At this time of year, consumers have vacation on the brain: a beach trip, poolside lounging or concerts and music festivals. That means prime time for fun summer promo campaigns as companies vie for attention – and dollars – from fanbases with varying levels of dedication. From restaurants to theaters to tech giants, brands are celebrating the season with standout summer promo.

Welcome back to ASI Media’s Best in Branding, the series that spotlights merch initiatives making a statement beyond our little promo world. Here are some favorites:

Olive Garden’s Pool Noodle Floaties

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Ever wanted to float on tortellini? No? Well, Olive Garden met that need anyway with a quirky set of pool floaties modeled after classic pasta shapes – tortellini, rigatoni and fettuccine. Plus, each purchase included a free “first course” item inspired by the restaurant’s never-ending starters – a breadsticks bucket hat, “Lettuce Float” drink holder or “Soup-er Summer Vibes” tote. And the people gobbled down the campaign faster than you can say “more breadsticks, please.” Olive Garden’s merch store had more than 500 orders after less than 10 minutes of the drop being live, and the rest sold out soon after.

Promo Takeaway: The team at Harper + Scott (asi/220052) deserves major props for this one. It’s creative, clever and in perfect alignment with Olive Garden’s most recognizable features: giant bowls of pasta, breadsticks and salad. It’s a prime example that “out there” merch doesn’t have to be completely off-base from a company’s core characteristics to get attention. And come on … the opportunity for “pool noodle” puns? Golden.

Heinz x DJ Mustard

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Heinz Mustaaaaaard is the first new mustard flavor from Heinz in more than a decade – and if you just heard Kendrick Lamar’s voice hollering “mustard” in your head when you read that, you’d be spot on. The flavor is a collab with DJ Mustard, whom Lamar name dropped in the song “tv off,” spawning memes, viral TikToks and even a Super Bowl performance for Mustard. Heinz worked with the DJ – whose first name is Dijon, hence the moniker – to create and launch the flavor, even dubbing him the condiment giant’s “chief mustard officer.”

Promo Takeaway: Having your pulse on the cultural zeitgeist can pay off big-time for the right brands. If it makes sense to dive into the latest and greatest TikTok trend – either with a social media post or a larger collaboration, like Heinz managed here – there’s opportunity for mega-impressions that will ensure your brand is part of the cultural conversation.

Google’s Play Points Merch

Google now allows users to redeem Play Points for merch. (photo courtesy of Google)

In June, Google upgraded its “Play Points” rewards system to include the opportunity to redeem Play Points – earned through making purchases on apps, books and more through the Google Play store – for fun merchandise. Think Google T-shirts, YouTube-branded tumblers and even Android or Duolingo plushies.

Promo Takeaway: Adding promotional items as options for a rewards program is a genius move. It builds brand loyalty with customers – as the consumer feels like they’re getting something back from a company they’ve spent $$$ on – but it’s also a guarantee of extra impressions for the brand. If someone is choosing to spend their hard-earned reward points on a Google T-shirt, there’s no doubt they’re actually going to wear it. Plus, who doesn’t love that Duolingo owl?

The $80 Fantastic Four Popcorn Bucket

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Custom popcorn buckets have become the norm for movie theater chains to stand out once the latest blockbuster hits the big screen – but this drop ahead of “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” takes things to another level. The massive bucket, shaped like Galactus’ head, measures 17.5 inches by 20 inches and holds a whopping 361 ounces of popcorn – all for the “low” price of $79.95. We know the movie theater experience has gotten more expensive as theaters contended with lower attendance, but sheesh.

Promo Takeaway: This one is for the diehards. The average movie-goer is unlikely to spend $80 for popcorn of all things, but for the comic book collectors? The Marvel purists? It’s a potential keepsake or collector’s item that’s worth shelling out for. The move isn’t without risks, as film flops likely mean extra inventory and lost dollars for theaters. But for franchises with dedicated fanbases, there’s big potential for buzz – and sales. (I, for one, still have the metal bucket I bought when I saw Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour movie at AMC Theatres almost two years ago.)

Chik-fil-A’s Cow Merch

New cow merchandise from Chik-fil-A includes a custom pickleball set. (photo courtesy of Chik-fil-A)

Fast food favorite Chik-fil-A announced the return of its annual “Code Moo” summer game with an appropriate (and extensive) set of cow merchandise. The drop included everything from T-shirts to bucket hats to even a pickleball set, all featuring a signature cow print design and Chik-fil-A red accents or “Eat Mor Chikin” scrawl.

Promo Takeaway: To be honest, this is on this list because it’s just great merch. However, it’s worth noting the majority of the collection only features the brand’s small red “C”– a patch that’s barely noticeable unless you’re hunting for branding, instead of the full “Chik-fil-A” logo. And yet, the pop of red, the cow print and an occasional “Eat Mor Chikin” slogan is more than enough to easily identify these as Chik-fil-A merch. Talk about major brand power.