It’s Monday and a newly-expanded dining concept will deliver TikTok’s trendiest dishes to #FoodTok fans all over the U.S.

CREATOR TOUCHDOWN

This year’s creator Super Bowl partnerships went way beyond gameday

From advertising their own products to starring in multi-million-dollar commercials, creators played a bigger role in this year’s Super Bowl than ever before.

Creators as hype machines: With costs soaring as high as $7 million, Super Bowl commercials are a pricy investment. Brands eager to make the most of those expensive campaigns turned to creators like Addison Rae (Nerds) and Benito Skinner (e.l.f. cosmetics) to build suspense in the days leading up to their kickoff ad slots:

• That hype came to a head on game day. In addition to hawking physical products like Nerds, creators served as spokespeople for paid media. Website builder Squarespace tapped into Martin Scorsese’s TikTok fame for its Big Game campaign, while YouTube promoted its NFL Sunday Ticket package with a cameo from Hot Ones host Sean Evans.

Creators x the NFL: There’s no denying the Super Bowl’s cultural impact on U.S. audiences—or the fact that MrBeast generates more views on a weekly basis than the big game attracts each year. According to The Information, the NFL seized the opportunity to appeal to a rising generation of digital-first viewers by working with a “record number” of creators during Super Bowl LVIII.

• Those campaigns included YouTube-based initiatives featuring top stars like MrBeast, Mark Rober, and Deestroying, as well as a flag football game that brought AMP and RDCWorld members to Vegas two days before the Super Bowl.

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• Zhang Nanis is stepping down from her role as Douyin CEO to lead AI development at a video editing app called Jianying. (Tubefilter)
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• Meta announced on Friday that it will no longer “proactively recommend content about politics” to users on Instagram and Threads. (The Verge)
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• X has entered into a “strategic partnership” with BetMGM in order to offer users direct access to sports betting odds. (TechCrunch)
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• Bluesky demonstrated its “support for algorithmic choice” by offering users two Super Bowl-themed feed options: one with Taylor Swift-related posts and one without. (TechCrunch)

KAI X NIKE 👟

Nike has sealed a deal with its first-ever streamer partner: Kai Cenat

Twitch record-breaker Kai Cenat has “huge” plans for his latest brand partnership.

The announcement: During a broadcast on February 9, Cenat revealed to viewers that he’s officially “locked in” a first-of-its-kind partnership with Nike. The streamer didn’t offer many details about that ongoing collaboration, but hinted that he’ll be “doing something huge” with Nike during an IRL stream in Vegas on Feb. 10 or 11.

The context: Nike confirmed to Tubefilter that it does, in fact, have a relationship with Cenat—and although the footwear company didn’t give any specifics about the origins of that partnership, it’s easy to see why Nike is eager to work with one of Twitch’s most-watched stars.

• In addition to commanding a massive fanbase of 9 million Twitch followers—many of whom are already buzzing about Cenat’s new partnership on X—the streamer has a history of helping major brands tap into Gen Z consumer bases. Most recently, Cenat was recruited to take part in the NBA’s upcoming All-Star Celebrity Game.
  
  

• The streamer’s Twitch channel has also become a crucial promotional outlet for traditional celebs, including rappers like Nicki Minaj. In December, Cenat and the Pink Friday 2 singer set a new high-water mark for the most concurrent viewers during a live collab on Twitch.

More info: We’ll be adding updates about Cenat’s partnership with Nike as more information rolls in, so don’t forget to keep an eye on the full story here.

LISTEN UP 🎙️

This week on the podcast…

Spotify, SmartLess, and TV screens: Listen in as creator economy experts Joshua Cohen and Lauren Schnipper unravel the latest industry news—including Joe Rogan’s Spotify podcast renewal, YouTube’s TV takeover, and SmartLess’ $100 million decision to ditch Amazon.

The Brand Yearbook: This week’s special guests include Sara Wilson, who joined the show to chat about the social-savvy brands that killed it in 2023.

Tune in: Catch the latest episode of Creator Upload on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

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Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen. Drew Baldwin helped edit, too. It's a team effort.