“When the dictionary identifies entrepreneur, it’s me that they’re talking about,” Dallas native Mahiri Takai said in the Sept. 30 premiere of NBC’s business reality TV competition On Brand with Jimmy Fallon. “I am an author. I worked in fashion for 14 years. I am absolutely a beast at what I do.”
Takai is among the 10 “everyday Americans” competing for the title of “Innovator of the Year” on the show hosted by Fallon. The winner receives a $100,000 prize.
Each week, contestants are tasked with designing marketing campaigns for big-name companies like Sonic and Dunkin’. Meanwhile, Bozoma Saint John, a veteran marketing executive, serves as a mentor and judge.
Of the five episodes released so far, Takai has claimed victory in two, winning challenges with Marshalls and Southwest Airlines (“a hometown brand,” he said in a recent phone call).
News Roundups
The first episode of ‘On Brand with Jimmy Fallon’ with BT Hale, Lauren Karwoski, Elijah Bennett, Mahiri Takai, Ryan Winn, Bianca Fernandez pictured left to right in the top row and Sabrina Burke, Jill McVicar Nelson, Scott Murphy, Jimmy Fallon, Bozoma Saint John, Pyper Bleu, Azhelle Wade pictured left to right in the bottom row.
David Holloway/NBC / David Holloway/NBC
Upon joining the show, Takai, a 39-year-old who has worked in brand marketing, was surprised to realize he was “a student of something that [he] thought [he] was the master in.” Listening to insight from Fallon and Saint John was humbling, but also eye-opening.
He recalls, for example, Saint John’s words of advice: “The best thing that you could ever do for a client is remember what they’re asking versus what you want to see.”
“It’s exactly what I needed to hear,” Takai said.
In episode three, which Takai won, contestants received a brief to “introduce people to the magic of Marshalls.” Among the assignment’s requirements, they had to create a campaign, billboard and pop-up activation.
Takai pitched a branded closet where stylists would help visitors select Marshalls clothing that fit their style.
As the winner, Takai had his billboard mounted on the side of a building in midtown Manhattan. He got emotional in the episode when he visited the site with his two children, months after the challenge.
Takai cried at that moment, he said, not only because he was happy to win, but because of how far he had come. After growing up in Pleasant Grove, he moved to New York City in 2005 to pursue a career in fashion. He returned to Dallas in 2012 and later started Men’s Fashion Week here. He currently runs Aodi, a Dallas-based marketing agency.
The Marshalls challenge surfaced memories from his time in New York. Near the billboard was the Times Square church he joined, a Starbucks where he worked as a barista and the hospital he lived in when he was homeless.
“I moved to New York City with a dream of doing this thing — and this thing that’s going to happen fast,” he said. “It didn’t happen fast at all.”
Along the way, there have been joyful moments, like marriage and having children. His kids are now watching his On Brand appearance, which he hopes will inspire courage in them.
But tragedy struck as he hustled. His father was murdered, he said.
Reflecting on those experiences, Takai, who was once a pastor, draws on his faith. “I am so honored that God took away the pain,” he said.
Details
The remaining episodes of On Brand with Jimmy Fallon will air on Fridays at 7 p.m. on NBC until the season finale on Oct. 31. Episodes stream the next day on Peacock.
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