David Brier | The Brandfather

Your brand is bleeding. I stop it. $9.8B built. 2X bestselling author. Daymond John calls it "Genius." Anti-bland everything. Weekly intel below 👇

[David Brier | The Brandfather @davidbrier]

Anyone who says branding isn't important, remind them of this:

Liquid Death raised $125 million.

A brand built on a rebellious attitude, fun, and having an unmistakable voice in the water space.

Then remind them of this:

Liquid Death is just "canned water."

[David Brier | The Brandfather @davidbrier]

McDonald's ruined my billboard rankings.

With a cowboy jacket.

I wrote "The 12 Best Billboard Ads of All Time."

Then they showed up with golden fries disguised as leather fringe. Big Macs hidden in belt buckles. No logo. No slogan.

My list suddenly felt one fry short of a Happy Meal.

So I started a new collection.

9 more campaigns that prove the same lesson:

In an age of AI slop and beige walls of shallow BS, the brands winning aren't describing. They're demonstrating.

Not one of these ads explains the benefit.

They make you 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 it.

That's not a billboard skill.
That's a communication skill.

Your pitch deck is a billboard.
Your homepage is a billboard.
Your elevator conversation is a billboard.

The question isn't "Do I have a bigger budget?"

It's "Do I have a bigger idea that's as fast as life?"

Here's the full collection of killer billboards:
https://t.co/iOvxrnmaOv

[David Brier | The Brandfather @davidbrier]

Just published: "#150: McDonald's made my last article obsolete ". Check it out and subscribe to get everything I'm making.
https://t.co/2o7JEOPwex via @kit

[David Brier | The Brandfather @davidbrier]

@Gosleepriya The skin

[David Brier | The Brandfather @davidbrier]

@atensnut Bravo! She aged so gracefully.

[David Brier | The Brandfather @davidbrier]

Most brands measure outcomes.
Very few measure confusion. https://t.co/PBjTZ2K3Hb

[David Brier | The Brandfather @davidbrier]

This guy ruined my birthday https://t.co/ShIKihAcfe

[David Brier | The Brandfather @davidbrier]

Just published: "#149: Most agencies can't explain what branding actually is. Harrison Ford can." Check it out and subscribe to get everything I'm making.
https://t.co/vFAdwe1bpj via @kit

[David Brier | The Brandfather @davidbrier]

Just published: "#148: Average has become an epidemic (it's killing your business)". Check it out and subscribe to get everything I'm making.
https://t.co/21YgL3DJiy via @kit

[David Brier | The Brandfather @davidbrier]

David Bowie said it simply:

"Product plus personality equals brand."

Most companies obsess over the product.

Then stop.

They assume it speaks for itself.
It doesn't.
It whispers in a world that screams.

Bowie didn't just make music.

He created Ziggy Stardust.
The Thin White Duke.
Space Oddity.
Fame.

Each album/breakout hit got a persona.
Each persona made the music MEAN something.

The 3-step framework:

1. Finish the product, and then forget that.
Instead, ask: What is the role of this in the world?

2. Build personality around it.
Bowie built personas nobody saw coming.

3. Go all-in 100%.
A tentative, half-hearted personality is worse than none.

Products compete on specs.
Personalities compete on meaning.

Specs get commoditized.
Meaning gains attention and relevance.

What personality is your brand known for?

This sequence was shot in 1995 and released in the film Creativo Paradiso (2025).

[David Brier | The Brandfather @davidbrier]

Just published: "#147: The tagline that redefined this monopoly". Check it out and subscribe to get everything I'm making.
https://t.co/wTCBmpEgCt via @kit

[David Brier | The Brandfather @davidbrier]

Just published: "#146: AI just made mediocre brands look expensive".

Check it out and subscribe to get everything I'm making.
https://t.co/GyOeNv67IP via @kit

[David Brier | The Brandfather @davidbrier]

AI made average look professional.

That's the real danger.

Everyone's using it to generate logos, copy, and content.

Most of it looks completely professional.

99.7% of it is completely forgettable.

That gap (that "hell" between professional and memorable) is the most dangerous place a brand can live right now.

The uncomfortable truth?

AI doesn't create sameness.

It amplifies whatever was already there.

If your brand had clarity before AI showed up?

You're pulling away from the competition. Fast.

If it didn't?

AI just handed your mediocrity a megaphone.

Tomorrow I'm breaking down exactly how Patagonia, Nike, and Coca-Cola are using AI to widen their lead — while the same tools are quietly destroying brands that skipped the hard work of knowing who they are.

Plus the three questions every brand needs to answer right now.

Before AI answers them for you.
(Badly.)

The gap is widening.

Tomorrow, you'll know which side you're on.

Subscribe here so I can deliver it straight to your inbox: https://t.co/H9iO5Leoow

See you then. 👊

[David Brier | The Brandfather @davidbrier]

@teslacarsonly Slab

[David Brier | The Brandfather @davidbrier]

@TaraBull Asshole

[David Brier | The Brandfather @davidbrier]

@StevenBartlett So proud of your journey

[David Brier | The Brandfather @davidbrier]

Welcome to the Surprise Economy https://t.co/hmt85HjRUE

[David Brier | The Brandfather @davidbrier]

This doesn’t look like McDonald’s… until it does https://t.co/bY72KIZjI7

[David Brier | The Brandfather @davidbrier]

The Outlier Hiding in Plain Sight https://t.co/bEGXnTo39v

[David Brier | The Brandfather @davidbrier]

Just published: "#142: One brand reached space. Another reached 900%.".

Check it out and subscribe to get everything I'm making.
https://t.co/atG322A7oi via @kit