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BRAND COLLABORATIONS ARE OUT OF CONTROL! 

  • Writer: billiamthies
    billiamthies
  • May 7
  • 7 min read


Have you noticed brands keep creating stupid product collaborations?


Crocs are the biggest Culprit of Collaboration Crimes. 


The Shrek Crocs prove noses and feet do not go together, but being ugly is why people love and hate Crocs. So this one isn’t the worst.


They say good collaboration is good storytelling, so I guess the Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing x Crocs collaboration is supposed to make me imagine salad dressing in between my toes and squirting out of those little croc holes.


And you know they released the high heel Croc in collaboration with Balenciaga just to piss people off.

Croc Brand Collabs (From left to right): Balenciaga, Shrek, Naruto, 7-11, Hidden Valley Ranch, McDonalds, The Simpsons, Gundam, Cars (Tow-Mater), Lisa Frank, KFC, and Pringles.
Croc Brand Collabs (From left to right): Balenciaga, Shrek, Naruto, 7-11, Hidden Valley Ranch, McDonalds, The Simpsons, Gundam, Cars (Tow-Mater), Lisa Frank, KFC, and Pringles.

 Crocs’ sales are up 43 percent year-on-year—with character-inspired releases doing significantly well. The Crocs Mater Clog was resold more than any other Croc in its first week.


That’s Tow Mater from Cars.


Visit the website of any major brand, and they’re all in on it:


  • McDonald’s has the Minecraft Meal with Minecraft Nether Flame Sauce.

  • M&M’s is collaborating with Kate Spade on designer handbags, which is a step up from their collaboration with Heinz Ketchup.

  • Lush Cosmetics made over $10 million with their Super Mario collaboration.

  • And Swarovski has a $23,000 crystal Alice in Wonderland sculpture. Is anyone supposed to buy this or is it just meant to be a store display?


So Why Are There So Many Brand Collabs?


For starters, a lot of these so-called “collaborations” are really just licensing deals. And licensing makes money—$355 billion in 2023. That’s a lot of Baby Yoda Go-Gurt. Grogurt? 


Labeling a simple licensing deal as a “brand collaboration” gives adults permission to buy something nostalgic without feeling like they’re shopping in the kids’ aisle. It’s not a Naruto shirt from Walmart, it’s the Limited Edition Hypland x One Piece Collab! It’s the DOLLS KILL x Care Bears drop. SpongeBob x Teddy Fresh? What’s next? Baby x Bottle?


Collabs live at both ends of the fashion spectrum: Uniqlo literally has a calendar in the front of their stores previewing upcoming collabs. Meanwhile, Coach slapped Scooby-Doo on a handbag and sold it for $750. It sold out. So, I have to ask...is Coach a front?


Hype > Sales

Brand collaborations today owe a lot to 1990s streetwear. The “X” symbol, denoting two brands teaming up, can be traced to Tokyo streetwear, and the U.S. brought in Hypebeast Culture. Nike’s 2005 collaboration with Staple is said to have caused an actual riot, all for a little pigeon on the shoe heel. The verdict is in: hypebeasts are cutie-patooties.


The chaos continues: in 2024, Target released exclusive Stanley cups in Cosmo Pink and Target Red. People lost it, fights broke out, and suddenly, every media outlet was covering where to get the exclusive Target x Stanley cup—FOR FREE.

Often, brand collaborations are marketing disguised as a product. (I meant to speculate in my video on the topic that this, in turn, passes the costs of advertising to the consumer). 


According to the agency Collabosaurus, brand collaborations are up to 25x more cost-effective at generating awareness than digital ads. I’m not saying collabs are a recession indicator, but I don’t know anyone who can afford the $10,000 Gucci Xbox. Yet 2 million people watched Marques Brownlee unbox it on YouTube.



Manufactured Culture

The Barbie movie created a cultural moment with an endless stream of collabs, but it was as manufactured as Barbie herself. You don’t just stumble into partnerships with Gap, Pacsun, Zara, Bloomingdale’s, Crocs, JCPenney, AND Walmart.

There was an Airbnb Barbie Dreamhouse, DAMN IT! 
There was an Airbnb Barbie Dreamhouse, DAMN IT! 

Barbie was everywhere in 2023, but just months prior Warner Bros. Discovery had been reported to have been short on cash. Allegedly having finished films without enough money to market and release them.


BUT IT WORKED! 


Following, Wicked and Universal Studios partnered with over 400 brands to promote Wicked Part 1 just last year. Universal’s CMO said the goal was to be:



Mission accomplished. For the first time ever, a film collaborated with Starbucks for Wicked-themed drinks. Walmart sold Great Value “Wicked Mystery Color” Mac and Cheese, disgustingly dyed pink or green. And again, the media mass reported —FOR FREE— about the Target x Stanley x Wicked cup, and the “chaos” that broke out around it. 


Shock vs. The Perfect Match


When brands chase collab gold, they go two routes: shock marketing or the perfect match.


Shock marketing is everywhere. The Oscar Mayer Bologna x Seoul Mamas beauty mask is based on an intrusive thought all bologna-enjoyers have: What if I just slapped that meat on my face?

I could just put Bologna on my face and call it a day.
I could just put Bologna on my face and call it a day.

Shock Food collabs are easy: French’s Mustard x Skittles? It’s gross. Whatever. But it takes a sicko like Christian Cowan to charge $2,500 for Dipsy (the Teletubby) boots. It takes a bigger sicko to buy them.


Then there’s the perfect match: Doritos x Taco Bell. The Doritos Locos Taco became a staple. But Taco Bell has been chasing that high ever since.


Last year, they announced a Crunchwrap Supreme with a giant Cheez-It inside. They did a Keynote speech á la Steve Jobs reveal the iPhone to announce the novelty menu item. It Didn’t last. But Taco Bell’s doubling down in 2025 with things like Taco Bell Chicken Nuggets x Hidden Valley Fire Ranch Sauce. But let’s be real: Hidden Valley isn’t even a good ranch. 


Fortnite, Fast Food, and FOMO


Many collabs are limited release, so get it while it’s available! In 2024, Wendy’s brought Krabby Patties to life. One store looked like Bikini Bottom; most others just gave out regular burgers in regular packaging, as the themed packaging quickly ran out. Disappointing. 


Fortnite is the ultimate digital collab hub. Thanos and John Wick flossing? Cultural reset. The Sabrina Carpenter skin? Essential. An army of Sabrina Carpenter Girlies busting up one Hatsune Miku? Peak Fortnite.


But Fortnite skins prey on players. They’re not pay-to-win, but they prey-on-FOMO. I regret not getting the Chun-Li skin. Missed Darth Vader in 2022? You’re out of luck. It was exclusive to an event that happened THREE YEARS AGO! 


It wasn’t until recently that Fornite announced some Battle Pass Skins may return, but only after a needlessly long exclusivity window.


And the cringiest? Fortnite x Balenciaga. Yes, you could buy a Fortnite Balenciaga hoodie for $750. Like the common cigarette, designer brands are getting their hooks into kids now, so they can get into credit card debt later. 



Magic: The Gathering and Brand Collab Damage


Brand collabs have changed Magic: The Gathering, likely for the worse.

The 2023 Lord of the Rings set had one ultra-rare card: The One Ring. It was a whole Willy Wonka Golden Ticket situation, as literally only ONE was printed. After it was found, Post Malone bought it for $2 million. 


Before, Magic collabs were in Secret Lair, MTG’s collector shop that just re-skinned existing cards. But now? They’re fully integrated into the main game via “Universes Beyond,” which in 2025 now means half of Magic’s card sets will be collaborations with other brands. Instead of four sets a year, the plan is to now release six a year. The result? Standard play just got way more expensive, not for collectors, but for the standard player, who now has to figure out where Final Fantasy characters fit in their deck. 


And new problems are arising. 


Coming soon: a Spider-Man set. The Problem: MTG couldn’t secure digital rights for Spider-Man. So digital cards are redrawn as in-universe generics. The generic “spider-hero” card is lowkey embarrassing. Now, players who play both versions of the game will have to learn two sets of names for the same card. 

Tolerian Community College on Youtube breaks down the problem excellently

And that's not even mentioning that Magic still releases Secret Lair cards with even wilder pairings. I never thought I’d see Spongebob in the game. 

Needless to say: this kind of sucks ass.


Bob Ross and the Problem With Dead Collaborators


Let’s get one thing straight: brands aren’t people.


Take Bob Ross. He died in 1995. But in 2025, you’ll find his face on energy drinks, waffle makers, toasters, board games, $700 skis—you name it.



But that money doesn’t go to his family. It goes to Bob Ross Inc., run by the children of his former business partners. While Bob was dying from cancer, they pressured him to sign over his rights. He refused, and added to his will that his likeness go to his son, Steve.


Yet, it didn’t matter. In court, Bob Ross Inc. argued prior verbal agreements invalidated Bob’s wishes.



Bob had kept recordings to help with memory loss he suffered from cancer treatments, and when these tapes were used to prove Bob Ross Inc has been lying about giving Bob permission to appear on a children’s show (an appearance which he made posthumously),BOB ROSS INC. had sued The Bob Ross estate, only ceasing litigation, in part, after Bob Ross’ family agreed to destroy the audio recording. Recordings which could have potentially challenged any legal narratives BOB ROSS INC may have spun about the rights to Bob Ross’ likeness. 

Bob Ross was robbed of the rights to his likeness. 

So when you see a dead celebrity’s face on merchandise, remember—it’s not a collab, just a license that may be against their wishes.


Finally, I want to mention: Sargento Cheese x McCormick Spices. No frills, no chaos, just vibes. They did it for the love of the game.


To learn more about it, please check out my video or my sources, linked below!




Sources:


 
 
 
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