The First Week Sidecar.
A Friday newsletter that can help take the sting out of the first week of the year.
Dear agency readers, talking toilet paper rolls and anybody who needs a shot to celebrate week one.
If you’re reading this newsletter, you have almost made it through the first real week of the year. Isn’t that crazy? If you’re on day 9 of Dry January, that’s on you. You are squandering one of the top 5 drinking moments of the year.
To celebrate this first Friday, and to maybe clean up the agency liquor cabinet, grab that old bottle of Cognac and the Cointreau from some other random event. Mix with some fresh squeezed lemon, shake over ice and pour. This is the kind of shot that will ease the pain of that first timesheet entry.
The Drink Cart Sidecar Shot
1/2 oz Cognac
1/2 oz Cointreau
Fresh squeezed lemon juice.
This is Old school. A punchy nod to when we didn’t even have computers, and before the robots came on the scene. The kind of shot that makes you feel like you should be wearing a hat.
1. Ad History: Banner - The Soft Touch (1984)
I don’t want my toilet paper to be so friendly.
2. Ad History: Chef Boyardee. (1953)
It’s unreal that that is how you pronounce Chef Boyardee and that’s how it became so big? I’ve been saying it wrong for 5 decades. Also, how is that I can taste the ravioli to this day when you think about it coming out of that can?
3. Doing the Death Star Trench Run on The Sphere.
Turning the biggest screen in the world into something fans can actually play a game on is pretty great.
4. Tom Brady Says “Hut” for Pizza Hut. That’s the Whole Idea.
So the guy that would never even eat a strawberry before is now peddling Pizza Hut‘s biggest pizza with a completely lame hut reference? How much did he lose in the divorce and on crypto?
My favourite thing is reading the quote they make up for media releases from the brand. “‘Hut!' is woven into the fabric of football – it's the sound that sets every play in motion. As we leaned into this unmistakable connection, we wanted to give that iconic call a Pizza Hut spin. When you launch the Big New Yorker for just $10, you've got to go big with everything around it: from partnering with the biggest name in football and the QB who has shouted 'hut' more than anyone, to a big challenge worthy of the moment with a big pizza party," said Melissa Friebe, Chief Marketing Officer at Pizza Hut.
5. Lacoste still doing Lacoste things in 2026.
I’d love the discussion around, “what if we just opened two courts on the side of the mountain? “
See you next Friday.
Jackson.
The Drink Cart Friday Shot is your late Friday pick-me-up for pop culture brains and ad junkies. A fast pour of ad insights and hot takes, served like a quick round at your favourite dive bar after a week of client feedback.