It’s fashion show time for Bitmoji on Snapchat. Snap Inc. debuted Outfit Sharing, a new feature that enables Snapchatters to share what their Bitmoji is wearing with their friends. The feature debuted on iOS, with Android to follow, with a new collection from Converse including hoodies, shirts, shorts and sneakers. Users can tap the new…
Discusses plans for non-fungible clothing on social media, and other metaverse projects at Austin festival.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has displaced millions, not only leaving them without shelter but also without a consistent source of income. It’s estimated that within just over two weeks, 2.5 million escaped Ukraine to surrounding countries such as Poland, which, according to UNHCR data, has received 1.6 million refugees. The same data shows 245,000 Ukrainians…
The locations will be scattered across the 1,350-mile route from Denver to Starbucks’ Seattle headquarters.
We’ve all felt utterly helpless staring at our TV screens over the last few weeks at what is happening in Ukraine. But there are things Adland can be doing to help. As the war and humanitarian crisis continue to unfold there, it’s become apparent this war is not only being fought on the ground but…
For Women’s History Month, Adweek asked five brand and agency executives to share their best career advice for women marketers. In this installment of this video series, these leaders discussed the challenges women, and especially women of color, currently face in the industry and what needs to change in order to empower marketers to overcome…
Taco Bell hypes the limited-time return of its Nacho Fries with a faux movie trailer for a thriller titled “Fry Again.”
Bracket season has gone to the dogs. A new flavor of Busch Dog Brew will be released this fall, and Busch Light is once again searching for a dog to represent its dogs-only product, this time to appear on the can. Bracket-style competition #BuschBarkBracket will be used to find that dog, with fans vying for…
Spotify will become the main partner and official audio streaming partner of FC Barcelona following an agreement between the streaming platform and the iconic soccer club, revealed Tuesday. The Spotify brand will appear on the front of the men’s and women’s team shirts starting with the 2022-23 campaign and for the next four seasons, and…
Welcome to Ad Age’s SXSW 2022 newsletter. We’ll be sharing a daily roundup of events, interviews and sessions from Austin. You can sign up here to get updates delivered to your inbox.
During a SXSW panel on Monday, Mark Cuban shared his thoughts on Web3. The “Shark Tank” investor is skeptical of the future of virtual land, saying that just because a brand buys a plot on The Sandbox or Decentraland doesn’t mean people will come. But Cuban is more bullish on NFTs and he encouraged everyone to sign up for a crypto wallet. Read more of Cuban’s predictions here.
A line swarmed out the door with SXSW attendees eager to hear TikTok’s head of measurement Jorge Ruiz. The unassuming data expert wouldn’t seem like a TikTok star, but after his talk on creative advertising tips, people were waiting to get pictures with Ruiz. The exec said he was surprised people would care to snap a photo with him as though he were a TikTok celebrity.
But given the topic of conversation—how the TikTok ads platform works, and some best practices for brands—it’s no surprise SXSW goers wanted to pick his brain. One piece of insight Ruiz provided was how brands can use TV ads to help with performance on TikTok. TikTok ads were a “good attention breaker” for people watching TV, Ruiz said. It was all part of a new analysis called “TikTok drives greater audience engagement,” revealed at SXSW.
The Texas gubernatorial candidate took the stage to a full room at SXSW to discuss his Democratic campaign. O’Rourke answered some questions about one of his most hot takes from the 2020 election cycle when he advocated banning AR-15 rifles, a sensitive subject in Second Amendment-friendly Texas. O’Rourke explained he still thinks the weapons should be off the streets, but that it would require broad consensus.
The candidate also blasted his opponent’s energy policies, comparing the current governor’s relationships with Texas oil and gas companies as similar to enabling an oligarchy, like the kind that is currently being sanctioned in Russia, over the invasion of Ukraine.
O’Rourke also touched on the controversial voting laws enacted in Texas, which have been criticized by civil rights groups for disenfranchising minorities. In the recent primary, thousands of mail-in ballots were disqualified. O’Rourke was one of the bigger political draws of the week.
Lizzo, the popular singer, spoke on Sunday at SXSW, and had some fans in formation outside the convention center. The singer raised important issues for women and the LGBTQ+ community in her keynote speech. Lizzo took aim at Texas’ recent anti-abortion law and anti-trans rights legislation, calling them “atrocious.”
Lizzo was also in town as part of a collaboration with Amazon Prime Video, which has a new program starring Lizzo called “Watch Out For The Big Girls.” Amazon has a house on Rainey Street with a Lizzo-themed juice bar. There’s also an activation for fans of the show “The Boys.”
It appears “The Boys” part had to be modified slightly to remove an image of The Homelander, played by Antony Starr, who was recently arrested in Spain for assaulting a chef. Not good timing for a SXSW homage.
It had been three years and three days since the last time GSD&M held its usual annual SXSW party; Duff Stewart, CEO of GSD&M, has been counting. GSD&M’s party, a fixture at SXSW, had the atmosphere of an outdoor music festival at the agency’s fortress in its hometown Austin. Country singer Charley Crockett headlined, drawing thousands of people from the worlds of advertising and media.
Susto Mezcal doled out free samples of its artisan Oaxacan mezcal with a chaser choice of smoked salt or dark chocolate. Crockett played for more than an hour. But first, Me Nd Adam, a local band fronted by Adam Walker, who is Stewart’s son, performed. So, it was very much a family affair.
After the party, Stewart said he was grateful that SXSW was back live after the COVID-19-induced hiatus. GSD&M views its party as the true kick-off of the event, and Stewart described the party as being what SXSW is really about. His agency is there all year; the rest are “just pop-ups,” passing through, Stewart said.
The GSD&M party continues on Tuesday with another outdoor concert, this one a fundraiser for HAAM—Health Alliance for Austin Musicians.
With all the films shown at SXSW, it’s not remarkable to spot a celebrity or catch a red carpet premiere, but someone in Austin this week really wants to meet Nicolas Cage. Most wanted posters with a mugshot of Cage have been posted around town, beckoning the actor to give a call to the number provided. Over the weekend, a group of filmmakers in town for the film fest portion of SXSW huddled around one of the Cage signs, intrigued to see if it was real. They texted, and received a response within minutes. “Is this Nicolas Cage,” the reply asked. Nope, sorry.
Other people may have spotted Cage mascots around town because there were three of them, in oversized felt costumes, that vaguely resembled the “Face Off” star. There was a reason for all the interest—the actor was in town promoting a new movie, “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.” This being SXSW, he even learned a bit about NFTs and crypto.
Hotel Saint Cecilia, a tucked-away boutique hotel in Austin, was the scene of a sprawling dinner party for iHeartMedia on Sunday. Laurie Santos, a Yale professor and host of the “Happiness Lab” podcast, spoke before dinner. After that, the band AJR performed an intimate show on a small outdoor stage surrounded by pillows and benches for seating.
iHeartMedia took over the famed hotel for the weekend, redubbing it “the podcast hotel,” and it held talks with a series of podcasters from its roster. Gayle Troberman, iHeart’s chief marketing officer, was there too holding court.
What’s in a Metaverse? Executives from Epic Games, Second Life and Ready Player Me will discuss the definition and technology needs of a metaverse.
Sebastien Borget, chief operating officer of The Sandbox, outlines five considerations for brands getting into the metaverse.
Former Global Head of Digital Marketing at Nike, Swan Sit, talks about how Web3 is changing marketing.
In honor of Women’s History Month, Adweek is paying tribute to those who are defying gendered expectations in advertising, marketing and media while shedding light on the harassment, tokenization and perpetual lack of resources that women face in the workplace. From highlighting agencies with untraditional family planning policies to underscoring the damaging effects of exclusionary…
Jackass crew member Steve-O, never one to back down from a dare, has played tetherball with a beehive, jammed a fish hook in his face for a swim with sharks and walked a tightrope over an alligator-inhabited river–with raw chicken in his jock strap. All this was done for the amusement of the R-rated movie-loving…
Nielsen has been a leveraged buyout target previously.
For two years, consumers in the U.S. have been struggling to adapt to a new normal, whatever that may mean. The result has been massive stress. A March 2021 survey by the American Psychological Association that showed Americans were more stressed than ever before. Almost half (48%) reported elevated stress levels due to the pandemic,…
Meta is making it rain in Spain. Facebook’s parent company said Tuesday that it is making a “significant investment” in people and infrastructure in the country, which includes doubling its office space in Madrid and recruiting up to 2,000 people over the next five years. Spain will also be home to the world’s first Meta…
Wendy’s and Rick and Morty are at it again, this time in Las Vegas. The longtime partnership between the fast-food chain and Adult Swim’s hit animated series continues with “Morty’s Mayhem,” a Las Vegas activation that coincides with college basketball’s biggest event, March Madness. From this Thursday through Sunday, March 20, fans in Las Vegas…
A new campaign for popular cannabis brand Pax isn’t a spring fashion spread for a glossy magazine like Vogue or Elle, but it could easily pass for one. With its editorial poses and colorful props–models co-star with an explosion of flowers against a soft peach-tinted backdrop–the work puts some of the industry’s unsung heroes into…
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