UK Telecom Brand O2 Is Staging a Show in Fortnite for People Who Miss Live Gigs

U.K. telecom provider O2 is the latest brand to break into Fortnite by creating an interactive music experience within the video game. Created by VCCP, the campaign marks the first time that The O2-an entertainment venue in London-will appear in a video game. It is also the first time that a U.K. music act, the…

Showtime Partners With AnalogFolk on Content Strategy to Promote New Series

American broadcaster Showtime is developing a promotional content strategy with AnalogFolk’s New York team to make audiences more aware of new series being aired, with the first work produced promoting comedy Flatbush Misdemeanors. The collaboration will see a new approach brought to promoting new programming from Showtime, with the Flatbush Misdemeanors work aiming to celebrate…

British Confectioners Fox’s Gets Sweet on New Media Strategy With Spark Foundry Hire

British confectionery brand Fox’s named Spark Foundry as its media planning and buying partner in the U.K to help it build awareness. The appointment by the Valeo Snackfoods-owned brand, whose range includes Fox’s Glacier Mints, will give Spark Foundry the tools to build awareness and drive sales of the company’s candy range using a renewed…

Ad Council PSAs Highlight Struggles, Joys of #Dadication in Unscripted Campaign

When his daughter falls off her bike, Durrell will be there to catch her. It’s not the experience he had as a kid, but he’s rewriting history for the next generation. And Joseph wants to set an example for his children, overcoming his drug addiction and inspiring them to dream big. Those are a few…

DoorDash’s ‘Soul of the City’ Traces the Emotional Return of New York City’s Restaurants

The energy that consumes DoorDash’s Tribeca premiere at The Standard Biergarten in New York aligns with that of the short film the event honors: communal. Hopeful. Vibrant. As the crowd awaits the premiere of “Soul of the City,” the delivery service’s follow-up to its 2020’s “Southside Magnolia,” there’s an air of excitement for both the…

Dove Campaign Celebrates the Role of Fathers and Supports Their Mental Well-being

According to new research, practicing a holistic care regime, that takes care of both physical and mental health, helps men hold more effective relationships. That was one of the findings of research undertaken by Dove Men+Care in partnership with research company Promundo. As a result, in order to celebrate fatherhood around Father’s Day, the Unilever…

Smashing Fortnite Freezers: How Wendy’s Became a Fresh Voice on Twitch

Wendy’s has always taken an unconventional approach to social marketing, and its path to success on streaming platform Twitch followed that model. “We made a huge impact on Twitch without arguably the most important part of Twitch: the presence of the streamer,” VMLY&R group creative director McKay Hathaway said during Adweek’s Elevate: Experiential and Creativity…

What Will Win Big at Cannes Lions 2021? International Creatives Predict

It’s about that time of year when agencies and clients nervously mull over the possibility that they’ve spent so much on entering Cannes Lions and won’t actually win anything to show for it. But who is likely to win big at this year’s Festival of Creativity, with over 29,000 entries received for this year? The…

Tasty’s Licensing Partners Sold More Than $250 Million of Branded Merchandise in 2020

Tasty, the food sub-brand from BuzzFeed, wants to twist its commerce loop into a commerce pretzel, double and triple-dipping revenue by monetizing every stage of the culinary process. The publisher recently announced its latest brand licensing venture: a collaboration with General Mills to produce four dry meal kits, a Tasty-inflected version of the iconic Hamburger…

A Jägermeister-Sponsored Documentary Toasts the Last Remaining Lesbian Bars in the US

Lesbian bars have a long and storied history in the U.S., providing many queer women safe spaces to meet over much of the last century. With the bars’ numbers around 200 in the 1980s, it may surprise some to learn that there are fewer than 25 remaining today. The pandemic has taken a toll on…

Cannes Lions 2021 Records Decline in Entry Rates Despite Accepting Two Years of Work

Ascential’s 2021 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, which will take place virtually for the second year in a row, received 29,074 award entries from 90 countries covering a two-year period after 2020’s festival organizers canceled giving out awards because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite the resumption in judging ad work, the entry numbers are…

Publicis.Poke CEO Nick Farnhill Stepping Down, to Be Replaced by John Hadfield

Nick Farnhill, founder and chief executive of Publicis.Poke, is leaving the agency after 20 years. John Hadfield, CEO of Bartle Bogle Hegarty Singapore, will move from the fellow Publicis Groupe agency to replace Farnhill. Hadfield has been CEO of BBH Singapore for the past 11 years and was previously managing director at BBH London. Farnhill…

Stella Artois Uses NFTs to Auction Virtual Racing Horses in Branded Experience

Beer brand Stella Artois has entered the metaverse, the virtual shared space in which people can interact with online experiences, with a horse racing partnership like never before. Partnering with digital horse racing platform Zed Run, AB InBev is running the U.K. initiative with the creation of a 3D racetrack through which online players can…

This Virtual Fashion Collection Imagines a Sustainable Future for the Industry

With sustainable fashion on the rise, non-profit H&M Foundation has created a twist on the traditional fashion collection to showcase an eco-friendly future for the industry. “The Billion Dollar Collection” is a virtual fashion collection, but instead of showcasing the latest clothing styles, each garment represents a start-up that could help make fashion more sustainable…

The Daily Show With Trevor Noah Plans Fall Refresh After 3-Month Summer Hiatus

The Daily Show With Trevor Noah will get a brand facelift this fall. Before that, though, the Comedy Central late-night show is taking an extended break. When The Daily Show returns on Sept. 13, it will have a new look and feel, the network said Tuesday. But the series, which has been filmed and produced…

How The Athletic’s Uefa 2020 Campaign Aims to Help England Win the Tournament

Subscription-based sports website The Athletic has begun an eye-catching engagement drive around the Uefa Euro 2020 tournament that aims to support the England team, from flying planes over its training ground with insights to their first competitor to releasing racing pigeons with match tips. To highlight its deep knowledge and tactical analysis, the site has…

Recess, a CBD Beverage, Created a ‘Guide to Re-entering Society’

There’s no instruction manual to follow for the country’s reopening after more than a year of Covid-19 lockdowns. But thanks to Recess, a sparkling CBD drink, there is a cheeky zine to help people navigate the post-pandemic landscape. “The Recess Guide to Re-Entering Society,” the brand’s first media venture, launches today with a mix of…

How Cannes Lions Aims to Provide Networking and Idea Sharing at This Year’s Festival

One of the most important elements of Cannes Lion, the annual advertising festival that usually takes place in the south of France, is the opportunity it offers the international mixture of people to catch up or make new acquaintances. That it has not run for two years, for that reason alone, it is a genuine…

Virgin Atlantic Aims to Promote Experiences With Lucky Generals Creative Appointment

Airliner Virgin Atlantic named Lucky Generals as its lead creative agency to take charge of the development of a multimarket brand platform and framework and shape communications for the business, including Virgin Atlantic Cargo and Virgin Atlantic Holidays. Siobhan Fitzpatrick, chief digital and marketing officer for Virgin Atlantic, said the company is investing in the…

TBWA Worldwide Enters the Third Phase of Strategic Overhaul

As TBWA Worldwide has increased the number of strategists/planners companywide by 34% over the past four years, the agency is entering what it calls phase three of their multi-year plan to commit to a “disruptive” future. “We believe better inputs–knowledge, data points, cultural strategy–are the fuel for better creative ideas and output, and by investing…