Hasta La Creative!

This weekend at a racetrack in Monza, Italy, three of the world’s fastest athletes will put on Nike’s new high-tech running shoes and try to finish a marathon in less than two hours — the latest installment in the battle for runners’ hearts and feet.

Nike calls the attempt to shave three minutes off the current world record a moonshot. The race will use pace runners and a hydration strategy that disqualifies it for a new record, but the company refutes the suggestion that it’s a marketing stunt designed to showcase the new Zoom Vaporfly Elite more than the runners who wear the shoe.

“It’s about changing the game — attacking a barrier and unlocking human potential to break that barrier,” Nike spokesman Brian Strong said. “We believe that once the sub-two-hour barrier is broken in any capacity, we will see official times fall.”

Continue reading at AdAge.com

South Carolina’s own Erwin Penland has changed its name to EP+Co., which we presume to be short for “Erwin Penland and Company.”

The company has been relatively quiet about the change, which coincides with its move into a new headquarters in downtown Greenville. The 125,000 square foot building, which has been under construction for around two years, led to quite a bit of chatter in the local business community.

As you can see, it’s very nice!

Some big changes happened at EP+Co. while the building took shape: agency founder Joe Erwin resigned, with his successor Joe Scarino leading the company for less than 3 months before leaving for a top marketing role at client Chick-Fil-A. CCO Con Williamson and COO Allen Bosworth then stepped up to share the role of president.

The new branding will not lead to any operational changes at the agency, though it does include a new look and refreshed digital presence.

“We’ve updated our brand identity, which includes a new logo, colors, and font, but most importantly an acknowledgment of the entire organization,” said an agency spokesperson. “We are still the same great EP, but now we are EP+Co. EP+Co is symbolic of the combined efforts of the entire agency—not just one person. Ever forward.”

So it’s less about redefining the organization than giving credit to those who do the work.

EP+Co. most recently appeared on our radar regarding a review that saw now-former client L.L. Bean go to The VIA Agency of Maine, but in recent months it also won some new accounts including Strayer University while earning attention for a viral tweet from its biggest client, Denny’s.

Plus: mini balance boards!

In addition to being the first-ever American Pope, the youngest one, and Jude Law, The Young Pope’s got a big responsibility on his shoulders: Keeping HBO rolling in viewership while Game of Thrones takes a dragon nap. Its capacity to do this from a storytelling perspective is debatable (even if it’s already given us a…

Telefnica in Germany has announced a partnership with U.K. firm People.io to power an app in which the telco giant’s customers can control some of their data.

The app for customers to manage data, branded as O2 Get, is now part of Telefnica’s O2Germany app portfolio for Apple and Android devices. It will be promoted to Telefnica’s 44 million customers in the country, where data protection laws already reflect GDPR.

The partnership, and Telefnica’s approach to handing over more data control to its customers, could serve as a template for what other telcos across the European Union and other markets might do as strict General Data Protection Regulation rules take effect next year in the EU. The regulation, or GDPR, will require companies with data about EU citizens to obtain explicit consent for various data gathering, usage and sharing practices.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

British Airways is understood to have appointed a WPP team to handle its entire integrated creative, loyalty and media account.

As first reported by Adweek yesterday, Airbnb has launched its first global creative review since 2014. This means the world’s second most value “startup” will part ways with TBWAChiatDay, which has handled the account since that September.

According to Kantar Media, Airbnb spend approximately $65 million on measured media domestically last year.

TBWAChiatDay’s work for Airbnb included a “Belong Anywhere” campaign in 2015, an OOH campaign that angered San Francisco residents, a tie-in with Disney’s live action/CGI Jungle Book and last year’s “Live There” campaign calling on viewers to stop traveling like tourists.

“We are proud of the marketing programs we have developed together with Chiat over the last three years, including the global Live There brand platform,” Airbnb CMO Jonathan Mildenhall told Adweek. “This platform helped Airbnb reach even more people and bring them into the Airbnb community.”

“As a global hospitality company at a pivotal moment in our trajectory, we are seeking a partner agency that takes us closer to unlocking the creativity of our community, in which content and product are inextricably linked,” he added. “We are engaged in a global pitch, inviting the participation of a handful of diverse agencies to identify this new partner that will help us achieve our next phase of phenomenal growth.”

Does that sound like crowdsourcing to you guys? Sounds like crowdsourcing to us.

Airbnb hinted at such an approach this past September, when it turned to content-sourcing company MoFilm for its “Airbnb Holiday Ideas Contest” soliciting concepts for a holiday campaign.

“Our partnership with Airbnb has been transformative,” a TBWA spokesperson said in a statement. “We’re proud of the body of work we’ve created over the past three years, especially the ‘Live There’ global campaign, adding another iconic brand platform to an illustrious list that includes Apple’s ‘Think Different,’ Gatorade’s ‘Win From Within,’ and Adidas’ ‘Impossible Is Nothing.’ We’re also proud to have helped drive Airbnb’s evolution from a remarkable challenger business to a leading global brand during our partnership. We wish them continued success.”

Home is a lot more nuanced than a mere hearth, especially for a generation whose priorities and identities mark major changes from what preceded them. “Home Truths,” a short film created for U.K.-based department store Selfridges and directed by Kathryn Ferguson, explores what home means now. Some answers will always be the same: “Just finding…