Lola USA Launches, Goldman Sachs Bets on AI Marketing, Goodby Wins Rao's, 818 Tequila CMO Kathleen Braine & Billion Dollar Boy Ad Age Agency of the Year

Goldman Sachs and Bain Capital just led an investment in an AI marketing startup — a signal of where the money thinks marketing is going and fast. In the WORLD FAMOUS TWO MINUTE DRILL: Goodby Silverstein won Rao's creative AOR tasked with turning a beloved pasta sauce into a full-on iconic Italian food brand — their words, and we believe them. Hellmann's put up an edible billboard. Budweiser's 150th birthday summer campaign is running and it is flag-heavy. And Omnicom collapsed 180 and adam&eveDDB New York into a brand new agency called Lola USA — bringing the globally beloved Lola brand stateside for the first time, led by CEO Agathe Guerrier and CCO JD Jurentkuff, with Porsche, adidas, Molson Coors, JetBlue, and Disney already on the roster. First on the show: John McKelvey and Luke McKelvey — Co-Founder CCO and Co-Founder CEO of an award-winning independent agency — join us for a look inside what it actually takes to build and run a shop doing work for Nike, Beats, Rocket, Poppi, and iShowSpeed. Then Kathleen Braine, CMO of 818 Tequila and KHLOUD — two Kardashian/Jenner family brands. She joins us to talk about what it looks like to market both, and the just-announced strategic partnership between 818 and Sazerac, which gives the brand national scale and expanded distribution. Celebrity-founded brand to legitimate spirits player — this is that story. And to close: Ed East and Piet Southey of Billion Dollar Boy — Ad Age's Social Media and Influencer Agency of the Year. Nearly $70 million in revenue in 2026, up from $34 million in 2024. 300+ campaigns, 2,500 creators, 4 billion impressions, 42 markets. The numbers are real and we get into how they built it.