The photo flash hits first—classic Upper East Side. Sunglasses slide down. Smirks exchanged. And just like that, Serena van der Woodsen is back… sort of.
On June 30, 2025, Blake Lively dropped a new ad campaign for her canned cocktail brand Betty Booze. But this wasn’t just a product plug. It was a wink to a generation raised on scheming teens and scandalous blog posts. Alongside her sat Zuzanna Szadkowski—forever etched in TV lore as Dorota, the loyal, ever-wise housekeeper with a steel spine and impeccable comedic timing.
This time, they’re on a park bench. Lively plays it cool; Szadkowski, in perfect deadpan, blames her raspy voice on “allergies.” Cue the “tea” talk, which—spoiler alert—is vodka iced tea in Meyer lemonade and passion fruit flavors. Served in teacups, naturally.
It’s camp. It’s clever. It’s marketing alchemy.
And it works.
A Brand With Bite (and Bourbon History)
For context: Lively launched Betty Buzz in 2021 as a line of sparkling mixers. By 2023, she’d expanded into ready-to-drink cocktails with bourbon and tequila infusions. The vodka iced teas debuted earlier this June, with Lively herself saying, “I come from a Southern family, so iced tea, especially in the summertime, is a staple.”
But let’s not pretend this is just about the drink.
The real buzz (sorry) comes from how the ad leans into shared cultural memory. Szadkowski calls one flavor “a naughty little b***h.” Lively claps back, “So I’ve heard.” The chemistry is effortless—just two pros having a blast, selling you booze, and quietly reminding you of a time when headbands and betrayal ruled primetime.
And then—because Lively knows the internet like it’s her job (because it is)—she flashes Uggs and sweatpants beneath her glam outfit. A deep-cut reference to a season six Gossip Girl blooper reel, where wardrobe missed a spot. Fans screamed. The ad? It just grins.
Nostalgia, But Make It Postmodern
What’s genius here isn’t just the reunion—it’s the way Lively owns her pop culture legacy without drowning in it. She doesn’t try to outgrow Gossip Girl; she builds with it. This is branding as storytelling. You’re not just buying tea with vodka. You’re sipping on a memory.
In an age where every celebrity has a side hustle, few have mastered the blend of persona and product like Lively. She’s not slapping her face on a bottle—she’s crafting an episode. A mini-script. A meme-ready short that invites you in and winks on the way out.
The drink is “balanced, crisp, nothing artificial,” they say.
The same could be said for the ad.
The Bigger Picture? Serena Grew Up. But She Didn’t Get Boring.
Whether this turns into a wider Betty Booze cinematic universe (please, someone greenlight that fake Gossip Girl spinoff with cocktails) is unclear. But for now, the ad stands on its own: a fizzy little masterclass in smart nostalgia, brand-savvy writing, and the kind of reunion that doesn’t feel desperate.
Oh—and one last thing: Szadkowski closes the scene with a thick Dorota accent. “Oh Miss Betty, you’re gonna get us in trouble.”
She’s not wrong. But trouble’s never looked this good.
