Is It a Music Video or an Ad? Cultural Marketing & Entertainment Continue to Prove Their Power as Drivers of Brand Relevance & Revenue as We Predicted in 2024
- Kintsugi Creative
- Jan 28
- 5 min read
Written By Nokuthula Hatoongo
In 2024, Kintsugi Creative made a bold statement: Brands that fail to embrace cultural marketing will lose relevance and market share in the next 5–10 years.
A year later, it’s no longer a forecast; it’s reality. From Gap’s collaboration with KATSEYE, a global, multi-racial girl group, to Nike x Skims featuring global superstar Lalisa, a Thai K-Pop icon, brands are finally starting to understand that authentic cultural marketing and entertainment are not optional.
It’s important to stress: we are talking about authentic cultural marketing, not performative gestures. Audiences know the difference. Campaigns that lack true cultural insight and authenticity fail, which is why 82% of multicultural marketing ads in the UK fail to connect with their audiences.
The line between advertising and entertainment has blurred, but authenticity remains non-negotiable. Audiences no longer distinguish between a music video and a campaign when the content moves them, reflects their identity, and fuels community engagement.
Brands that are winning today understand this. Those who ignore it risk falling behind.
Culture Is Not a Trend, It’s a Business Imperative
For decades, brands measured success by reach and frequency, how many people saw an ad and how often. Today, the equation is different:
Culture → Relevance → Loyalty → Revenue.
Cultural marketing doesn’t just “look good”. It shifts perception, creates conversation, drives engagement, and ultimately sells product. The most successful campaigns today combine entertainment, storytelling, and authentic cultural marketing, designed to be shared, engaged with, and embraced by communities.
This is not a theory. Gap’s x KATSEYE Better In Denim campaign proved it.
In 2025, Gap teamed up with KATSEYE, a global, multi-racial girl group, for the Better in Denim campaign. This collaboration blurred the line between a music video and a traditional commercial. With cultural fluency, high-energy choreography, cinematic visuals, and authentic storytelling, the campaign created a cultural moment rather than just a product pitch.
The results speak for themselves on Instagram:
79.9 million views, 4.9 million likes, 33.7k comments, 391k reposts, 502k shares on the flagship campaign post
Collectively across all Instagram posts featuring Gap x KATSEYE: 177+ million views
Global relevance: Gap reconnected with Gen Z and young Millennials across multiple markets, tapping into KATSEYE’s multi-racial members and international fanbase.
Engagement: Organic user-generated content amplified the campaign far beyond paid reach.
Revenue impact: Denim and key product lines saw measurable sales uplift directly linked to the campaign.
The campaign’s success led Gap to appoint Pam Kaufman, former Paramount Chief Entertainment Officer, as its new Chief Entertainment Officer, underscoring that entertainment expertise and authentic cultural insight are now central to brand strategy. Gap is betting on culture as a driver of both relevance and revenue, exactly as we predicted in 2024.
Nike x Skims x Lalisa: Instant Global Attention
Yesterday (27/01/2026), the Nike x Skims collaboration featuring Lalisa, a Thai K-Pop icon from the girl group Blackpink, dropped on Instagram, and the results we’re staggering. In only 7 hours, the video has already amassed:
11.7 million Instagram views
16.8k comments
46.7k reposts
82.1k shares
955k likes
This isn’t just viral content, it’s a global cultural event. Lalisa’s influence as a globally recognised K-Pop artist demonstrates how brands can immediately tap into culture and fandom-driven engagement on Instagram.
The campaign shows the power of authentic cultural marketing and entertainment in real-time. By aligning with an artist whose reach spans multiple continents and passionate fan communities, Nike and Skims are proving almost instantly that culturally relevant campaigns can drive attention, engagement, and brand momentum at unprecedented speed.
This launch reinforces a lesson we’ve been highlighting since 2024: brands that integrate authentic culture and entertainment into their strategy are not only relevant, they are competitive leaders in the market, while brands that attempt performative gestures are likely to fall behind in the next 5-10 years.
The K-Pop Economy: An Emerged Cultural Marketing Catalyst
K-Pop is no longer a niche music genre; it is a global cultural export and commercial engine. Brands are investing in the K-Pop ecosystem because it delivers measurable outcomes:
Luxury brands like Chanel, Dior, Bulgari, and LVMH are using Blackpink members as brand ambassadors.
Netflix hits like K-Pop Demon Hunters demonstrate how fandom drives subscriptions, merchandise, and long-tail engagement.
Even Jay-Z’s investment in K-Pop shows that industry leaders recognise its strategic commercial potential.
K-Pop fandom is about Korean and hip-hop culture, identity, belonging, and cultural engagement. Brands that tap it authentically unlock both relevance and revenue, while brands that ignore it or execute performatively risk losing market share in the next decade.
Cultural Marketing Is a Competitive Advantage: A relevance and revenue driver
What do Gap, Nike, Skims, and luxury brands have in common? They understand that:
Culture drives relevance.
Relevance drives loyalty.
Loyalty drives revenue.
Brands that embed authentic cultural intelligence into their strategy, from talent selection to creative execution, outperform those that rely solely on traditional media creatives, performative representation and generic messaging.
It’s no longer enough to “look diverse” or “ride trends.” Success requires authenticity, nuance, and entertainment-first storytelling. Performative cultural campaigns simply do not work, as evidenced by 82% of multicultural marketing ads in the UK failing to resonate.
We Predicted This in 2024, and It’s Happening Now
In 2024, we wrote:Brands that fail to embrace cultural marketing will lose relevance and market share in the next 5–10 years.
Today, the data and case studies confirm our prediction:
Gap’s KATSEYE campaign boosted both relevance and revenue on Instagram with 177+ million views across all posts.
Nike x Skims x Lalisa drove immediate global engagement on Instagram, with 11.7M views in just 7 hours.
Luxury brands and entertainment platforms are leveraging authentic cultural credibility for commercial outcomes.
The shift is clear: entertainment and authentic culture are no longer marketing add-ons; they are central to brand competitiveness. Brands that fail to engage authentically will continue to fall behind.
If your brand wants to:
Implement authentic cultural marketing strategies
Increase relevance with younger audiences
Drive community loyalty
Boost commercial outcomes
Position for long-term competitive advantage
…it’s time to embed authentic cultural marketing, storytelling, and entertainment into your core strategy.
📩 Get in touch: enquiries@kintsugicreative.co.uk
Let’s elevate your brand, make it culturally fluent, and position it for measurable success. We predicted the market shift in 2024, and the market is now responding and proving those predictions true.
