Autodesk's CMO breaks down the branding lessons from Sydney's Sweeney's jeans commercial and Cracker Barrel's rebrand

"Marketers are setting the cultural conversation - with their successes as much as their missteps. But which campaigns are creating healthy tension? When is the right time to walk back a rebrand? Autodesk CMO Dara Treseder breaks down branding and marketing lessons from the most high-profile campaigns of 2025, giving her unvarnished opinion on everything from Sydney Sweeney to Cracker Barrel and more."

"Sydney Sweeney's American Eagle ad sparked all kinds of controversy and discussion about jeans versus genes. You and I talked before about what is healthy tension and toxic tension. So was this healthy tension, toxic tension? What does the reaction mean about where we are? Rapid Response, hosted by the former editor-in-chief of Fast CompanyOf using the tension to help? Bob Safian and recorded live at the 2025 Masters of Scale Summit in San Francisco."

"When Cracker Barrel fans responded to the removal of this old timer from the logo, right? They walked-and we've seen other brands backtrack, like HBO walking back Max, right? So are there situations, do you know, in the situations where it's like, this is a cultural conversation that I'm losing. I can't drive this conversation versus like I just made a mistake."

Marketers are setting the cultural conversation through both successful campaigns and notable missteps. High-profile controversies, such as Sydney Sweeney's American Eagle advertisement, have prompted debates over healthy versus toxic cultural tension. Brands face choices about when to reverse rebrands, illustrated by backlash to Cracker Barrel's logo change and other instances of brand backtracking. Authentic partnerships with creators and designers, exemplified by work with Tega Akinola in Autodesk's Let There Be Anything campaign, are increasingly central to brand strategy. Decision-making should weigh whether a campaign has become an unwinnable cultural conversation or represents a correctable mistake. Return on marketing investment (ROMI) must guide partnership selection and response timing.

Read at Fast Company