Hasta La Creative!

Pringles wants to be the chip of choice for esports players.

The Kellogg brand has nearly doubled its investment when it comes to sponsorships in the online competitive gaming space.

Pringles first began a partnership with ESL, formerly Electronic Sports League and widely known as the world’s largest esports company, in October 2017 by sponsoring a single event–ESL’s One Hamburg in Germany. The next year saw the brand sponsor two events, one in Germany and one in Poland. Now, in 2019, Pringles will sponsor seven ESL esports tournaments across 13 European countries from Sweden to Romania, according to Toan Nguyen, executive strategy director for Jung von Matt, the Hamburg-based marketing agency Pringles is working with for all esports-related work.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

“You can use sex to sell anything, except if it’s women’s pleasure.” That’s how Stephanie Keating, marketing manager at WOW Tech Group, describes her frustration at the often-unwritten rules of advertising that keep sex toy ads from appearing in public. Given that her company produces high-tech gadgets aimed at helping women enjoy sexual fulfillment, it’s…

The company that controls the composers’ catalog cut a deal for 90 percent of the royalties for the singer’s remake of “My Favorite Things” just weeks before its release.

Hawaiian-born craft brew Kona is about to make the biggest mainland marketing play in its 25-year history. The beer will run its first national TV ads beginning Thursday during March Madness.

The spots, by agency Duncan Channon of San Francisco, continue the “Dear Mainland” campaign that first began airing in select markets such as San Diego and Orlando in 2014. Ads feature two Hawaiian locals dubbed the “Bruddahs” who poke fun at the stressful lives of mainlanders while plugging a low-key island lifestyle. Three new national ads include one called the “To Don’t List” in which the two men remind viewers: “Don’t forget to step outside every now and then.” In another spot, they talk about “Kona mode,” which is like putting your phone on airplane mode, but for a lot longer period of time.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

Pressure is mounting for Boeing as the aircraft manufacturer faces new federal investigations following the crashes of two Boeing 737 Max planes that killed 346 people. Last week, several countries, including the U.S., grounded the 737 Max models.

In recent days, reports have surfaced that the Chicago-based company was already studying software issues before the more recent March 10 Ethiopian Airlines crash. Crisis management experts say that Boeing now faces the difficult task of reassuring consumers uneasy about flying safely on its planes, which are flown by a large variety of airlines including Southwest, American and United.

“The long-term reputation damage here is really bad for Boeing,” says Gene Grabowski, a partner at crisis management firm Kglobal, noting that the unease has trickled far beyond the B2B level as passengers are now asking travel agents to make sure they are not booked on Boeing 737 Max planes.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

Plenty of direct-to-consumer birth control brands are hitting the market today, using pretty packaging, suggestive photography or overly-posed models to sell the product, but Nurx is taking a different approach. Today the brand launched a new look and marketing strategy to encourage more women (who either have or do not have health insurance) to think…

Last March, South by Southwest created a new awards program, the SXSW Creative Experience Arrow Awards, to honor the growing experiential focus at the festival. This year, in a bid to recognize that continued growth of experiential, SXSW added a new award, Best Exhibition Experience, to the Arrow Awards. “As agencies, brands, and other groups…

Facebook is implementing several changes to its targeting policies for ads dealing with housing, employment and credit as part of the company’s settlements of several class-action lawsuits and complaints. In one of the complaints, the American Civil Liberties Union teamed with Communications Workers of America and workers’ rights law firm Outten & Golden last September…