The plane lands in Paris, and you immediately point out the Eiffel Tower to your seatmates and anyone within earshot, after you’ve cheered the pilot’s flawless touchdown. Dr. Rick is so disappointed in you. “No clapping,” says the exasperated yet ever-patient character in a new Progressive Insurance ad. “It’s the end of a flight, not…
Samantha slips from a ladder while reaching for a book in the library, but just at the right moment, John steps in to catch her. It’s a classic meet cute moment, reminiscent of countless sentimental scenes from romantic comedies. But this meet cute didn’t happen in real life. As Samantha fumbles over her words, it…
Comedy is a powerful marketing tool, and many ad world mavens have long understood its intrinsic value as a clutter buster, brand builder and attention grabber. And in 2024, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity finally got hip to the rib-tickling genre, after at least a decade of handing out hardware disproportionately to weighty,…
Legendary rapper and cannapreneur Snoop Dogg is steeped in all things Olympics at the moment–even his latest ad for BIC is themed to the upcoming 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris. Snoop reunites with his close friend and longtime costar Martha Stewart for a commercial that has him awarding her a “10 out of 10″…
In recent months, there’s been a series of notable private equity investments in up-and-coming advertising agencies. Last month, Svoboda Capital Partners invested in creative agency Highdive. In October, Keystone Capital invested in Barkley, which then merged with OKRP. In September, the London and New York-based independent agency Brainlabs nabbed funding from another private equity firm,…
In 1971, 23-year-old Ilon Specht was a copywriter at McCann-Erickson, and one of still relatively few women on Madison Avenue. Surrounded by a cadre of male colleagues on the L’Oreal account, Specht defied the status quo when she wrote something different–iconic slogan “Because I’m worth it.” It’s been more than 50 years, and L’Oreal is…
Jess Lanzillo rolls deep with Dungeons & Dragons–and not just with her trusty D20 die. “I kind of backward engineered my way into D&D,” Lanzillo reveals to ADWEEK in her first interview as the new vp of franchise and product for the iconic strategy game, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. The Indiana-born gamer…
Last year, Simone Oppenheimer Mandel and Rachel Segall, co-founders of consultancy NBZ Partner, clandestinely began acting as agency search consultants and are now formally launching a new service offering, NBZ Match. The co-founders hope to evaluate a broader variety of agencies than many traditional search consultants and avoid overreliance on well-known shops. NBZ Partner searches…
CANNES, France–For the second year running, generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) was the hottest topic among the 15,000 delegates at Cannes Lions. However, in jury rooms, judges remained underwhelmed by the creative application of the technology. When asked during a press conference just how much discussion around AI had taken place in the jury room…
CANNES, France–The brightest young minds of the advertising world come together each year for the Cannes Young Lion Competition. This year, we asked the two participants representing Team USA, Rachel Findlay and Jessica Nugent, to share their experience. Day 1: We’re in Cannes Between the hot sun and the beauty of the Croisette, the Cannes…
State Farm’s long history of championing women’s sports goes beyond just advertising. In this episode of Yeah That’s Probably an Ad, ADWEEK chief experience officer Jenny Rooney sits down with our 2024 Champion of Change Kristyn Cook, the chief agency, sales and marketing officer at State Farm. Cook talks about the various ways State Farm…
Super Serious is coming up on its first anniversary. The bicoastal creative shop was co-founded in 2023 by Hollywood star Terry Crews alongside Wieden + Kennedy vet Matt O’Rourke based on the core belief that “everything is entertainment.” The business venture marks a reunion for Crews and O’Rourke, who worked on the memorable series of…
Starbucks is launching its own production studio, Starbucks Studios. The studio, according to a statement on the brand’s website, will “produce original entertainment and tell stories that deepen connections and spark conversations.” Starbucks is launching the studio in partnership with Sugar23, a media company founded by Oscar-winning producer Michael Sugar that specializes in connecting brands…
Dentsu Creative’s U.S. CEO Abbey Klaassen and Phil Gaughran, who leads global business strategy for Dentsu Creative and Dentsu Americas, are expanding their roles in the interest of creating a cohesive global brand. They aim to grow Dentsu Creative’s international creative products and offerings and attract more business, amid a recent winning streak that includes…
Two broods of cicadas are emerging this summer from their underground resting places for the first time since 1803–when Thomas Jefferson was president–unleashing their distinctive high-pitched cries across more than 17 American states. For people with entomophobia–the fear of insects–this is the ultimate creepy-crawly nightmare. For Orkin, it’s a reason to put on a show….
At 15 years old, Kickstarter has helped various projects and creators secure funding to get off the ground. Success stories include the Fidget Cube, “slow news” platform Tortoise and Issa Rae’s Awkward Black Girl series. To mark its anniversary and showcase its role in culture, the brand invested in its first out-of-home campaign designed to…
Citizens of earth, gather round for a bizarro bedtime story with a science-fiction flair that celebrates the Hong Kong Ballet’s 45th anniversary and the debut of its first dance school. The fantastical tale starts here: “One odd day, a UFO lands and an alien enters the classroom,” where the teacher starts a conversation through movement….
At the start of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Starbucks announced its summer release of new fruit drinks: bright blue Starbucks Refreshers with raspberry-flavored “pearls” at the bottom of the cup. The brand says it drew “inspiration from drinks around the world, especially East Asian beverages with boba or pearls that have been popular…
The advertising industry’s top award recognizing marketing effectiveness revealed its winners tonight. The Effie Awards U.S. handed out its Grand Effie to Tubi, while recognizing an array of companies including Molson Coors, McDonald’s, McCann Worldgroup and Mischief @ No Fixed Address for their effective work over the past year. Tubi scored the Grand Effie for…
Liquid Death is taking its patented outrageousness to new heights–literally–by launching a contest to give away a fighter jet nicknamed The Dehydrator worth about $400,000. The sweeps, where consumers can enter as many as 400 times, is aimed at whipping up a frenzy that will drive retail sales during the key summer season for the…
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