DTC889: Vacation Ad Breakdown, American Eagle and Everlane Emails, and OOO Social Trend

Good morning, 

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

☀️ Inside Vacation’s Retro Ad
How it delivers real value.

👖 American Eagle & Everlane’s Email Playbook
Turning attention into repeat revenue.

🚨 Daily Tariff Update
Impact on back-to-school shopping.

🌴 OOO Content Trend
How brands are cashing in on vacation humor.

You’re reading this newsletter along with new subscribers from: Heleo, Fitskin BrowBar, and Power Moves. 👋

A friend of DTC, Hamza, has a million ideas and the team to ship them fast. But there’s one thing he needs... 👉 A genius marketer by his side who knows how to reach audiences to turn those ideas into millions.

Their team has already spun up:

• Myla → AI accountability coach that calls you (literally) out if you slack.
• Personology → Astrology + Myers-Briggs life blueprint (huge market).
• Routines → The largest (and growing) website on healthy routines.
• Tamba → A web + app product agency with $200K+ average project tickets.

He’s looking for a hungry marketer to make a millionaire (or add to their millions 👀) to scale these with him (ideally sweat equity, open to options) for a piece of the pie.

👉 If this sounds like you, respond to today’s email and we’ll put you in touch.

☀️ How Vacation Focuses on A Common and Relatable Pain Point 

This Vacation Inc ad positions its sunscreen around a single, memorable hook: “The World’s Best Smelling Sunscreen.” 

It’s a bold claim that instantly differentiates itself in a crowded market and hits on a common pain point when it comes to sunscreens. 

Visually, the ad embraces retro-inspired branding, a clean product-forward setup, and a fun, oversized pump, all reinforcing the brand’s playful, premium-meets-practical tone. 

Even the model’s red nails and hand placement echo the cheeky, leisure-first vibe.

The copy leads with the line ‘Big on size, easy on the budget’ for more price-conscious consumers followed by USPS in bullet points (e.g. SPF 50, water resistance, and the brand’s signature “leisure-enhancing” formula.)

Why it works:

• A clear, ownable differentiator (“best smelling”) makes the product instantly memorable.
  
• The visual uses intentional minimalism and bold typography to keep focus on the claim.
  
• Combining playful branding with functional benefits strikes a wide appeal: it’s fun and effective!
  
• The “20 oz Sun Jug” positioning reframes size as a value benefit without feeling cheap.
  

If your product solves the same problem as everyone else, lead with your most distinctive benefit then support it with visual and copy choices that let it shine. ✨

🤔 How Are Brands Using AI Today (And How Do They Actually Feel About It?) Get The Real Story From 875+ Operators In This Survey

👀 AI is everywhere these days, from the moment a marketing campaign is conceived to the moment a customer unboxes their order, and everywhere in between. 

👏 But what’s the story behind the scenes? This new report from DTC x Triple Whale is giving you the scoop on all of your burning questions. 🙋

Find out:

• 🤖 How are successful brands using AI? 
• 📈 Where is it driving the biggest performance lift? 
• 💭 And how does everyone actually feel about it?

Discover the real-world insights and data behind AI in DTC, as this report gives you a peek behind the scenes.

📦 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. 

August 27, 2025 update:

• Seeing A Back-To-School Prices Surge?
  
  • American consumers are noticing inflated prices as they shop for back-to-school items this year.
    
  • Prices have surged 30-40% on goods like clothing, tech gadgets, and school supplies.

🎧 American Eagle v.s. Everlane: Who Wins The Inbox?  (Part 1) 

In this episode of TWBERP, Jordan from Pilothouse breaks down what separates splashy fashion campaigns from sustainable DTC growth by looking at big apparel brands like American Eagle and Everlane

He explains how leading with automation, segmentation, and smart merchandising beats running headline-grabbing creative alone.

Jordan explains that the real unlock isn’t controversial ads that create virality. It’s building systems that convert attention into repeatable revenue.

In this episode, we dive into:

• Attention is Easy, Retention is Harder: Jordan breaks down how American Eagle captured attention with big creative but sensation wears off fast without backend infrastructure. 

“If your product is a commodity, you’re either a price taker or a sensation maker. That’s the game.”

Don’t Exhaust Your List: AE’s aggressive email strategy pushed near-daily sends with the same creative. Jordan warns why this dangerous combo can cause list fatigue or your email to end up in spam folders. 

“You want to finish off with your largest discount. They’re doing it backwards.”

Automate for Intent, Not Volume: The Pilothouse approach relies on minimal campaign sends but layered automations to match user behavior and drive higher AOV.

“We don’t scale by sending more. We scale by being relevant to intent.”

On-Site Experience Still Converts: AE’s site lacks basic merchandising moves like cross-sells, dynamic banners, or personalization by category despite the massive investment in acquisition.

“I liked the jeans. But the jacket [Sydney Sweeney] wore with them? That should’ve been the upsell.”

Everlane’s Slow Burn Strategy: With no splashy campaigns, Everlane focuses on simplicity, branding, and sustainability-driven messaging, reinforcing long-term positioning, not short-term buzz.

“They don’t need celebrity heat. Their email subject lines were cleaner, too.”

👉 Listen to the full episode with Jordan here.

‍[Screenshot via @garnieruk / Instagram]

We’re seeing more brands lean into the “out of office” trend on Instagram and the results are hilarious.

Brands are joking that with their content creator or graphic designer on leave, their team’s DIY design skills were all they had to work with. 😂

It’s a smart reminder that not every post needs to be polished. 

Scrappy, relatable content can feel authentic, spark engagement, and show a brand’s personality.

Can't view the image? Click here

🎁 Are you using the right offers in your BFCM campaign? Intelligems allows you to test your most important decisions before you make them, including your BFCM offers. Check it out here. *

📥 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?

• ⚾ How Dugout Mugs Scaled to $55+ with Authentic Branding 
• 📧 AKNF 536: The Only Browse Abandon Email You’ll Need
• 🏆 Ad-venturous 16: Labor Day Creative Wins to Carry into Q4
• 💡 TWBERP 47: Retention Bootcamp: Master Your Welcome Flow!
• ✅ How Obvi Fixed Meta Pixel Poisoning & Recovered Performance 
• 🪄 AKNF 534: Google’s 90% “New Customer” Illusion

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.