Hasta La Creative!

Every weekday we bring you the Ad Age/iSpot Hot Spots, new TV commercials tracked by iSpot.tv, the real-time TV ad measurement company with attention and conversion analytics from more than eight million smart TVs. The ads here ran on national TV for the first time yesterday.

A few highlights: Hilton Hotels & Resorts wants you to get “another day in paradise” by taking advantage of its current special offers as you plan your summer getaway. Guitar Center highlights the story of Jordan Scharff, lead guitarist in the “Saturday Night Live” house band (and a Guitar Center customer). And Wendy’s wants to “take you Southwest (figuratively)”; all you need to do is order its Southwest Avocado Chicken Salad. (No word about what you should do if you’re already in the Southwest.)

Continue reading at AdAge.com

This year’s 30,000-plus Boston Marathon runners faced brutal conditions as they worked their way through 26.2 miles in freezing rain. While crossing the finish line at the end of the day is likely a deeply satisfying reward in itself, Adidas added a lovely (and very impressive) personalized touch for each runner, with help from digital…

Instagram first, sell afterwards: that’s an ethos that more ecommerce companies are adopting as they go offline. Opening physical stores (or pop-ups, showrooms, whatever) has become a viable path for some of the biggest digital ecommerce darlings, like Everlane, Glossier, Warby Parker, Bonobos and Casper, to name just a few. The trend however doesn’t just…

Michael Cohen, the longtime personal attorney for President Donald Trump, has dropped his defamation lawsuits against BuzzFeed and the investigative firm Fusion GPS over a dossier of information about contacts between Trump and Russia.

Cohen used a pair of court filings late Wednesday to end the lawsuits he filed in January, which claimed the dossier contained a series of false assertions about him. His decision to abandon the suits in their early stages came as he faces a criminal investigation by federal prosecutors in New York over his private financial and business dealings. By dropping the cases, he won’t have to answer detailed questions in the litigation over his own activities.

The case against Fusion GPS, which compiled the dossier, and its co-founder Glenn Simpson was filed in federal court in New York. Cohen had sued BuzzFeed, which published the dossier in its entirety, in state court in New York.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

Not too long ago, media agencies were a necessary first stop for any brand that hoped to connect with its target customers. Only the agency had the information necessary to create an intelligent media plan or the relationships and cost-efficiency (due to their ability to make aggregate media purchases) required to place a buy with…

Today, Publicis Groupe stock jumped over 7 percent in Paris after the holding company reported a strong first quarter with net revenue up 1.6 percent organically, compared year over year to a 1.2 percent decline. In the critical North American market, Publicis saw organic growth of 2.8 percent in the quarter; a feat after competitor…

It’s been three years since same-sex marriage became legal in all 50 states. The landmark Supreme Court decision was a resounding victory for the LGBT community, but advocates say there’s still a long way to go. After the legalization of gay marriage, many incorrectly assumed that LGBT citizens have equal rights in all aspects of…

The acquisition comes as Ogilvy dismantles its model and builds a new internal structure.

In a time of extreme tribulation for advertising holding companies, Publicis Groupe touted some good news Thursday.

Although revenue fell around 8 percent from a year earlier to $2.8 billion, Publicis saw organic growth of 1.6 percent (attributed to change excluding the impact of acquisitions and foreign exchange) for the first quarter of 2018 attributing that in part to accounts gained in 2017, including Lionsgate, Southwest Airlines and McDonald’s.

Publicis Chairman and CEO Arthur Sadoun called the group’s streak of wins in 2018 “unprecedented” he cited new global accounts including Campbell and Marriott, with local wins including Red Bull in the U.S. and Kraft Heinz in China.

Continue reading at AdAge.com