David Miami Hires Two of the Creatives Behind McDonald’s Flip Stunt

David Miami has made a flurry of new hires as of late, including a creative team from We Are Unlimited that helped McDonald’s flip its golden arches in honor of International Women’s Day last year. We’re going to start 2020 in very good shape. We’re going to have fresh new forces coming in to deliver…

Facebook Is Going to Be a Super Bowl Advertiser for the First Time

Facebook is getting into the Big Game. The social media giant confirmed to Adweek that it will be running an ad during Super Bowl 54, marking the first time the company has ever advertised in a Super Bowl. Facebook will be running a 60-second ad during the game–it has not yet revealed which quarter the…

Here’s What Consumers Are Searching for on the Days Leading up to the New Year

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me … directions to an ATM? Though the remixed lyrics to the classic carol are bizarre, there’s a chestnut of truth in them (at least that’s what Yext, the New-York-based search-engine cloud company, found in their latest holiday season data research). Conducted in-house by…

Coming to America: What One UK Fast-Food Restaurant Is Learning About International Expansion

LONDON–John Vincent loves fast food. The founder and CEO of Leon, a U.K.-based restaurant chain, said he grew up savoring his visits to Burger King and McDonald’s. And in 2004, after seven years at management consultancy Bain & Co., Vincent set out to open his own restaurant with a singular lofty goal: to make the…

Uber’s O’Hare Pop-Up; 5 Things We Can’t Wait for in Streaming: Wednesday’s First Things First

Welcome to First Things First, Adweek’s new 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. Uber Creates ‘Comfort Lounge’ at O’Hare for Holiday Travelers…

Agency Holiday Cards 2019: A Batch of Our Favorite Creative Season’s Greetings

Flights are booked, bags are nearly packed and only a few meetings stand between you and what’s hopefully some well-deserved time off. But before you officially unplug from the industry news cycle, take a minute to peruse what’s become a tradition for agencies each year: the holiday card. For some, it’s a way to flex…

Hearst Names Former WarnerMedia and Snap Exec Kristen O’Hara as SVP and Chief Business Officer

Hearst Magazines announced today that former WarnerMedia and Snap executive Kristen O’Hara will be assuming the role of svp and chief business officer, effective Jan. 6. In the newly created position, O’Hara will oversee U.S. advertising sales and marketing for Hearst brands, as well as integrated and corporate sales. “Kristen brings a wealth of experience,…

Joe Marchese’s Attention Capital Is Acquiring Sophia Amoruso’s Girlboss

Attention Capital, Joe Marchese’s fledgeling investment firm, has acquired Girlboss Media, a ubiquitous name in the women’s media space that is inextricably linked to its founder and CEO, Sophia Amoruso. Amoruso will remain in her position along with the rest of the Girlboss leadership team, and there will be no job cuts as a result…

5 Ways the Streaming World Changed Forever in 2019

2019 was a big year for streaming television. Media and tech companies old and new began charting their courses into the streaming space. Some upstart services, like Disney+, made a splash, while others, like Apple TV+, created only ripples. Other media companies worked in the background to outline their streaming debuts in 2020, and Viacom…

New York Times Styles Veteran Stuart Emmrich Named Editor of Vogue.com

Cond? Nast said today it has named Stuart Emmrich as Vogue.com’s first editor. Emmrich, a longtime style and travel journalist, was most recently an assistant managing editor for the Los Angeles Times’ Lifestyle section for roughly a year after spending nearly 17 years at The New York Times as Styles editor. Emmrich will oversee Vogue.com’s…

Coca-Cola Reinstates Global CMO Role, Naming Manuel Arroyo to the Position

Coca-Cola is bringing back the role of global CMO in 2020, almost three years after dissolving the title in the wake of a restructuring. Francisco Crespo, who’s held the position of chief growth officer since the position was created in May 2017, is retiring at the beginning of the new year. Crespo, 54, will stay…

A Dad Fondly Remembers Visiting Disney With His Daughter as She Heads to College in New Ad

Taking a kid to an amusement park typically isn’t all fun and games for the parents involved. Aside from hefty ticket prices, meltdowns are inevitable in an environment where overstimulation rules and junk food is ubiquitous. Yet there’s a reason parents slog through the heat and long lines. Seeing your kid’s face light up at…

McCann Promotes Devika Bulchandani to President of North America

Devika Bulchandani has taken on more responsibilities at McCann, where she’s been promoted to president of North America. Bulchandani will continue to serve as president of McCann New York, a position she took on in 2017 after serving as managing director of the office. She fills a role that was previously held by Chris Macdonald,…

NBCUniversal Names Replacement for CEO Steve Burke, Who Will Retire in August 2020

NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke will leave the company in August 2020, just months after he sees through the anticipated launch of the broadcaster’s streaming offering Peacock, the company confirmed this morning. Burke, a longtime Comcast executive who has headed up the media and entertainment conglomerate since Comcast acquired the company in 2011, will step aside…

Adweek’s 21 Most Popular Stories of 2019

Here we are, at the end of a seismic year for the advertising and marketing world, from the creeping death of the chief marketer role to #MeToo and every company scrambling to find its purpose. While those are important, ongoing stories, they weren’t the headlines that really grabbed the attention of our readers. Out of…

Stan Richards, 87-Year-Old Founder of The Richards Group, Names Successor

Dallas-based The Richards Group has a new leader at the helm. Stan Richards, who founded the independent agency 43 years ago, has appointed Glenn Dady as his successor. According to the agency, 87-year-old Richards “has no plans to retire,” but is handing over management duties to Dady. Moving forward, Dady will serve as principal and…

Nestle Pushes More Sugar Products Off Portfolio in Latest Sale

In yet another sign that the consumer goods industry is trying to accommodate changes in consumer taste, Nestle just parted ways with H?agen-Dazs. In a deal worth $4 billion, Nestle announced plans on Wednesday to sell its U.S. ice cream division to Froneri, a joint venture Nestle formed with private equity firm PAI Partners in…

Google’s Year in Search Video Lauds the Heroes of 2019

These are uncertain times, Google admits. And in uncertain times, people look to heroes to remind them of what’s good, what’s possible and what to put their hope in, or just to escape the complicated and messy areas of life. That’s how the tech giant summed up the theme of a year’s worth of searches–everything…

Walmart Zooms to Texas With Fifth Autonomous Grocery Delivery Pilot

Walmart has launches its fifth autonomous grocery delivery pilot program, this time with the electric robo-van maker Nuro in the robotics company’s hometown of Houston. Resembling a cross between a Fiat 500 and the discontinued Toyota Prius C, Nuro’s prototype is a custom, low-speed, zero-emission, self-driving vehicle that’s engineered for short neighborhood trips and for…

Creative Director Suing Doner for Age Discrimination Seeks Detailed Info to Bolster Case

A former creative director is asking Detroit-based agency Doner to provide personnel and financial information in her attempt to prove that age discrimination was behind her firing in 2018. Nearly a year ago, Susan Walsh filed an age discrimination lawsuit against Doner, prompted by her firing days ahead of her 60th birthday after 10 years…