Edition 76 | October 12, 2025

A stolen trash can goes viral. A “problematic spider donut” returns. And Reddit? Maybe not the all-knowing source we thought (a new study just proved it).

5 brand bytes to elevate, inform and inspire you this week:

1. Meme turned mascot: Dunkin’ brings back Spidey on the big stage.

From donut to digital icon to full-blown billboard star, Dunkin’s purple eight-legged legend, Spidey, is back. 🕷️

And just in time for Halloween:

Shavaun Christian @shavaun when the lo-fi meme makes a major city billboard. spidey’s in the big leagues. #dunkin 5:55 PM • Oct 11, 2025 0 Retweets 1 Likes

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Spidey the Spider Donut is the brand-proclaimed “problematic spider donut.”

This chaotic pastry hijacked Dunkin’s socials last Halloween.

And this time he’s looming large over Manhattan.

The brand is clearly leaning into this meme-turned-mascot moment, aiming to make him an even a bigger deal than before.

If you know the brand voice of Spidey, then you know this is huge — for his already huge ego.

If you missed his original debut, Spidey started as a seasonal donut in 2024.

Dunkin’s social team gave him (yes, the donut) a backstory, a “stolen” login, and an unhinged, Gen Z-approved personality that made headlines.

The result?

Millions of views, memes on memes, and a fanbase that crowned him “Spidey D.”

“It’s his world we’re just living in it,” reads one comment on the just-released post.

And now, year later, Dunkin’ has brought Spidey back.

But plot twist: he can’t be found. Not yet, at least 👀

Search flyers are posted on select Dunkin’ locations.

And “U will never catch mi,” reads the massive midtown billboard.

It’s spooky.

It’s silly.

It’s self-aware.

It’s social-first storytelling that’s turning a one-off meme into marketing gold in real-time.

2. Brands in the comments: McDonald’s has questions.

A stolen trash can.

One viral tweet.

And another masterclass in modern social media:

When someone on the Internet posted that their brother “stole” a McDonald’s trash can — and turned it into home decor (of all things), the brand could’ve ignored it.

Instead, they did what every smart social media marketer dreams of: they joined in on the joke.

McDonald’s quote-tweeted the post with “i have questions for ur brother.”

And the Internet lost it.

Nearly 20 million views and 363K likes later, the comments were full of Hamburglar references, fan memes, and people begging for an ice cream machine instead.

No promo.

No product.

Just pure brand personality.

McDonald’s didn’t try to sell anything.

They just showed up where the joke was happening with humor, self-awareness (yes, they know about the always-broken ice cream machines), and the kind of banter that wins timelines.

This brand banter also reflects a strategic pivot in broader brand social strategy.

HubSpot reports that 85% of marketers prioritize building active communities over polished posts.

Marketers recognize that customer interactions (yes, even ones about *alleged* stolen trash cans) foster trust and loyalty beyond paid ads and sales pitches.

Who knew stolen trash could win hearts. 🗑️❤️

3. Creative spotlight: Flannels Beauty (in-store).

“Two baskets,” your choice, shared one marketing strategist this week.

This behavioral design-meets-customer service activation is courtesy of Flannels Beauty, a beauty store concept and retailer in the UK.

Flannels Beauty focuses on luxury beauty products like makeup, skincare, fragrances, and haircare from designer brands.

And they already have some interesting in-store activations that make this two-basket, choose-your-own-adventure entrance no surprise.

For example, the retail location offers beauty “changing rooms” for private product testing, and “beauty hot desks” for local stylists.

When it comes to the two baskets, this is an innovative in-store experience that centers their customers.

It optimizes for their shopping preferences without having to say much.

Which basket would you choose? 🛍️

4. Another week, another ChatGPT release.

ChatGPT continues its rapid growth and product expansion, shipping at lightning speeds week-over-week.

Last week, OpenAI’s DevDay 2025 set the stage for another major launch.

But this wasn’t just another keynote.

It was a mic drop.

Their CEO announced that ChatGPT can now host apps inside the chat itself...

Introducing Apps in ChatGPT​

Think:

• “Figma, turn this sketch into a diagram”
• “Spotify, make a playlist for my party,” or
• “Zillow, find me a house with a yard”

And boom... 💥

Recommendations happen *without* leaving the chat.

This isn’t ChatGPT 2.0.

It’s ChatGPT the ecosystem.

Early partners include Canva, Booking dot com, Figma, and more.

These third-party app integrations are turning ChatGPT into a single, searchable command center for daily life.

And OpenAI is quietly redefining how we use software: conversational, contextual, and almost invisible.

With 800 million weekly users (rapid, week-over-week rollouts are helping) and a billion-user projections on the horizon, ChatGPT isn’t chasing the future.

It’s shaping it.

5. Reddit myth debunked?

You’ve probably heard the myth: “ChatGPT just scrapes Reddit.”

Turns out, not so much.

But there’s a caveat: it depends on what you’re asking *and* where you’re based.

A new study analyzed 6.8 million citations across OpenAI, Gemini, and Perplexity, and found that Reddit appears in only 2 percent of AI citations once you factor in where a user is and what they ask.

The rest comes from brand websites, business directories, and local listings.

(The structured, brand-owned web. Not the social one.)

Here’s what the study also found:

• 86 percent of AI citations came from sources brands owned or managed,
• 8 percent from reviews and social media, and
• forums like Reddit made up just 2 percent.

And here’s where location comes into play.

When someone asks, “Best sushi near me,” the AI models pull from nearby business data, verified directories, and local sites to generate contextually relevant answers.

But if you ask something broad like, “Why do people love cats?” then Reddit and other forums enter the mix.

AI search, it turns out, behaves less like crowd-sourced chaos and more like local SEO with personality.

Interestingly enough, when I asked ChatGPT this question recently: “what are some high end perfumes for women” —

It offered to “locate where to sample them” in my specific city.

Only thing is, I never mentioned or requested a location.

I had to ask it why (and how) it assumed my city. 🧐

Long story short: your location, phrasing, and intent shape which sources surface.

Reddit isn’t the LLM puppet master.

It’s just part of the chorus.

More brand bytes next Sunday at 5!