After weeks of wrangling and a dearth of bidders, bankrupt JCPenney has finally found a buyer–mall operators Brookfield Property Group and Simon Property Group–and will avoid liquidation. The department store chain said that based on a letter of intent, it plans to ink a stalking horse asset purchase agreement to sell its retail and operating…
Airbnb knows that all our lives have been flipped and turned upside down. So here’s a remedy: Fans of the sitcom Fresh Prince of Bel-Air will have a shot to spend one night in Will Smith’s famed white-pillared mansion thanks to Airbnb. Starting Sept. 29, groups of two lucky Los Angeles County residents will have…
Maurice Ashley, a Jamaican American, made history in 1999 by becoming the world’s first Black chess grandmaster–a coveted title that takes years of intense practice and tremendous intellect to attain. In its latest creative from Droga5, Hennessy profiles Ashley and his remarkable skill as part of the cognac brand’s wider “What’s Your Wild Rabbit?” campaign,…
Thanks in part to a long deal with The Simpsons, everybody knows the old Butterfinger tagline, “Nobody better lay a finger on my Butterfinger.” But since the height of that partnership in the late ’90s and early 2000s, the brand’s visibility and popularity have taken a hit. Ferrero, which bought Butterfinger (and the entire chocolate…
In case you haven’t heard: football’s back, but it’s likely that fans won’t be able to catch kickoff in-person any time soon during this historic (and bizarre) 101st season of the NFL. In many states, fans won’t even be able to enjoy a brewski at the bar with their usual gameday crew, leaving most with…
Key Insight: Grey Goose wanted to give people a reason to talk about the event–and the brand–on social media, even if they weren’t there in person. No fans in the stands at this year’s U.S. Open has implications for nearly every aspect of this year’s event, particularly for its corporate partners. Brands like Ralph Lauren…
Covid-19 has had an enormous impact on mental health. For many, the loneliness that’s come with quarantine and working from home has been especially difficult to deal with. This loneliness is examined in a captivating film released this week. Clocking in at nearly five minutes, the film is narrated by Sarah Jessica Parker and features…
Amazon Prime Video is giving fans of its dark superhero series The Boys a chance to blast away villains with the laser-beam eyes of a baby with its new augmented-reality game app. The game, called Baby Laser Tag, is based on the plot of the series’ second season, the first episodes of which debuted on…
Charisse Ford Hughes, a marketing veteran with nearly 25 years of experience in the CPG and luxury goods sector, is joining the Kellogg Company as its senior vp and global CMO, effective Sept. 21. Hughes joins Kellogg from Pandora Americas, where she spent the last five years as CMO, driving the brand’s strategic expansion into…
Key Insights: Multiple brands have begun their own web shows during the pandemic as Americans stick close to home. A child’s outlook can be an antidote to 2020’s pessimism. The California Milk Processor Board (CMPB), the organization behind the famous “Got Milk?” tagline, is getting into the content game. Today, it’s debuting its first weekly…
In the latest of its infamous Ryan Reynoldsian social media stunts, Aviation American Gin shared a new side of its brand personality today–a more, shall we say, adult persona. It began with a colorfully lit photograph shot by Wyatt Kane, an Atlanta-based commercial and advertising photographer, who posted the image to Instagram on Wednesday as…
Connected TV usage among consumers has been sky-high through the Covid-19 pandemic, but many viewers are still struggling to find what to stream. That dilemma can become a brand marketer’s goldmine if they prioritize brand experiences that encourage content discovery, according to new research. The study, from Magna and IPG Media Lab and commissioned by…
Tiffany Persons has joined David&Goliath as the agency’s first director of empathy. The title, unusual even for an ad agency, encompasses a range of responsibilities. In this role, she will conduct workshops to “unlock empathy” at the 180-person shop, recruit underrepresented professionals and focus on fostering an environment where BIPOC employees can grow. She is…
The Trustworthy Accountability Group has a new brand safety certification program that outlines a set of industry standards to prevent ad misplacement and ad fraud. At the time of today’s launch, TAG boasts 112 companies that are already certified under the program, including industry giants such as Amazon Advertising, Google, Facebook, GroupM and Walmart. Thirty-one…
In such a dire travel ecosystem, almost any announcement from a travel brand is a big deal–new partnerships with cleaning products, resuming routes and reducing capacity. With advertising budgets slashed, brands have been largely quiet, putting out minimal messaging that it’s safe to fly and encouraging would-be travelers to book a trip. That’s why it…
Early this morning, Mint Mobile released a new spot featuring the budget mobile carrier’s co-owner, Ryan Reynolds, awkwardly chatting with beloved actor and comedian Rick Moranis. It warmed our cold 2020 hearts. But Reynolds didn’t stop there. His cellphone company released two more ads today touting its new unlimited talk, text and data plan. The…
Citi is shaking up its marketing leadership. Jennifer Breithaupt, who has held the role of global consumer CMO since September 2012, is leaving the company, a spokesperson for Citi has confirmed. Carla Hassan, who has served as the bank’s chief brand officer since 2018, will be moving into the role of chief marketing officer where…
Key Insights Neiman Marcus is leaning into the importance of customer relationships in luxury retail. The retailer hasn’t been dorman during Covid-19, rolling out new ways to drive sales and keep associates employed. Neiman Marcus is preparing to emerge from bankruptcy by the end of September after receiving court approval for its reorganization plan last…
Dawne Collier, a Black OBGYN based in Illinois, had a dream of helping young women through online body positivity coaching and just as she was working toward achieving her goal, Covid-19 hit. Collier, who had been busy ticking things off a to-do list before launching the virtual course series, was suddenly derailed by immediate concerns:…
A record number of people are expected to vote by mail in this year’s presidential election, as many states have expanded access to the option due to health and safety concerns related to Covid-19. In light of this, a progressive grassroots organization called Vote From Home 2020 is sending mail-in ballot applications to a particular…
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