Mailchimp’s AI Remix: The Making of ‘Popup Like It’s Hot’
Mailchimp has long embraced AI, integrating it into both its product offerings and creative processes. For its latest campaign, 'Popup Like It’s Hot,' it took that commitment a step further—making AI the driving force behind both the concept and execution. From the outset, Mailchimp’s in-house creative team, Wink, saw AI not just as a tool for efficiency, but as a means of creative expression, using it to craft a visually unexpected and highly entertaining experience.
Beyond the technological aspects, this campaign’s success lies in its ability to harness cultural relevance. By remixing Snoop Dogg’s 'Drop It Like It’s Hot' - an unforgettable noughties hit that defies generational gaps - the team ensured their message resonated with audiences in an entertaining and memorable way.
And of course, no Wink project is complete without its signature ‘wink’—an unexpected, slightly offbeat touch that makes the work distinctively Mailchimp. In this case, it’s the playful manipulation of mouth movements, an AI-driven quirk that adds a surreal, uncanny valley effect to the final execution. The result? A campaign that turns a product update into a head-bobbing, culturally relevant, and tech-forward piece of advertising. LBB sits down with head of advertising campaigns Curt Mueller; EP Rhett Kearsley; ACD and writer Pete Fetterling; and ACD and art director Pete Kehr, to learn about how every aspect of the project, from securing the licensing to re-recording the track with a Mailchimp-style twist, was handled in-house.
LBB> How does this campaign align with Mailchimp’s broader marketing goals?
Rhett> This campaign is an extension of the world we built in our Mailchimp Your Marketing launch last fall which primarily engaged mid market prospects of Mailchimp's advanced features. To coincide with the launch of our new Popup Forms product, we wanted to drive consideration even further with an eye-catching (and head-bobbing) piece of work.
Curt> When people see a piece of Mailchimp communication, we want them to walk away feeling empowered and optimistic, with a clear understanding of how Mailchimp can help them grow their business. And the ‘Popup Like It’s Hot’ work does all that, while repaying the viewer for their attention with entertaining content.
LBB> How did you balance the need to showcase Mailchimp’s product updates while keeping the campaign entertaining and engaging?
Pete Kehr> That was the name of the game from the start. Our new popup forms had to be the star, and remixing a song gave us a way to make them both central and engaging.
Rhett> The product itself is kinetic, and attention-grabbing in practice. We knew if we leveraged that aspect, and personified it with a culturally relevant soundtrack, we’d have something special that literally sings the product’s functionality and benefits.
Curt> Our new customisable popups have many new features and templates that marketers want to hear about, so we knew from the beginning that we had to focus on the updates. Mailchimp doesn’t see product information and entertainment as mutually exclusive. The team worked until they had an idea that balanced both perfectly.
LBB> The campaign plays off Snoop Dogg’s 'Drop It Like It’s Hot' – where did the idea for the spoof track come from?
Pete Kehr> Like all briefs, we bounced around a lot of ideas before but we kept coming back to the idea of remixing Snoop’s song. It was simple, catchy, and fit perfectly into our popup product messaging.
LBB> Can you share any insights into the licensing process—was it challenging to secure rights for the adaptation?
Rhett> Our amazing in-house business affairs director, Hadley Gwin, made it seamless. We worked with a musicologist to engage with publishers, pitched the concept, and secured approval to re-record our lyrics over a new Mailchimp-style composition—all done in-house.
LBB> AI played a major role in this creative process. Can you walk us through how it was used and what problems it helped solve?
Rhett> This project fell at a serendipitous crossroads of what the creative was calling for, and the time and budget challenges we had. Live action felt too expected, and full VFX wasn’t feasible within our timeline and budget. AI was the purposeful solution, and creative direction, from the start. It allowed us to iterate very quickly - testing and editing while pulling selects in real time on the photo shoot. It also provided a look and feel that brings the popups to life in a very unexpected and incongruous way.
Pete Kehr> AI was used at nearly every stage of the development and execution process. It helped us sell the idea through to stakeholders by showcasing a proof-of-concept that was 10x higher value than what we could have done on our own given our timeline. We also used it on set in parallel with our photographers to inform talent direction and image composition to make sure it was compatible with the AI. We brought our editors on set to use the AI in rapidly prototyping a rough-cut before we even wrapped the shoot. A big problem it helped solve was tearing down these innate barriers in the production process that we’ve all become accustomed to.
LBB> The manipulated mouth movements in the ad create an ‘uncanny valley’ effect. Was that intentional from the start, or did it evolve organically?
Rhett> Absolutely, AI is not perfect. We wanted to make sure we were using it in a way that was in service of the concept, rather than just a showcase of the tool. We tested this upfront in the concepting phase and knew that the intriguing look of the result was something we needed to leverage. It’s always fun to lean into the quirks and drawbacks of a thing.
Pete Fetterling> We always strive to add some sort of ‘wink’ to our work. Something that feels unexpected, strange, or out of the norm. That said, we weren’t totally sure what would happen until we actually did it. The whole project was really a trust exercise and thankfully our team was patient and diligent enough to make it happen.
LBB> What were the biggest challenges of integrating AI into the creative process, and how did you overcome them?
Rhett> The biggest challenge was getting AI to do exactly what we wanted it to do. It takes time to prompt, render and really get it right. But leaning into those imperfections is where some of the beauty is. Ultimately, it was a huge time-saver and a very interesting experiment in workflow and process. We’re lucky to have such talented and proactive creatives and producers who go head first into tackling these new technologies and all their quirks.
Pete Kehr> One of the biggest challenges was uncertainty and getting comfortable with the unknown—would the AI-generated effects remain consistent? Would our photography work with it? Testing images on set in real-time reassured us and helped refine the final look.
LBB> What advice would you give other brands looking to experiment with AI in their creative campaigns?
Rhett> Discernment. AI is having a zeitgeist moment. Everyone wants to use it and often it seems it’s for the purpose of keeping up with the Joneses. We’ve all seen work out there, whether just creative experiments or actual paid advertising, that leaves us questioning or criticising the use of AI. Be purposeful. Don’t let the humanity of it fall to the wayside. Let’s use AI to amplify the good; not as a way to replace what we already know is good.
Pete Fetterling> Just be open. It feels like every project involving AI at this point is an experiment so you just have to be willing to tinker around and see where it takes you.
Pete Kehr> Be fearless. Find ways for the tech to compliment the idea, rather than BE the idea.
