Live To Tell | May 3, 2019

Talk About It

Fantastic: Burger King Created Ads From X-Rays of Customers Eating Its Burgers

There are a lot of ridiculous ways to injure oneself, but doing so via cheeseburger takes particular skill. Always one to go to great lengths to land the joke, Burger King recently decided to take advantage of the many patrons over the years who have managed to suffer Whopper-related injuries with a new series of ads. Promoting the Whopper and Mega Stacker burgers, the ads pair purportedly real X-rays of customers’ jaw injuries due to, one is led to believe, the massive size of the burgers with accompanying tweets that read along the lines of “Ouch… sprained my jaw at Burger King, great huh?”

Celebrity: Serena Williams Launches Venture Fund

As a 23-time Grand Slam champion, Serena Williams has spent the better part of her life in the public eye. The same can’t be said for her latest business venture, however. Williams recently revealed she launched a venture capital firm, Serena Ventures, back in 2014. The fund focuses specifically on women-owned businesses, people of color and young companies and entrepreneurs; some of the companies Serena Ventures has invested in are MasterClass and the Wing.

Cash Money: Amazon Invests $800 Million in One-Day Shipping

When Amazon first introduced its Prime membership service more than a decade ago, its core value proposition was free two-day shipping, a feature that ended up being a key driver in the e-commerce giant’s rapid ascent to the force it is today. Now, Amazon is investing heavily to cut that in half by investing $800 million to make one-day shipping the standard for Prime members at some point in the (near?) future.

Forward Thinking: Bulleit’s 3D-Printed Cocktails

At this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, Bulleit has created a futuristic atmosphere in which attendees can kick back and imbibe: a 3D-printed lounge. Not only is the entire bar at the Bulleit Frontier Lounge 3D printed, but its beverages are as well. How, you ask? We’re not sure exactly, but it involves partnerships with various robotics firms and specialty bartenders, all to create what the brand calls an “immersive and intimate 3D printed whiskey experience, unlike anything anyone in the Big Apple has ever seen before.”

Friend or Foe: James Holzhauer

For the past 20 days and counting, a 34-year-old man from Naperville, Illinois has captivated the nation with his unprecedented "Jeopardy!" winning streak. James Holzhauer, a professional sports gambler (does that fall under ‘self-employed’ on your tax return?), has hauled in $1.5 million so far, breaking nearly every "Jeopardy!" record in the process. Is this related to business? Maybe tangentially at best, but Holzhauer’s aggressive, data-driven strategy is innately entrepreneurial. That being said, is Holzhauer’s historic “Jeopardy!” run admirable or annoying?

Heating Up

In our daily lives as consumers, we’ve all claimed to have been “just browsing” to avoid being pressured into a sale and continue shopping at our leisure. The same mentality applies for prospective franchise buyers, No Limit Agency* CEO Nick Powills says in his latest column for 1851 Franchise. As a content marketing and PR pro working in the franchise industry, Powills is intimately familiar with the ever-lengthening discovery process. If leads wish to remain incognito, he says, brands must work to provide prospects with the information they are seeking with smart, informative marketing supported by third-party validation.