we can’t comment on current events in the crypto markets or the details of any ongoing investigations, we are investigating several firms for possible misconduct concerning digital assets,” wrote FTC spokesperson Juliana Gruenwald Henderson to Marketing Brew. She did not say whether the investigation is centered on the firms’ advertising strategies.

Backtrack: If you’ll remember, 2022 kicked off with the “Crypto Bowl” as cryptocurrency firms like FTX, Crypto.com, and Coinbase flooded the airways with ads. Crypto-related brands spent $223 million on ads in the US through October of this year, according to CNBC, up 150% from 2021.

Then, crypto tanked. FTX crashed, and the Miami Heat decided to rename its arena.

Called out: Stars have recently found themselves in hot water for shilling crypto. Celebrities including Larry David and Tom Brady, who have starred in FTX commercials, were named in a class-action lawsuit against FTX and its former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried last month that alleges their endorsements gave “credibility” to the company.

Another class-action lawsuit accused Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Kim Kardashian of making “false or misleading” statements about EthereumMax, though it was dismissed by a federal judge this week.

Meanwhile, the SEC hit Kim Kardashian with a $1.26 million fine for failing to disclose that she was paid to promote EthereumMax on Instagram earlier this year.

Related, unrelated: In other misleading advertising news, the FTC and several states just settled with Google and iHeartMedia for allegations of paying radio personalities to promote the Pixel 4 with testimonials…without actually giving them the phone.—RB

Future Social is a weekly newsletter on social media, content, and creators from Jack Appleby, a Morning Brew creator who’s worked in social media for 10 years at companies like Beats by Dre, Microsoft, and Twitch. Check out an excerpt from one of his pieces below, and sign up for Future Social here.

2022 was a wild one for social media, and I’m not just talking Twitter (but we’ll certainly talk more Twitter). Let’s talk about next year and prepare (as much as we can) for where the wild world of internetting is heading.

Twitter ain’t going anywhere

Listen, I don’t love Elon and truly feel like every change since he took over has made Twitter a worse place. But you should plan for Twitter being around. Considering the other major social networks’ focus on visual content, I just don’t see wordies flocking elsewhere. The other platforms aren’t positioned as well for real time either. For better or worse, Twitter really is the best place for conversation.

I’ve written a few pieces to help your brand decide how to tweet through the future:

• Should your brand stay on Twitter?
• Why your brand shouldn’t run to the new social networks

Keep reading here.—JA

Moving on: Nostalgia has dominated pop culture and advertising for the last decade. What’s old became new—a story as old as time itself. But are we at a tipping point? Read MNTN’s new article to find out.

^{*This is sponsored advertising content.}

Are you wondering what targeting innovations are coming to replace the third-party cookie? Check out this Marketing Brew report, which explores a new tool that would give publishers more control over how their audiences are bought and sold.

Read or listen to this insightful resource here.

Which headlines are real marketing news, and which one is fake?

1. E.l.f. forecasts ‘glow storm’ with The Weather Channel, Meghan Trainor
2. Miller High Life made a leg lamp for Christmas that dispenses beer
3. Jim Beam offers novel fix for holiday blues: hug-simulating pajamas
4. H&M is selling a limited-edition Christmas-tree dress that lights up

Keep scrolling for the answer.

Catch up on a few Marketing Brew stories you might have missed.

• Despite an advertising pause, researcher says brands could be letting Twitter have access to some types of consumer data
• Have we hit peak nostalgia?
• Only the Super Bowl beats Turkey Day viewing