Sylvanian Drama, the social media account beloved by brands and 3.5 million followers on TikTok and Instagram, could soon be back with a different name after its latest brand-deal-related lawsuit was settled.

Since its inception, the account, which is run by creator Thea von Engelbrechten, has featured “Calico Critters” (known as “Sylvanian Family” dolls outside the US and Canada) in R-rated situations. The account recently went dark after the Calico Critter toymaker Epoch filed a lawsuit alleging copyright and trademark infringement and accusing von Engelbrechten of profiting off Epoch’s intellectual property without its permission.

That suit has now been resolved through a confidential settlement, according to a press release from Epoch. The company did not respond to Marketing Brew’s request for comment.

In the recent suit, Epoch focused on Sylvanian Drama’s deeper venture into brand deals, which Joe Lawlor, advertising and IP lawyer at law firm Haynes Boone, told us can strengthen these kinds of cases.

“What [Epoch was] going for is that this account was really a marketing/advertising device,” Lawlor said. “It’s all about these brand partnerships [and] trying to paint this account as one that’s not really a creative outlet or parody, but instead one to market products.”

While Epoch’s suit is wrapped, there could still be risks for brands that choose to partner with parody creators.

Continue reading here.—KH

The National Women’s Soccer League is just 13 years old, but it’s already hit $75 million in team sponsorship revenue as of 2024, almost as much as the WNBA’s team revenue of $76 million 27 seasons in, according to a new report from sports and entertainment sponsorship intelligence platform SponsorUnited.

While both leagues lag behind long-established men’s pro teams in the US like the NBA and NHL, which are topping $1 billion in revenue from team brand deals, the number of sponsorship deals for women’s sports is squarely on the rise.

SponsorUnited’s report, its first focused specifically on the NWSL’s growth, found that more than 200 new brands got involved with NWSL teams last season, bringing the total up to 401 in 2024 and representing a 16% increase in the number of sponsorship deals from 2023.

That being said, just three teams account for almost half of that revenue, which SponsorUnited said could spell “both opportunity and risk” for the NWSL in the second half of its 13th season.

Read more here.—AM

All Taylor Swift had to do was show off some orange, sparkly text on a podcast preview clip, and the brands ran like the wind.

Swifties far and wide rejoiced when the singer-songwriter herself graced the New Heights podcast with her presence, joining hosts and NFL stars Jason and Travis Kelce (the latter of whom Swift is famously dating) to not only make her podcast debut, but to exclusively announce her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl. The episode ultimately brought in more than 1.3 million livestream viewers and 13 million views on YouTube in the first 24 hours, per Variety.

The day before the episode officially dropped on August 13, the show posted a short clip showing Swift with a briefcase emblazoned with “T.S.” in orange, glittery font, where she pulled out the new album cover (which was blurred out to keep the suspense high). That’s all it took for brands to get involved on social media, where it suddenly felt like a race to incorporate the new Taylor lore into posts and branding.

Tarte Cosmetics imagined its products front and center on the forthcoming album cover. Dunkin’s already orange logo got the glitter treatment, while McLaren also leaned into its existing orange branding. Wheel of Fortune showed off its own showgirl, longtime presenter Vanna White, in various orange outfits from over the years. Petco reminded pet parents that cats can be Swifties, too.

Applebee’s posted a screenshot of a Swift-inspired menu playlist, and Crumbl made a mood board. Instacart took a relatable route, posting as a fan waiting for the podcast drop (and ordering snacks). Reese’s, which is a partner on New Heights, turned around a Taylor-coded campaign in 24 hours.

Douglas Brundage, CEO and founder of brand studio Kingsland, told us that just because brands can react quickly to a pop culture moment doesn’t always mean it will have tangible, positive effects.

“For a while, just the social proof of, ‘Look, we’re online too, we’ve also reacted to this,’ was all that it took for people to kind of react and [think], ‘Oh, wow, you’re cool, you get it,’” Brundage said. “I don’t think that’s really it anymore.”

Continue reading here.—JN

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This week, find out why brands are making original series for their social media, dive into the marketing machine behind the buzzy Oasis reunion tour, and discover why marketers are proceeding carefully when partnering with a parody account.

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Stories we’re jealous of.

• Bloomberg wrote about how J.Crew is focusing on its cultural relevancy after making it through bankruptcy.
• The Atlantic wrote about the “collective delusion” around AI three years in.
• Business Insider wrote about Perfectly Imperfect, an app and “social magazine” hoping to tap into early-internet nostalgia.