{"id":9140,"date":"2025-09-10T01:20:18","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T05:20:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/2025\/09\/10\/as-cultural-capital-becomes-the-new-currency-do-brands-risk-trading-away-their-identity\/"},"modified":"2025-09-10T08:12:57","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T12:12:57","slug":"as-cultural-capital-becomes-the-new-currency-do-brands-risk-trading-away-their-identity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/as-cultural-capital-becomes-the-new-currency-do-brands-risk-trading-away-their-identity\/9140\/","title":{"rendered":"As Cultural Capital Becomes the New Currency, Do Brands Risk Trading Away Their Identity?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Nataly Kelly, CMO of Zappi<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Some celebrities have an impact so grand it\u2019s almost as measurable as GDP \u2014 cultural capital that brands will jostle, sprint, and contort themselves to be part of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Case in point: Taylor Swift\u2019s announcement this week of her \u201corange era\u201d and new album Life of a Showgirl<\/em>. Within hours, the brands were there. Reese\u2019s and Oreo dropped a much-anticipated collab<\/a>, playing into the grandeur of their reveal. Panera unveiled a new sourdough, cheekily titled \u201cIt\u2019s a Loaf Story,\u201d<\/a> inspired by Swift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Swift announced the album on a Wednesday. In less than 48 hours, brands have spun creative, rallied their agencies, and launched products \u2013 all in an effort to be among the first to latch onto the next cultural moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

It says something profound about marketing today: cultural capital has become the new currency of brand success. But what are the trade-offs?<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

The Allure… and the risk<\/strong><\/h2>\n

When social feed is the marketplace, moments move consumers. Swift\u2019s announcement didn\u2019t just light up X and TikTok \u2014 it created micro-economies of attention. And it will continue to have ripple effects as we learn more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

But there\u2019s a catch. Zappi\u2019s analysis<\/a> of over 2,300 ads shows that while A-list celebrities give creative a small lift in distinctiveness, they don\u2019t necessarily improve effectiveness. Ads with celebrities score the same for short-term sales impact as those without. In other words, one in four ads features a famous face, but those spots aren\u2019t moving the needle more than non-celebrity creative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Why? Because when you tie your brand to someone else\u2019s moment, you run the risk of putting your own identity on the chopping block. Brands can dilute their value in the pursuit \u2014 ending up remembered more for the chase than for what they stand for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

The celebrity engagement spectrum<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Not all celebrity involvement is equal. Think of it as a spectrum from highly involved to one-off moments:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n