Welcome back. Today, Walmart draws fire for planning tariff price hikes; a new WNBA season means the return of a surprising endorsement star; and companies long ago named “DEI” suffer their own form of headline risk.

President Trump attacked Walmart on Saturday after the retail giant said it planned to raise prices this month and early this summer as tariff-affected merchandise hits its store shelves, Sarah Nassauer writes.

“Walmart made BILLIONS OF DOLLARS last year,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Between Walmart and China they should, as is said, ‘EAT THE TARIFFS,’ and not charge valued customers ANYTHING. I’ll be watching, and so will your customers!!!”

A Walmart spokeswoman said in response that the chain will “keep prices as low as we can for as long as we can given the reality of small retail margins.”

Trump previously berated Amazon over a report that it was considering breaking out tariff-related price hikes at checkout. Amazon quickly said the idea “was never approved and is not going to happen.”

More brand politics: A legal fight has broken out over billboard ads calling for a boycott of Avelo Airlines, a passenger carrier that flies deportees for ICE. [NYT]

Ellie the Elephant, the mascot for the WNBA’s New York Liberty, has become a celebrity endorser in her own right, Rory Satran reports.

With nearly 200,000 TikTok followers, the Brooklyn native has represented Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty and luxury brand Off-White,  appears in a campaign for Away luggage and is the first celebrity endorser for Essie nail polish.

“Ellie didn’t even have nails, but we knew that she was so relevant,” said Zoe Housman, head of marketing and strategic projects at Essie owner L’Oréal. So Ellie’s mascot builder got to work and a nailfluencer was born. Ellie showed off her new nails in social-media videos.

Her anonymous performer, a full-time Liberty employee, is paid for her time on brand deals, but ultimately it’s the team that profits from her image.

More one the new WNBA season: The expansion Golden State Valkyries are the first WNBA team to sell 10,000 season tickets. [WSJ]

Coach’s latest ad push features WNBA rookies including No. 1 draft pick Paige Bueckers. [WWD] 

The WNBA’s season-opening campaign aims to attract younger fans with shaky-cam game footage shot at court level. [Adweek]

Companies named “DEI” years ago are feeling a little on edge as DEI policies come under assault, Krystal Hur writes.

“You’re reading these headlines: ‘DEI is wrong,’ ‘Terrified of the aftermath of DEI,’” said David Markley, who runs car-parts firm Design Engineering Inc., or DEI. “It’s disheartening when somebody’s, like, bashing your baby.”

Ricardo Gomez first sensed the trouble last year, when his restaurant-supply company, DEI Equipment, received a scathing, one-star online review accusing diversity mandates of hurting the U.S. military industrial complex.

An employee messaged the reviewer to explain that they sell cookware. A month and three unanswered emails later, the review disappeared.

Gomez says he got the idea for the name more than 20 years ago from the Latin word “dei,” which can mean divine. He recently added that origin story to his website, but still worries that potential customers will assume he sells diversity ideology instead of restaurant supplies.

“I’m a minority that owns a business—it’s not that I’m against it,” said Gomez. “We’re very, very careful about doing anything that will offend anybody from either side.”

Nationwide boycotts have pressured Target for its DEI rollback ahead of its quarterly earnings report this week. So what impact could the boycotts have on the company’s bottom line?

In a two-episode series, the Journal’s What’s News podcast considers how boycotts including Target Fast are affecting the company—and the Black entrepreneurs who rely on sales from Target’s shelves.

🎧 Part 1: How Target Went Big on DEI, Then Backed Off

🎧 Part 2: Is Target’s Business Paying a Price?

Positive word-of-mouth can simultaneously make consumers more interested in buying a product and more anxious about using and enjoying it. [WSJ] 

Ulta Beauty created an internal ambassadors program that turns a selected group of store employees into content creators for its brand. [Glossy] 

NFL teams have turned their schedule announcements into viral moments with elaborate videos including spoofs of “Love Island” and “Minecraft.” [Fast Company]

The Super Bowl and football loom large in early upfront talks. [Variety] 

Five ways Major League Baseball could regain its cultural traction. [WSJ] 

Mexico demanded compensation and damages over a MrBeast video that combined an authorized visit to ancient Mayan ruins with a plug for his “Mayan-approved” Feastables peanut butter cups. [Yucatán Magazine] 

Valentino is hosting music events at a “dimly lit listening cave” on the second floor of its Madison Avenue flagship store, part of an effort to bring the brand closer to culture. [The Cut]

Hulk Hogan’s beer brand plans to make a bid for Hooters’ intellectual property. [BI]

Arby’s is testing steak nuggets on its menu. [Ad Age]