Cat&tonic

06/03/2026

Scratching Post is our monthly dispatch for curious marketers. Part brand thinking, part behind-the-scenes look at what we're building, part collection of ideas we're still happily obsessing over. https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7201968815113474049

Follow it here on LinkedIn or sign-up for our email version: https://curious.cat-tonic.com/newsletter

05/21/2026

Wild Oats’ rebrand is a good example of how humor becomes more effective when it’s attached to a real point of view. https://www.wildoats.com/our-story

At the center of the brand is a pretty serious belief: industrialized food systems have made food worse. Less connected to where it comes from, less trustworthy, less human. Most brands would communicate that with earth tones, solemn photography, and a paragraph about sustainability written in the same tone as everyone else.

SUKLE's rebrand of Wild Oats goes another direction.

The new identity leans playful, chaotic, and a little irreverent. The typography bends, the illustrations feel intentionally imperfect, and the overall tone makes light of something the brand is actually deeply serious about.

That tension is what makes it work.

Because the humor isn’t there to undercut the message. It’s there to make the conviction behind it feel more human and approachable. You can feel the brand pushing against the overly polished language and aesthetics that dominate this category, and replacing them with something that feels more alive.

That’s usually where the best humor in branding comes from—not trying to be funny for its own sake, but expressing a perspective clearly enough that it creates a little friction.

Without that point of view, this would just be another “fun” food brand. With it, the humor feels connected to something real.

Also, that angry flower is rad.

05/13/2026

Gaptooth Soda is a good reminder that humor in branding doesn’t start with trying to be funny. It starts with deciding what you’re willing to stand behind. https://bpando.org/2026/04/23/gaptooth-soda-by-saint-urbain/

Most brands in this space follow a familiar formula—clean, minimal, polished to the point of feeling interchangeable. Gaptooth takes a different route. It builds itself around something that would typically be softened or corrected: a gap-toothed smile. And rather than treating that as a quirk to hide, it becomes the organizing idea behind the entire system.

That choice carries through everything. The name, the illustrations, the typography, even the visual structure all reinforce the same underlying belief: perfection isn’t all that interesting.

The humor emerges from that tension.

It’s easy to mistake this kind of work as simply “quirky.” But the difference here is that the design decisions are doing more than entertaining. They’re expressing a clear point of view about individuality and what’s worth celebrating.

And that’s what gives the humor staying power.

Brand identity, logo, typography and packaging designs for Gaptooth soda by Saint Urbain. Reviewed by Emily Gosling for BP&O.

05/13/2026

Finally a cat in the house.

04/30/2026

We had a hand in bringing Bigfoot and all his friends to life for YMCA's Bigfoot Hide & Sneak event 👀🐾

But what you don’t see? The YMCA team behind the scenes making the whole thing happen. We’ve got front row seats, and it’s a whole lot of care, creativity, and hustle.

Good news: there’s still time to volunteer or bring your kids to join the search.
May 2. Don’t miss it!

https://www.ymcanorth.org/adventure/events/bigfoot-hide-sneak

04/28/2026

We get a front row seat to what it takes to bring these events to life—and trust us, the YMCA team puts in the work. https://www.ymcanorth.org/adventure/events/bigfoot-hide-sneak

So when Bigfoot shows up for hide-and-seek in the woods… it’s not by accident 🐾🌲

Grab your family and go see the magic they’ve made (and try to find him).

04/23/2026

If you own or manage a business in the North Loop, come say hi! We’re gathering the North Loop business community for a happy hour of connection, collaboration, and community-building TODAY at Graze Food Hall by Travail. We’ll start the fun at 4:00, short program begins at 5:00.

04/21/2026

If you own or manage a business in the North Loop, come say hi! We’re gathering the North Loop business community for a happy hour of connection, collaboration, and community-building on April 23rd at Graze Food Hall by Travail. We’ll start the fun at 4:00, short program begins at 5:00.

04/14/2026

What made MTV iconic wasn’t the logo.

It was the discipline behind it.

From the start, MTV had a clear sense of what it was: not just a channel, but a cultural amplifier. That identity gave them something most brands still struggle with—a system strong enough to stay recognizable while constantly changing.

The logo was never meant to be static. It was designed to be remixed, distorted, reinterpreted. Different textures, colors, motion, contexts. It broke every conventional rule of consistency.

And it worked—because the identity underneath held.

This article is a fascinating look at the people and the story behind it.

The document discusses the creation and impact of the MTV logo, designed by Manhattan Design in 1981, which became a cultural icon representing the vibrant and rebellious spirit of music television. It highlights the logo's evolution, its rejection of traditional design principles, and how it became...

04/06/2026

Your customer retention is waning. 👎

You’re not sure how your brand is being perceived by your audience. 👎

That new product you just launched is falling short of sales expectations. 👎

Could it be time to conduct some quantitative research?

Um, yes. 👍

https://www.quirks.com/articles/when-to-conduct-qualitative-marketing-research