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Blizzard is in the hot seat after penalizing a Hearthstone esports player for voicing an opinion about the protests in Hong Kong. While the player did violate the rules of the tournament he was competing in, it’s Blizzard that’s taking all the criticism for kicking him out. Ng Wai Chung, known by his handle “Blitzchung,” was giving an interview last Sunday on a Taiwanese Hearthstone stream while wearing a gas mask. He shouted “Liberate Hong Kong

Twitter has said it "inadvertently" used data meant for security purposes to target people with ads.
In a company statement, Twitter said some email addresses and phone numbers provided for security reasons, such as two-factor identification, were exposed through its Tailored Audiences and Partner Audiences advertising systems.
"When an advertiser uploaded their marketing list, we may have matched people on Twitter to their list based on the email or phone number the Twitter account holder provi

The NBA boasts some 600 million fans in China and rakes in billions of dollars from lucrative TV and merchandising contracts with the PRC. But that could all change because of a single tweet. Daryl Morey, the general manager of the Houston Rockets, took to Twitter last week in support of the people of Hong Kong. While his single tweet on the matter wasn’t necessarily controversial (he said “Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong.”), it was enough to prompt an immediate apolog

Adobe has canceled all user accounts based in Venezuela in order to comply with Trump’s August executive order barring US companies from doing businesses with the country. With no end to the order in sight, it’s unclear when Venezuelans will regain access to their accounts. The move affects both free and paid accounts, and it highlights the biggest problem with the subscription app model: the software is never truly yours. Adobe’s move comes as something of a surprise, conside

The uptick in connected televisions means TV is now an online medium. That has advertisers picturing a future of data-enabled, cross-device targeting. 
The Trade Desk, an independent demand-side platform (DSP), is now looking to partner with companies that provide automatic content recognition (ACR) data to realize that dream by connecting the previously siloed medium of TV with the rest of the digital ecosystem.
The Trade Desk announced today (8 October) it has struck a deal with Vizio-own

A team of researchers from the Carnegie Institution for Science recently announced the discovery of 20 new planets surrounding Saturn. This moves the ringed planet past Jupiter as the most ‘moonfluential’ denizen of our solar system. The new moons were discovered using the Subaru telescope in Hawaii. After careful observation, the team determined that the new moons were similar in size and, with the exception of three, orbiting the planet backwards. According to a press release from

Gyro has appointed Jason Fletcher executive creative director for Gyro UK. He joins from McCann Worldgroup, where he was creative managing partner. Fletcher will report directly to president, Emma Rush. 
Fletcher takes on the creative leadership of Gyro London from David Curzon, who stepped down from his position as executive creative officer UK in September to pursue other opportunities. Fletcher will act as the creative lead for all clients across both London and Manchester offi

After months of speculating and hoping, we finally know more about the PlayStation 5: namely, when it’s going to fall into our hot little hands. The console will be available in just over a year, during the holiday season in 2020. Hopefully now that Sony has a deadline, we’ll start to see more of what the console actually looks like. Sony revealed this news itself ahead of a Wired spread detailing more about the console. In addition to the release date, we also know more a

The Tap Strap is one of the more interesting gadgets to hit the market last year. It’s a Bluetooth keyboard with an integrated optical mouse that you wear over your fingers like flexible brass knuckles. The idea is to make it easy to type and navigate your devices in a super-compact package – and needing only one hand. It makes for a keyboard that’s accessible in all sorts of places, even if there’s a learning curve to get used to it. The Tap Stap 2 just launched today,

When The Glenlivet announced with a video that it would be serving three cocktail combinations in edible ‘whisky pods’, the Twitterverse exploded with opinions, most of which came from people who had never tried the whisky delivery units.
Since then, the pods have been ridiculed, compared to Tide Pods, called evil, a “bad idea” and an “abomination” by whisky purists.
It started with a video on 4 October demonstrating “an original whisky drinking experien

Consumers are in flux: at a time when technology seems as isolating as it is enabling and an era where governments and governance feel more divisive than ever, they believe that brands can help bridge the gap. 
Marketers are increasingly looking towards purpose-driven advertising and communications, as this year’s Cannes International Festival of Creativity highlighted yet, they warn, that purpose must resonate. 
Senior marketers joined WE global marketing SVP Kristin Flor Perret

As collabs are the hot trend in fashion right now, (see Yeezy 'crocs') Scottish brewer Innis & Gunn (I&G) has inspired four premium brands to develop new beer-inspired products fit for the Instagram generation.
‘Project Ampersand’ highlighted I&G's barrel-ageing process for its The Original lager in the design of menswear, a swiss watch, premium chocolate and a keg-styled speaker. The collaborations with Scottish brands, product design studio, Instrmnt

A ransomware victim that paid Bitcoin to unlock his files has enacted sweet vengeance on his attackers, by hacking them right back. As part of his retaliation, German programmer Tobias Frömel (aka “battleck”) released almost 3,000 decryption keys to assist others hit by the Muhstik ransomware, alongside free decryption software, BleepingComputer reports. The thing is, this revenge-hack wasn’t exactly legal. Frömel highlighted this in his original announcement on

I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news but according to Gartner‘s Hype Cycle, blockchain is “sliding into the trough of disillusionment,” meaning the technology is struggling to live up to the hype. In the firm’s own words, the “trough of disillusionment” means that “interest [in the technology] wanes as experiments and implementations fail to deliver. Producers of the technology shake out or fail. Investments continue only if the surviving provid

Widespread antibiotic use is largely to blame for the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which is currently one of the biggest threats to global health. Not only does antibiotic resistance already cause an estimated 700,000 deaths a year, it’s also made numerous infections, including pneumonia, tuberculosis, and gonorrhea, harder to treat. Without knowing how to stop bacteria from developing antibiotic resistance, it’s predicted that preventable diseases could cause 10m dea

When we say something is ‘Apple,’ we all understand what that means, right? It might be hard to precisely define, but — and to paraphrase former United States Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart — we know it when we see it. Let’s give an example. A new monitor that costs like triple the amount of its competitors? That’s very ‘Apple.’ An experimental dual-screen phone that folds up like a clamshell (and probably will be an ass ache to use)? N

Welcome to CHEAP, our series about things that are good, but most of all, cheap. CHEAP! When working out, it’s important to have a great sweat-proof pair of earphones to blast tunes that keep you motivated.  Plus, you need a good fitness band to track your workouts to measure your performance. Now, this sounds like a look of money being spent on gadgets, but what if I told you there are earphones that have in-built heart rate tracking? It’s important to have a great sweatproof

YouPorn, a pillar of the Pornhub empire, is going the Reddit way. The adult content site now lets viewers create accounts without any need to enter an email address. The company says the new “Private Sign In” feature ought to make it easier for users to customize their feed and benefit from the recommendation engine without the fear of having their account tied to an email address. Up until now, users had to enter an email address to open an account, or simply use their Pornhub acco

Mattress brand Nectar is looking to inspire people to nap and sleep better through the words and actions of a sleep-obsessed evangelist named Yawn Yawnson.
Inspired by self-help gurus like Tony Robbins and Nick Vujicic, Yawnson’s fictional ‘motivational sleeper’ rouses a huge crowd to take naps and get better sleep through the “world’s quietest revolution” to “Awaken Great Sleep.”
In a series of spots, Yawnson goes over the top with his hype to an

For the first time in its history, Marmite is searching the nation to find who loves its yeast spread and who hates it, so it can hypnotise the haters to change their minds.
Established in 1902, Marmite's distinctive slogan: 'Marmite - you either love it or hate it' - is an unusual direction for a brand to admit its product isn't always everyone's cup of tea, or yeast. 
Inspired by the belief it can transform its haters into lovers through hypnotism, the brand is calling on Marmite haters t

It’s been just over two years since UN Women unveiled its gender stereotype-busting advertising alliance alongside Unilever and a host of multnationals. Now, the organization’s executive director plans to turn up the message by making room at the table for smaller, local brands.
UN Women unveiled the Unstereotype Alliance at Cannes Lions back in 2017. The program’s aim is to wipe out stereotypes in advertising – such as the hapless dad and the stay-at-home mom &

This week has seen another wave of appointments and departures at brands, media owners and agencies. The Drum has rounded up the key moves from the EMEA, APAC and North America regions below.
This week includes moves from MediaCom, John Lewis, D&AD, Tesco, the Football Association, STV, Gyro, Coca-Cola and Calvin Klein. 
 
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MediaCom 
MediaCom has promoted Steve Gladdis to EMEA chief strategy officer. Geoff de Burca will succeed Gladdis as MediaCom UK’s chi

Smirnoff has rolled out its first global campaign in over two decades to pay tribute to its 155-year history.
At the heart of the ‘Infamous Since 1864’ marketing push is a 60-second ad directed by Rupert Sanders, behind films like Snow White and the Huntsman and Ghost in the Shell.
It tells the story of Smirnoff’s roots in Russia to being resurrected in France, before making its way across Europe to its role in the cocktail revolution that took place in the US in the 

A brand new lawsuit alleges that cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex and its sister company Tether manipulated the digital currency market. According to a lawsuit filed in New York over the weekend, Bitfinex and Tether “engaged in unfair, deceptive, untrue or misleading acts” by failing to disclose that Tether was not backed 1:1 to by the US dollar. Other defendants named in the suit include Digfinex (the majority owner of Bitfinex and Tether)and its current executives, payment process

For those concerned with protecting their privacy, the Opera browser is an excellent choice, and comes with tools that protect against those who would hope to surveil you. With the release of Opera 64, it adds another weapon to that arsenal with the inclusion of tracker blockers, which the company says increases browsing speed by up to 20 percent. Trackers are small computer programs used by online advertisers to follow people across the Internet, allowing them to provide targeted targeted adve

Carlsberg made the risky admission that its UK lager was 'probably not the best beer in the world' in its most recent multimillion-pound marketing campaign. Did it pay off? 
Six months after the 'Piss to Pilsner' bait and switch, Liam Newton, vice president of marketing at Carlsberg Group, claimed it had seen a dramatic sales turnaround in the on-trade market. 
"We're moving in the right direction," he said on the first wave of the two-year campaign from agency partners Fold7, Cli

To highlight the spirit of Bacardi and continue the fun associated with the brand's summer rumshacks, Appetite Creative and Shazam collaborated to create the RumShack app, releasing a series of rum cocktail recipes, opportunities to win rum and access to nearby Rumshack bars. 
Background:
In 1814, a man named Facundo was born in a town called Sites in Catalonia, Spain. After emigrating to Cuba 16 years later, he developed a strong passion for rum. At the time, rum was considered cheap and u

You might know Kim Kardashian West from her Instagram profile, which counts 148 million followers – higher than Beyoncé. Or her incredibly long-running reality show, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, which is now in its 17th season. Or her lines of beauty, fragrance, and shapewear products. Or her 2002 sextape, which is said to have been viewed more than 210 million times since its leak without her consent in 2007. Or from her marriage to 21-Grammy-award-winning musician K

To help provide access to clean water, Procter & Gamble (P&G) is inviting people to #ActForWater, pledging litres of water for social shares. The effort will dovetail with the final Clean Water episode of its series made in collaboration with National Geographic. 
According to the World Health Organisation, almost 1,000 children are still dying every day from water-borne diseases, more than HIV/AIDS and malaria combined. Further, reports from Unicef highlight that globally, gir

There is a great way to downgrade your brand fast. Participate in every retail sale opportunity you can possibly find, dump your stock at ridiculous prices and insult your loyal, (over) paying customers while you’re at it. Winter rebates, summer sales, spring bonanza, autumn action, crazy days, this season’s sizzling sales festival: join in, lower your brand’s standards and lose its status and appeal.
But don’t be surprised if you eventually have a liquidation sale all on

To celebrate its centenary, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has produced a reflective ode to the airline's long history. 
Founded in 1919, KLM is the first commercial airline still flying under its original name to hit that milestone. 
To celebrate this achievement, KLM tapped DDB Unlimited to create a film that captures its long history, while showing the progress that has been made - both in aviation capability and in society as a whole. 
The film tells the story of three gen

Fast charging is quite an important feature in Android devices. Phone makers are constantly trying to outdo each other with charging methods that can juice up your phones faster. While these techniques introduce faster charging, it might also mean you’ll have to stick to that particular phone maker’s proprietary charger and cable. However, that might change soon. According to a new document obtained by XDA Developers, Google is now urging phone makers to play nice with USB-PD (Power

Our robot colleague Satoshi Nakaboto writes about Bitcoin every fucking day. Welcome to another edition of Bitcoin Today, where I, Satoshi Nakaboto, tell you what’s been going on with Bitcoin in the past 24 hours. As Baudriallard used to say: Let’s get this bread! Bitcoin Price We closed the day, October 7 2019, at a price of $8,245. That’s a respectable 3.21 percent increase in 24 hours, or $256. It was the highest closing price in three days. We’re still 58 percent bel

Welcome to TNW Basics, a collection of tips, guides, and advice on how to easily get the most out of your gadgets, apps, and other stuff. Instagram has joined the dark side. Well, not really, sort of. The Facebook-owned social media platform has updated its app for iOS 13 with support for dark mode. The setting is an extension of iOS‘ system-wide dark mode, and Instagram has basically revamped its UI to match the theme. In case you haven’t already caught a glimpse, here’s

Japan’s internal affairs and communications minister has said cryptocurrency donations are legal in the country. The statement refers specifically to donations made to ministers or other politicians, The Block reports. During a press conference earlier today, [minister’s name] explained that donations made in conventional money are subject to disclosure under the country’s Political Funds Control Act. However, donations made in cryptocurrency, to politicians, are not

The English Football Association (the FA) has appointed Kathryn Swarbrick as its new commercial and marketing director.
Swarbrick joins after seven years at PepsiCo where she was vice president of marketing across Western Europe and South Africa. Before that she held senior roles at Heineken and Diageo.
She will be responsible for the commercial and marketing strategy across the entire FA portfolio. This includes 29 England teams, Wembley Stadium connected by EE, the Emirates FA Cup, t

Sir Martin Sorrell's S4Capital has acquired Firewood, a Silicon Valley digital agency, for £150m which it will merge with MediaMonks, its digital global content practice.
The buy is a bid to leverage S4Capital's digital capabilities, as it strives to deliver a "purely digital, first-party data-driven, faster, better and cheaper content and programmatic offer for clients worldwide, with a unitary business model," said the press release.
Firewood was established in 2010, and its capabil

In a rare instance of environmental success, the United Nations has just announced it believes the damage to the Earth’s protective ozone layer will be fully restored by the year 2050. This stands in stark contrast to the increasing alarm over the climate emergency, caused by an increasing greenhouse effect. Both the ozone layer and the greenhouse effect ultimately help control how much ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun reaches the Earth’s surface, and how much infrared (IR) r

Multi-award winning agency SO Marketing based in Staffordshire, has recently appointed Lianne Shea in a key strategic position as a senior account manager to help with the agency’s growing roster of high profile clients.
Coming from a background of over ten years as an account manager with Ageas, Lianne joins the team to ensure that the agency can be proactive in their approach to clients and customer service. Joining a growing agency, Lianne is the fourth new staff member this year to joi