Good morning. Today, Jonathan Goldsmith reprises his role as the hero of Dos Equis advertising; Verizon hopes a $20 credit makes up for hours of reputation damage; and a new wave of companies caters to guys worried about microplastic in their underwear.

Programming note: We’ll be off on Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. See you here on Tuesday.

The original Most Interesting Man in the World, the long-running character originated by Jonathan Goldsmith in 2006, is returning to Dos Equis marketing 10 years after the brand handed the title to a younger actor, Katie Deighton reports for The WSJ Leadership Institute.

Goldsmith, now 87 years old, will appear in new ads spanning TV, billboards, social media and other digital venues, stores and bars.

But a lot has changed since the Most Interesting Man has been around.

Widespread health- and Ozempic-driven aversions to carbs, changing consumer tastes and concern over rising prices have led to beer volume declines for big brewers including Dos Equis parent Heineken. Dos Equis has found itself overshadowed by rival Mexican brands Modelo and Corona.

Heineken USA CEO Maggie Timoney said rising moderation only enhances the character’s catchphrase, “I don’t always drink beer, but when I do, I prefer Dos Equis.”

Other brand characters have returned before—from the fickle “Can you hear me now?” guy (see next item) to 1980s pizza villain the Noid—but not usually in such robust fashion and after such a firm send-off.

That might be because bringing campaigns back from the dead can be risky, as Katie writes. Critics might contend that a marketer has run out of ideas—and there’s always the chance that old tricks won’t land with new audiences.

Verizon is offering wireless customers affected by Wednesday’s outage a $20 account credit and apologizing for the hourslong service interruption.

But the credits aren’t likely to restore Verizon’s reputation for reliability.

Here’s Joanna Stern, Journal columnist and a Verizon subscriber who had to use her car’s AT&T-based navigation system to get home during the outage, on the company’s acknowledgment that customers expect more:

“Can you hear me now?” actor Paul Marcarelli famously defected to Sprint in 2016 before returning in a Verizon ad in 2025—arguably leaving both brands worse for wear. 

The latest Verizon fiasco, which torpedoed everything from kids’ pickups to commuters’ digital train tickets, is the kind of event that generates the “consumer rage” closely tracked by Katie Deighton for The WSJ Leadership Institute. Sample headline from November: “American Customers Are Madder Than Ever.” Let’s ask them again now.

For better or worse (depending on your customer service budget), dodging rage isn’t only about having products that work.

As consumer research executive Scott Broetzmann told Katie last year, the rising agita partly reflects the sense that it’s so much easier to buy something than it is to get help when there’s a problem.

One more down note in wireless: The Food and Drug Administration has taken down its webpages saying cellphones aren’t dangerous as the Department of Health and Human Services under Robert F. Kennedy Jr. begins a study on cellphone radiation. [WSJ]

In yesterday’s newsletter I flagged one brand that was studiously ignoring even favorable trends in order to build something lasting, and another patiently waiting for winds to turn back in its favor. Today, let’s get back on-trend.

New apparel makers are marketing all-natural underwear and shorts to a growing number of men concerned that polyester-based clothes could be hurting their fertility, hormones and general health. Sam Schube writes:

For influencers and podcasters who discuss ways to optimize health and fitness, underwear is the latest in a line of favorite topics, following fixations such as protein intake, sunlight exposure and seed oils.

“I think polyester now is maybe what seed oils were in 2020, 2021,” said Garrett Wilson, the 26-year-old founder of Ryker, which sells natural-fiber activewear.

Vibe check: Dr. Paul Turek, a reproductive urologist and micro-surgeon in California who specializes in male fertility and sexual health, said he tells patients that reducing plastic exposure is generally advisable, but that he hasn’t seen research to validate fears that their shorts are harming them.

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Ashley St. Clair sued Elon Musk’s xAI, alleging that its Grok chatbot is “unreasonably dangerous as designed” and seeking a temporary restraining order to stop Grok from creating images that undress her. [WSJ] 

Meta and Microsoft are running PR and ad campaigns to win local communities over to the idea of hosting new data centers. [Bloomberg]

The first footwear from NikeSkims looks like a surprise hit to fashion insiders and industry observers. [Footwear News] 

Paramount failed to force Warner Bros. Discovery to disclose more information soon about its deal with Netflix. [WSJ]

Former Netflix marketing executive Amanda Sall was named chief marketing officer, a newly created position, at the Houston Ballet. [CultureMap] 

Gap named former Paramount executive Pam Kaufman its first chief entertainment officer, charged with building a “fashiontainment” program, and said it would open an office in Los Angeles. [THR] 

DoorDash will break its recent streak of Super Bowl ads, ceding the game to commercials planned this year from rivals Instacart and UberEats. [Adweek]

YouTube is making it easier for videos that focus on “controversial” subjects to earn ad revenue again. [Tubefilter]