Dive Brief:

• Reese’s has jumped on the hype around Taylor Swift’s new album with an ad that was created in less than 24 hours, per details shared with Marketing Dive. Reese’s is a partner on the Kelce brothers’ “New Heights,” the podcast where Swift dropped the news Wednesday.  
• The confectionery brand’s 15-second spot, which promotes a product collaboration with cookiemaker Oreo, draws parallels between its classic orange packaging and the color scheme of Swift’s upcoming “The Life of a Showgirl,” among other Easter eggs for fans.
• The creative was assembled in record time for Reese’s, which worked with The Martin Agency and MiltonOne on the effort, and went live with a day-long YouTube masthead placement. Social posts on TikTok and Instagram and connected TV buys support the marketing play.

Dive Insight:

Another Taylor Swift album cycle means consumers should expect an outpouring of marketing that tries to capitalize on fervid interest in one of the globe’s preeminent pop stars. Reese’s turning around a piece of creative in under a day, inclusive of YouTube masthead and CTV buys, underpins the premium that marketers are putting on agility — and the benefits of a first-mover advantage during noisy cultural moments.

Hershey-owned Reese’s was able to leverage its connection to “New Heights” to maximize impact. The podcast is co-hosted by NFL icons Jason and Travis Kelce, the latter of whom is in a relationship with Swift. The “New Heights” episode where Swift unveiled “The Life of a Showgirl,” her first podcast appearance to date, has racked up over 14 million YouTube views in two days while Reese’s video on the platform has over 3.6 million hits, speaking to how the brand’s speed has been rewarded with consumer attention.

The 15-second ad, titled “You Asked For It,” takes advantage of what has been dubbed Swift’s “Orange Era,” creating a thematic link with Reese’s signature color. It also states that a Reese’s-Oreo collaboration has been waiting “in the vault,” a term Swift uses to refer to previously unreleased material.

Reese’s is running a separate, less Swift-themed ad around “New Heights” for its Oreo partnership, titled “Happy Now.” “The Life of a Showgirl,” which was developed when Swift was on her record-breaking Eras Tour last year, drops Oct. 3.  

Other brands, including Starbucks and Panera Bread, have responded with lightning speed to the Swift developments. Panera on Thursday revealed a “The Loaf Story” meal and “In My Sourdough Era” sweatshirts appealing to Swifties.