Hasta La Creative!

Japan’s ruling party wants to legalize professional gaming tournaments, joining a groundswell that started last summer amid speculation that video games will become an Olympic medal sport by 2024.

Arcane laws meant to stop illegal gambling have prevented paid video game tournaments in Japan, stunting the domestic market even as esports has become a multibillion-dollar global industry. Over the past few months, negotiations between four esports groups and Japan’s consumer protection agency have yielded a workaround to exempt professional gamers from the rules.

Takeo Kawamura, a lawmaker from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party, said the ruling party might be willing to go further, by amending laws to ensure people’s rights to earn a living playing games. The goal, he said, is to remove impediments and make it possible to win Olympic medals someday.

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Quando fez seu debute na televisão americana em junho de 2016, “American Crime Story” pegou o público de surpresa. A série de antologia, criada pelos roteiristas Scott Alexander e Larry Karaszewski, conseguiu rapidamente se destacar de outros seriados produzidos no mesmo formato por Ryan Murphy (como “American Horror Story”) e se tornou em poucas semanas …

> LEIA MAIS: Para revelar assassinato de Gianni Versace, “American Crime Story” retorna com pegada mais intimista

A plataforma de vídeos Twitch anunciou uma parceria com a Disney Digital Network para a criação de conteúdos exclusivos. Os materiais serão produzidos pelos quatro maiores criadores da plataforma: Jacksepticeye, LuzuGames, Markiplier e Strawburry17. Cada um deles gerenciará seus próprios canais no Twitch e farão transmissões sobre conteúdos criados sob demanda já a partir de …

> LEIA MAIS: Twitch e Disney fecham parceria para produção de conteúdo exclusivo

Gallegos United hired Dino Spadavecchia as executive creative director.

In the role, Spadavecchia will oversee creative development and execution across all clients and report directly to Gallegos co-president and chief creative officer Harvey Marco, who replaced Dave Damman as CCO last summer.

“I’ve known Dino for a long time and he’s a great fit for Gallegos United,” Marco said in a statement. “He’s one of those rare people in our industry who still believes in craftsmanship and draws inspiration from what’s going on in the real world, not just the world of marketing.”

“I’ve admired Gagllegos United and their creative reputation for many years, and can’t wait to work on the impressive client roster,” Spadavecchia added. “The opportunity to work with all the talent and partners at GALLEGOS United to continue to push creative boundaries and raise the bar even higher is something I’m really looking forward to.”

Spadavecchia has spent the past several years as a freelance executive creative director, creative director and art director with agencies including GCD, Team One and Armando Testa. Before going freelance he spent a little over a year and a half as a group creative director with David&Goliath, working with clients such as LG, Kia and Zico Coconut Water. He has also served as a creative director with Leo Burnett and as a senior art director with Goodby, Silverstein & Partners.

In December, the California Milk Processor Board (CMPB) consolidated its account with Gallegos United, following a long run with GS&P as agency of record, while the agency added fast food chain Chick-fil-A to its client roster last May.

Wait, we’re not done with the 2017 lists yet! Here’s an intriguing one from research firm System1 ranking the 10 most emotionally engaging spots of the year–based on testing of 705 award-winning or viral global TV ads and digital films among 56,400 consumers. Coming out on top was a little-known British ad with less than…

This is a real offer: Try a healthy snack that tastes like some combination of hyena crap, garbage, resentment and sawdust. Bring it on, you say? The marketer Kind feels confident that its new protein-packed bar is considerably more palatable than that. But you–the first 10,000 consumers to step up, that is–can be the judge….

Mars Inc. wants to move from a three-agency media structure to using a single global media partner. On Thursday, it announced a review process that could take the rest of the year.

The pet care, confectionery and packaged food marketer said it would transform its approach to media buying and planning across most of its portfolio.

“We want to make sure we keep pushing the boundaries in how we reach our consumers; being quicker, bolder and more innovative with our choices in this ever-changing media landscape,” Chief Marketing and Customer Officer Andrew Clarke said in a statement. “Data can play a crucial role here, both in providing us with new insights, but also with reinforcing our commitment to evidence-based marketing and investment.”

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Marks & Spencer has appointed former Tesco marketer Sharry Cramond as marketing director, food and hospitality, as the retailer responds to falling sales across the board.