Hasta La Creative!

On Day 3 of the U.S. Government shutdown, Republicans and Democrats are hard at work … blaming each other for the shutdown. The Guardian notes that the Trump Administration is taking a novel approach to the blame game, turning the White House comment line, 202-456-1111, into essentially an attack ad. The Guardian recorded and posted the full audiosee the paper’s YouTube video version abovebut the key line of the out-of-office message is: “Unfortunately, we cannot answer your call today, because congressional Democrats are holding government funding, including funding for our troops and other national security priorities, hostage to an unrelated immigration debate.”

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“First name Stephen, last name Curry/He came into my life and now everything is less blurry.” Those catchy lyrics are from a Brita stream commercial that premiered earlier this month. It was corny but laughable and instantly became an internet ear worm. Brita, a Clorox Company brand, had little choice but to let it become…

U.K. regulators dealt a setback to 21st Century Fox’s planned 11.7 billion-pound ($16.3 billion) takeover of Sky, saying the deal would give Rupert Murdoch too much control over the country’s media.

Fox’s bid to buy the European pay-TV broadcaster wouldn’t be in the public interest, the Competition and Markets Authority said in provisional findings Tuesday in which it called for the companies to offer remedies. Sky shares jumped as much 3.7 percent, however, after the regulator dismissed concerns about the separate issue of broadcasting standards.

While the decision is another impediment for the Murdochs, the lack of concern over broadcasting standards was welcomed by Fox after myriad regulatory delays and a furor over sexual harassment allegations at Fox News in the U.S. With a 39.1 percent stake in Sky, Fox has agreed to sell the London-based broadcaster on to Walt Disney Co. as part of a a $52.4 billion merger revealed last month. If the Fox-Sky deal isn’t completed, Disney will only pick up Fox’s existing holding in Sky.

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An ad for Mondelez breakfast biscuit brand Belvita, featuring a train announcer with a penchant for cheesy comedy, has topped a ranking of the world’s most emotionally engaging advertising.

The new look for Formula E – the electric street racing brand – is aimed at making it distinctly different from traditional motorsports.

Superunion is the name of the new WPP branding agency network that has brought together five agencies, Brand Union, The Partners, Lambie-Nairn, Addison and VBAT.

French supermarket giant Carrefour has announced that it will work with Publicis.Sapient to become a global leader in e-commerce.

Retailer Selfridges is collaborating with boutique boxing club BXR to stage an in-store boxing-themed residency.

McCann Worldgroup UK has promoted McCann London’s executive vice-president Rob Smith to the new role of chief client officer.