Rivals and Biscoff Show APAC Brands How to Embed Into Culture, Not Ads

Every few years, a TV show captures something in the air that no ad campaign can buy. Barbie did it in 2023. Rivals is doing it now.

The British drama, which won an International Emmy for best drama and became Disney+'s biggest UK drama launch to date, has quietly set a new bar for how entertainment and brands can work together. The same week Rivals landed, Marketing Week's roundup paired it with a very different story: Biscoff's approach to influencer marketing. Together, they make a case that is hard to ignore.

For marketing leaders in Asia, both stories are worth paying close attention to.

When the Store Becomes Part of the Script

The headline move in the Rivals brand playbook was Waitrose. Rather than slapping a logo on a title card, Waitrose worked with Disney+ to embed a real, period-accurate 80s Waitrose store into a key scene of the show. The grocery chain also launched a limited-edition food range called "Noshtalgia" on 27 April 2026, 18 days before the show's premiere.

This was Disney's first-ever scripted product integration for a Hulu Original on UK Disney+. Bombay Sapphire Gin, Volkswagen, and PG Tips joined the same partnership ecosystem. Each brand got access to a show already buzzing with cultural attention, rather than trying to manufacture that attention from scratch.

Eric Schrier, President of Disney TV Studios, put it plainly: "Rivals has really helped us establish a place in the U.K. beyond our global content." That line matters. It signals that prestige local drama is no longer just a creative bet. It is becoming a structured commercial vehicle.

What This Model Actually Changes

Traditional sponsorship puts a brand near content. This model puts the brand inside the story.

The distinction matters because audiences increasingly tune out conventional advertising. What they engage with is content that feels authentic, not promotional. Embedding a Waitrose store in a scene the audience is already emotionally invested in sidesteps that resistance entirely. The brand benefits from the show's credibility, and the show gains production authenticity.

For APAC brand leaders, the immediate question is whether local streaming platforms and prestige dramas offer the same opportunity. The Rivals model requires a show with real cultural traction. Not every title qualifies. But when one does, the window is short, and the brands that move first get the most value.

The Biscoff Lesson: Influencer Authenticity Works the Same Way

Marketing Week's roundup doesn't just cover Rivals. It highlights Biscoff as a parallel example, this time in influencer marketing.

Why Brands Are Moving From Campaign Deals to Creator Content Properties

Expedia partners with IShowSpeed for a year. Brands are shifting from one-off campaigns to long-term creator content properties.

Mission MediaMission Media

The lesson from Biscoff is structurally the same as the Rivals lesson. Brands that let creators bring their genuine voice to a partnership (rather than scripting every word) produce content that audiences actually watch and share. Forced endorsements read as ads. Authentic creator storytelling reads as content.

As Campaign Asia noted in its review of what worked in APAC creative in 2025: "collaborations have become the secret weapon for brands trying to cut through noise." Whether it is Waitrose inside a TV scene or a Biscoff creator posting from their own kitchen, the logic is identical. Put your brand somewhere real, not somewhere manufactured.

What APAC Marketers Should Take From This

The Rivals and Biscoff stories are not UK-specific lessons. They are signals about how audiences everywhere are changing.

People are not rejecting brands. They are rejecting ads that feel like ads. The brands finding traction (on streaming platforms, in creator content, inside actual storylines) are the ones willing to give up some control over the message in exchange for genuine cultural relevance.

For Asian brands watching the Rivals launch from a distance, the practical question is simple. Which shows, which creators, which cultural moments in your market have the kind of authentic pull that Rivals has in the UK? That is where the budget conversation starts.