Archive

All case files

Every marketing strategy this site has investigated, most recent first. Same method every time: the pitch, the record, the verdict.

ALL CASE FILES — NEWEST FIRST

Business Controversy
CASE NO. 10 — STARBUCKS CONTROVERSY

What's Behind the Boycotts, Lawsuits & Union Fight?

Ethical-sourcing lawsuits, a $25 million discrimination verdict, 627 store closures, and a tumbler promotion that reopened a 1980 massacre in South Korea. Six separate fights, sorted by record.

FILED: JULY 7, 2026
Business Tagline
CASE NO. 09 — STARBUCKS TAGLINE

Why Doesn't the World's Biggest Coffee Chain Have One?

More than 25 slogans since 1987, none of them kept. The green-apron rebrand, a 2009 Adweek campaign, and a mission statement doing a tagline's job, plus a 95% brand-recall stat that traces to nowhere.

FILED: JULY 6, 2026
Marketing Strategy
CASE NO. 08 — PATAGONIA MARKETING STRATEGY

How Does "Earth Is Our Only Shareholder" Square With Suing Pattie Gonia?

Don't Buy This Jacket, Worn Wear, and a company given away to fight climate change. A stalled living-wage goal, two recalls, and a 2026 trademark suit against a drag queen activist show the rest.

FILED: JULY 6, 2026
Marketing Strategy
CASE NO. 07 — GOPRO MARKETING STRATEGY

Why Didn't 43,000 Submissions Stop a Slide From $1.6 Billion to $801 Million?

GoPro's Million Dollar Challenge draws 43,000 free user clips a year. A 2016 drone recall, a securities settlement, and a revenue slide to $801 million show what the contest never had to cover.

FILED: JULY 5, 2026
Marketing Strategy
CASE NO. 06 — IKEA MARKETING STRATEGY

How Does "A Better Everyday Life" Square With $96 Million in Dresser Settlements?

The flat pack made the furniture cheap. An Ernst & Young prison-labor report, a 17-million-dresser recall, and a €1 million spying verdict show who paid the rest.

FILED: JULY 5, 2026
Marketing Strategy
CASE NO. 05 — APPLE MARKETING STRATEGY

How Does a $4 Trillion Company Spend Eight Years Fighting a €13 Billion Tax Bill?

"Think Different" is real and still working. So is a pattern of Apple limiting choice everywhere the campaign never had to answer for it.

FILED: JULY 4, 2026
Marketing Strategy
CASE NO. 04 — AIRBNB MARKETING STRATEGY

Can You "Belong Anywhere" If Airbnb's Own Data Shows Hosts Discriminate by Race?

Airbnb's own 2022 bias study confirms guests presumed Black still get rejected more than guests presumed white.

FILED: JULY 1, 2026
Marketing Strategy
CASE NO. 03 — SPOTIFY MARKETING STRATEGY

If Wrapped Really Works, Why Do Artists Keep Leaving the Platform?

Wrapped tells 200 million users what they listened to. It has never once told them what the artist got paid for it.

FILED: JUNE 27, 2026
Marketing Strategy
CASE NO. 02 — STARBUCKS MARKETING STRATEGY

If the Third Place Still Works, Why Did It Take Four CEOs in Three Years to Say So?

The "third place" was never Starbucks' own idea. The company let the public believe otherwise for 38 years.

FILED: JUNE 23, 2026
Marketing Strategy
CASE NO. 01 — NIKE MARKETING STRATEGY

Why Did the Best Ad Campaigns in the World Come With a $184 Billion Blind Spot?

Nike's endorsement engine works exactly as advertised. The 26-year record shows the company has much more trouble running the business behind it.

FILED: JUNE 18, 2026