DTC862: YouTube Ad Tips, Got Milk? Campaign, and Liquid Death’s Expansion

Good morning, 

Here’s what you’ll find in today’s DTC:

📺 Make Better YouTube Ads
Here are some tips for making video ads in 2025.

🐄 Got Milk? Iconic Ad Campaign
Turn a bland product into an icon using cultural relevance. 

🚨 Daily Tariff Update
U.S. and EU tensions rise. 

‍🏋️ Liquid Death’s Expansion
‍It’s taking over a new product category. 

You’re reading this newsletter along with new subscribers from: Paperless Post, The Fold London, and The Dua Journal. 👋

➡️ Ready For A Strategy That Actually Works? Tap Into The Power of Remarketing Flows

🏆 Sometimes, it’s all about the results and Instant’s incremental revenue speaks for itself.

Results like:

• 📈 4.5x higher email revenue, like Fayt saw when they started using Instant
• 🛒 A 21% increase in abandoned cart recovery revenue that July Luggage got from using Instant’s email tools.
• 📩 An 83% improvement in email revenue, like Acler tapped into
• 💲 Or a $150k increase in revenue in 30 days, like The Collagen Co.

Want to see your brand listed in those success stories?

Get ready to capture up to 10x more lost shoppers and win back lost sales. With Instant, upgrade your abandonment flows and start driving 15-20% of your revenue. 

💸 Stop letting money slip through your fingers.

It’s time to find out how Instant can transform your strategy. Book a demo and get 50% off your first 60 days. 💥

📺 3 Lessons From YouTube’s Top Ads 

Google recently analyzed 4,700 global YouTube ads using AI and uncovered three patterns marketers can use to strengthen their own video strategies. 

Here’s what you need to know: 

1️⃣ Multiformat Storytelling Wins Attention

‍Top brands don’t just run one video. They layer formats and lengths to build a narrative arc. 

Volvo, for instance, used an emotional 4-minute film, 60-second ad, and 15-second ad to launch its EX90, driving a 250% search lift and $80M in earned media. 

👉 Tactical tip: Structure your campaigns like a content series. 

Use long-form for storytelling, mid-length for product positioning, and short-form for performance marketing.

2️⃣ Creator Partnerships Drive Authentic Engagement

Partnering with YouTube creators delivers higher attention and trust. 

TurboTax teamed up with comedian Adam Waheed for a relatable YouTube Short ad that has raked up over 18M views.  

Panasonic Japan used ASMR creators for sensory-driven content, earning over 2.4 million views. 

👉 Tactical tip: Find creators who naturally align with your product and give them room to integrate brand messaging in their own voice. Avoid over-scripted placements.

3️⃣ Culture-Driven Content Delivers Scale

‍Brands that tap into timely cultural moments see stronger results. 

During the U.S. election season, a time when stress levels tend to spike, the mental wellness app Calm ran “Silent” ads, offering 30 seconds of uninterrupted quiet to help viewers decompress.

Toyota worked with Zach King for an Indiana Jones-inspired short film blending a nostalgic movie reference and product promotion. 

👉 Tactical tip: Plan campaigns that align with major events or seasonal moments your audience cares about and consider localizing content where relevant.

The takeaway? 

Prioritize varied video lengths, build genuine creator collaborations, and stay plugged into cultural trends to maximize YouTube’s impact on your brand’s growth.

🫨 Time To Shake Up Your Strategy. Get The BFCM Playbook for Smarter Peak Season Planning

Ecommerce brands are heading into the most competitive Q4 in recent memory, but the ones who will win are already laying the groundwork. 

🚨 Swap’s latest guide breaks down 5 critical steps to protect margin and prevent chaos this peak season—before ad costs spike and ops hit overload.

Inside, find:

• 🎁 The $65.50 returns mistake most brands still make
• 📈 Why early planning drives 21% higher ROI
• 📦 How Allbirds tariff-proofed their global shipping
• 💸 The July promo strategy that fuels Q4 retargeting

Plan to turn those Q4 wins into Q1 momentum. 

Get the playbook that helped brands like Manors Golf grow 140% YoY.

📦 Your Daily Tariff Check-In

Whether it’s a minor tweak or a major shift, we’ll keep you posted on the latest tariff changes—so you’re always in the know. 

July 21, 2025 update:

• U.S. Commerce Chief Reaffirms August 1 Deadline
  
  • Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick warns that the August 1 deadline for a baseline 30% tariff is fixed and the EU will be charged the new tariff rate unless a deal is reached. He confirms there will be no extensions.
    
  • In response, the European Commission has finalized plans targeting up to €72 billion of U.S. exports, including Boeing aircraft, cars, bourbon, and chemicals. The EU is ready to activate retaliatory tariffs if no deal materializes.

• Meeting between Trump and Xi Jinping Is Possible
  
  • Reports indicate that President Trump and China's leader, Xi Jinping, may meet before or during October's APEC summit in South Korea to discuss tariff tensions.
    
  • Discussions may also include a universal 10% tariff baseline, with 55% rates for China, under a broader negotiating framework.

🎧 Why ‘Got Milk?’ Ads Are Still Highly Relevant 

Have you been listening to Ad-venturous? 

Aves takes us behind-the-scenes of one of the greatest ad campaigns of all time: Got Milk?. 

From Aaron Burr to Beyoncé, the campaign is about more than just milk mustaches. 

It’s a masterclass in understanding human behavior and turning bland products into culture.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why the absence of a product might be the most powerful narrative

“The realization that ‘The only time I notice milk is when I run out.’ This flipped the brief from “sell milk’s benefits” to “sell the pain of absence.”

• Building a repeatable creative process: Start your creative process by understanding how your customers feel, not what you want to say.
  
• Mine the comment section! Why marketers should treat Reddit, reviews, and social comments like focus groups. 

👉 Listen to the full episode with Aves here.

💸 Wondering how much profit you’re missing post-purchase? Try Aftersell’s free calculator to forecast your revenue with Rokt Thanks—based on your order volume. Try the calculator here. *

💰 Q4 is almost here and tariffs aren’t going anywhere. What’s the plan? Learn what 600+ other ecommerce brands are doing to find a winnable path through the busiest ecommerce season. Read the survey results here. *

The irreverent canned water brand just announced its next move: Sparkling Energy, dropping next year.

Think 12 oz. skinny cans packed with vitamins, zero sugar, and what they’re calling an “unextreme” 100 mg of caffeine. 

Enough to wake you up without giving you the jitters.

📥 Got a B2B Biz? 

Join dozens of B2B companies finding demand-gen success through our niche community of 150k brand leaders and founders this year. Talk to our team to learn more.

Have you heard our latest podcasts?

• 📸 Ad-venturous 11: UGC v.s. CGC, v.s. EGC 
• ⚡ TWBERP 42: Optimizing for Profit, Not Just Conversion Rate
• 🌱 Three Ships System for Trust-Driven Brand Growth 
• 🧠 AKNF 524: The Retention Blueprint for 4 Customer Cohort Types 
• 🫐 Ad-venturous 10: A Little Lad That Loves Berries and Cream?
• ❌ TWBERP 41: List Growth, Spam Flags, and What Actually Works

Don’t forget to rate the DTC Podcast on Apple (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

DTC Newsletter is written by Rebecca Knight and Frances Du. Edited by Eric Dyck.

Please note that items in this newsletter marked with * contain sponsored content.