The Backpack: Issue #69

• Trend Alert: When merch breaks reality 
  
• What's new in commonsku: Label fees your way, skip the explanations
• AI + Merch: Ralph Lauren's AI stylist 
  
• Can’t Miss Content: SpaceX torches, hockey jerseys, and vitamin patches

Are you blind-boxing your customers?
Cava is.

Cava’s plushie blind box isn’t just a merch drop—it’s a thrill for fans who crave the unexpected. The Mediterranean fast-casual favorite packed mystery “pita chip” plushies and branded gear into $50 boxes, turning lunch runs into dopamine hunts and unboxing videos like this. Surprise merch isn’t new—but are you pitching "blind boxes" to your clients to create viral moments? Fuel curiosity and playful anticipation, and build a community that keeps coming back for more. How? Grab tips from Marketing Brew's article here.

Diesel x Eastpak's Reality-Bending Bags

Diesel and Eastpak's inaugural team-up features trompe-l'œil bags that look like worn denim but are actually printed nylon—and people cannot stop touching their screens to figure it out. The fake-out is so good that Hypebeast called it "instant thumbnail candy" because nobody can tell what's real in photos. Even Diesel's own announcement had to clarify "it's not actually denim!" which is marketing gold. Strategic insight: when your product makes people zoom in, squint, and show their friends going "wait, what IS that?"—you've already won the attention game. Why is this important for merch pros? Materials. Materials that make heads turn.

Your Dad's Sports Brands Are Fashion's New MVPs

British legacy football brand Umbro just unleashed three designer collabs faster than you can say "comeback season"—White Mountaineering's techwear, graniph's anniversary capsule, plus their centennial collection all dropping at once. Pair that with adidas x BAPE's soccer-meets-streetwear drop, and suddenly those old-school athletic brands are fashion's favorite redemption arc. The kicker? Gen Z never lived through these brands' awkward phases—they only see vintage athletic aesthetics as premium. Heritage isn't history; it's currency. 

skucamp 2025:Three Titans, One Stage, Zero Filter

At skucamp 2025, three CEOs controlling billions in revenue sat down with commonsku CEO Catherine Graham and didn't hold back: Managing billions while answering customer calls at 10 PM. Surviving quarter-million-dollar tariff surprises. Launching systems during childbirth. Frank Myers (S&S Activewear), CJ Schmidt (HIT), and Pierre Montaubin (Koozie Group) shared war stories that had the audience gasping. Their prediction? Everything changes in five years—screen printing dies, POD becomes profitable, and robots run the show. But here's the twist: they still believe the best decisions happen on the factory floor at 6 AM. Listen in now to the skucamp session that rewrote everyone's five-year plan!

Which AI Tools Actually Slap?

Here's the deal: At skucamp 2025 Scottsdale, we live-polled 150 promo pros with AI questions and they delivered the goods. Which tools are worth the hype? What's actually getting automated? Where's the next gold rush? Want to find out? Register here for the webinar and learn how the best in the biz are using AI. We're mixing those live Scottsdale results with The AI Promo Brief's deepest cuts for maximum impact!

Supplier Spotlight: Get the Athletic Nostalgia Look

Speaking of dad brands becoming fashion's new MVPs, we've got you covered. This supplier collection is basically a starter pack for the athletic heritage trend we're obsessing over. Need that varsity jacket energy? Check. Trucker hats that scream "vintage but make it now"? Got 'em. Even fanny packs that would make Umbro jealous. Check them out right here.

📖 The best book merch has  page-turner energy .

🥃 Johnnie Walker drops a golf collab with Devereux and strays from brand guidelines. What do you think, backpacker? Which is more effective? On brand or off?

📜 How’s this for how far merch has come? British GQ demands merch for the new Wuthering Heights novel, like a “Heathcliff, but hotter” drop.

🌮 Taco Bell’s Y2K menu = pure nostalgia merch.

🎂 For IKEA’s US birthday, they celebrated merch but we think they really missed out on this one and should have dropped a “build your own merch kit.”

💎 Another episode of “Is it merch or is it fashion?”: Clairo’s dreamy Catbird jewelry is the unofficial merch for  her third album, ‘Charm’. But what even is an “unofficial merch collection” and why does it sound so cool?

👒 Oasis’ reunion gives us the ultimate bucket hat comeback—‘90s attitude, 2025 street cred.

🩹 Vitamin patches - have you seen this trend? The founder, Cleo Davis-Urman, called it “the wellness accessory.” Who is going to be the first one to make it work in promo?

🦜 Oooohhh Portland’s mad. This time at Powell’s books for dropping  AI-made merch. Maybe just put a bird on it next time?

🏀 Here’s a head-trip for ya: The best NBA and NFL merch? Hockey jerseys.

🚀 Say what you will about Elon but SpaceX’s merch is dope, like this literally hot merch: Starship Torch.

🔥 Sept 25th at 2PM EST Webinar: Which AI tools are worth the hype? We've got receipts from skucamp 2025 Scottsdale. Register here for the unvarnished truth.