Streaming is the word for this year’s upfront discussions, but big networks aren’t yet opening up that highly valuable inventory to programmatic buying. The growth of streaming, accelerated by the pandemic, is pushing marketers to move some of their TV budgets out of linear and into connected TV. Since CTV is a digital medium, ad-tech…
A new app launched ahead of Mother’s Day invokes Victor Hugo Green’s historic Green Book as it attempts to help Black mothers navigate the perils of racism in the medical industry. Independent agency Mother worked with Irth, a non-profit tech project of Narrative Nation, on the launch of “The Black Mother’s Green Book” today. Referencing…
Purdue Pharma’s reckoning over the company’s promotion of OxyContin contributing to an opioid epidemic has spread to the company’s marketing partners. Yesterday, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey filed a lawsuit in Suffolk Superior Court on behalf of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts accusing Publicis Health of deceptive marketing practices for its role in promoting OxyContin to…
Wieden+Kennedy’s Neil Christie is to leave the agency after 17 years working across the business. Christie leaves the agency having joined as managing director in 2004 after spells at Yellowhammer, BBH and TBWA. Famous campaigns such as “Dancing Pony”, “Run London” from Nike and Arla Cravendale’s “Cats with Thumbs” were produced during his tenure. In…
BBC executive creative director Helen Rhodes, who last year worked on the British broadcaster’s award-winning “Bringing Us Closer” trailer to bring hope to viewers shaken by the U.K.’s coronavirus lockdown, has agreed to join BBH London starting in June. Rhodes, who moved to the BBC from W+K Portland in 2019 where she was a creative…
As Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) have taken the art world by storm, Anheuser-Busch InBev-owned lager brand Stella Artois is using the technology to offer tips to U.K. hospitality staff. Through the project, four GIFs of animated artwork representing Stella Artois will be put up for auction, with all proceeds from the original sale and 10% of…
In advance of Mother’s Day this coming Sunday, running shoe brand Saucony today launched a new spot celebrating motherhood as “the marathon that never ends.” The 45-second spot features actresses who are mothers, often accompanied by children, and was filmed last month in Erie, Colo. With the exception of one scene toward the end, these…
Owners of successful brands don’t spend a lot of (or any) time warning you to avoid them, but Ryan Reynolds continues to be an exception to most of marketing’s rules. In the newest spot from the actor, investor and ad agency owner, Reynolds advises fans to be wary of partaking in Aviation Gin and Mint…
This scenario has become familiar to everyone in the yearlong lockdown and work-at-home mode: You sign on to a video conference with your laptop, only to see the other participants waving furiously and miming that your microphone isn’t activated. “You’re on mute” has become a phrase even directed at Jeff Bezos during the U.S. Senate’s…
As surveys show that more Americans than ever are spending time with smart speakers and other voice-enabled devices amid the Covid-19 quarantine, some small businesses are latching onto the emergent platform to engage new customers while keeping existing ones up to speed on operational information. A relatively new startup called Zammo is promising to help…
Stan Richards, who founded The Richards Group 44 years ago in Dallas, is leaving the agency amid a cloud of controversy and multiple key client departures. Glenn Dady, who joined The Richards Group in 1980, will assume full responsibility for all agency operations, according to an announcement sent to Adweek by The Richards Group this…
Entire homes have replaced apartments as the top pick of guests on Airbnb, according to a new report the short-term rental platform released today. While not at all surprising during the Covid-19 pandemic, the results provided some insights as to what the brand’s hosts and travelers can expect next year. Domestic travel continues to be…
After leading McCann Worldgroup for nearly a decade, chairman and CEO Harris Diamond is retiring at the end of this year. Bill Kolb, who was named chief operating officer of the global agency network in June, will succeed Diamond. Kolb is a McCann veteran who’s held a number of positions at the IPG-owned network throughout…
Left with a patchwork of testing options and domestic quarantines in the face of a public health crisis, travelers have had to ask themselves an odd question: Would they really get a Covid test at the airport salon that also does pedicures? XpresSpa, which calls itself the world’s largest airport spa company with more than…
Despite the pandemic-prompted loss of foot traffic, the retail coffee segment is still among the most robust segments of the restaurant business. According to Research and Markets, coffee shops are expected to grow by 13% between now and 2024, becoming an $81 billion industry. It’s little wonder, then, that Dunkin’–America’s early-morning destination since 1950–underwent an…
For many years, conventional marketing wisdom held that brands should steer clear of political issues. The reasoning was simple enough: What company could afford to alienate a single customer by taking a position on something controversial? But as the socially conscious millennial generation has taken its place as a $1.4 trillion spending bloc, there’s been…
Welcome to First Things First, Adweek’s daily resource for marketers. We’ll be publishing the content to First Things First on Adweek.com each morning (like this post), but if you prefer that it come straight to your inbox, you can sign up for the email here. Motel 6 Fires The Richards Group After Agency Founder Calls…
Just in time for Halloween, Dunkin’ today unveiled its new Spicy Ghost Pepper Donut, capitalizing on a savory trend typically associated with more savory fare like chicken nuggets, sandwiches and tacos. It’s the latest menu entrant in the spice wars heating up between the major fast food and coffee chains. Most recently, McDonald’s followed Wendy’s…
Mindshare’s global CEO and founder Nick Emery has been let go. According to its parent company, WPP’s GroupM, he has “left the business with immediate effect following a clear breach of the company’s code of conduct.” GroupM CEO Christian Juhl is taking on the role of interim CEO at Mindshare until a permanent successor is…
First, the National Basketball League partnered with Clorox. Now, Major League Baseball is getting in on the disinfection game, announcing a partnership with Lysol. The multiyear deal comes almost a week before the league’s World Series championship, aiming to “reinforce and promote healthy habits and disinfection protocols for the league’s players, staff and fans,” the…
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