Advertising news

• Volkswagen thumbs nose at crisis management convention with new ads

  07-06-2019 23:01
  The playbook for surviving a brand crisis usually goes like this: Apologize, wait out the storm, change the conversation. But with a new campaign, Volkswagen has upended conventional wisdom by digging up its diesel emissions scandal that erupted four years ago. It’s a risky move considering that the average car buyer has put the scandal in the rear-view mirror, evidenced by VW’s recent positive sales trends.The effort–which began earlier this week with an expensive TV spot
  
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• How brands are showing their Pride this month

  07-06-2019 20:05
  The momentum around Pride month and the LGBTQ+ community is only growing. More brands than ever are donning rainbows and equal signs, donating to LGBTQ+ causes and launching their own Pride-themed events and merchandise to show their support and connect with people who back the cause.This year, efforts are especially abundant as WorldPride is coming to the United States for the first time, marking the 50th anniversary of the tragic Stonewall Uprising. Millions of people will visit New York
  
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• Cadent's Nick Troiano on addressable TV, this year's upfronts and cord-cutters vs. cord-nevers

  07-06-2019 19:42
  Cadent CEO Nick Troiano sits down with Ad Age President and Publisher Josh Golden to reveal how the advanced TV platform is shaping the addressable TV landscape. Plus, his take on the 2019 TV upfronts.This custom video series is made possible by Cadent.
  
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• Agency Brief: the calm before the storm and ice cream gone wild

  07-06-2019 18:55
  Cannes Lions is almost upon us and the excitement (and slight anxiety, speaking as a first-timer) is starting to set in. Shameless plug: Ad Age’s Cannes issue—our biggest issue ever—comes out on Monday and you’ll absolutely want to pick up a copy. It’s a 58-page guide to everything you need to know before heading to the French Riviera. Don’t miss out!Walrus wants you to go 'toppingless'
  First up, a new campaign from independent agency Walrus is running along t
  
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• What's behind the exec exodus at Comscore

  07-06-2019 18:42
  Comscore remains the best hope for a serious challenge to behemoth Nielsen in U.S. TV ratings or cross-media measurement. But that hope grows dimmer as the stock nears record lows amid two new C-suite departures that follow a senior-leadership shakeup just two months ago.Chief Operating Officer Kathryn Bachmann left Comscore at the end of May after less than two months on a job she assumed in April, shortly after CEO Bryan Wiener and President Sarah Hofstetter resigned, citing “irreconcila
  
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• Nike and The New York Times win best in show at the AICP Awards

  07-06-2019 18:34
  Continuing their winning streak across industry shows, Nike and The New York Times earned best in show at the AICP Awards, held last night at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.Nike’s “Dream Crazier” spot starring Serena Williams and celebrating women’s achievement in sports took the prize for Advertising Excellence/Single Commercial, while The New York Times’ “The Truth Is Worth It” effort, which illustrates the hard work and perseverance behind repor
  
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• Barnes & Noble has a buyer—who agreed to pay the $476 million price tag

  07-06-2019 18:16
  Beleaguered bookseller Barnes & Noble Inc. has a buyer.Elliott Management Corp. agreed to purchase the chain for $6.50 per share in an all-cash transaction valued about $476 million, plus the assumption of debt, the company said in a statement Friday.Barnes & Noble shares rose as much as 11 percent to $6.61 on Friday. They had surged 30 percent on Thursday on news that Elliott was close to a deal.Elliott, run by the billionaire Paul Singer, has experience in the book business. It acquire
  
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• 5 myths about marketing to Gen Z—from a member of Gen Z

  07-06-2019 17:57
  Marketing to Gen Z is a hot topic these days among companies looking to engage America’s newest generation of consumers. But with so much talk about such a relatively new consumer base, there’s bound to be some misinformation flying around about us. Here are the five biggest myths about marketing to Gen Z, debunked:Myth: Everything has to look perfect
  You may think, with so many brands competing for Gen Z’s hearts and dollars, your brand’s advertising has to be picture-pe
  
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• Watch the newest commercials on TV from McDonald’s, PopSockets, VW and more

  07-06-2019 17:32
  Every weekday we bring you the Ad Age/iSpot Hot Spots, new commercials tracked by iSpot.tv, the TV ad measurement and attribution company. The ads here ran on national TV for the first time on June 5.A few highlights: McDonald’s shows off the Stroopwafel McFlurry, a hit at its restaurants in the Netherlands—and coming to a McDonald’s near you as part of the chain’s Worldwide Favorites promotion. (In May, Ad Age’s Jessica Wohl served up the backstory: “McDonald
  
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• Maurice Lévy's Weborama makes play to outbid Amazon for Sizmek's assets

  07-06-2019 16:59
  In an unusual turn of events, Weborama’s parent company, Ycor, said Friday that it’s outbid Amazon for Sizmek’s Ad Server and Dynamic Content Optimization assets.Amazon signed an agreement to acquire Sizmek’s assets on May 31, but Ycor, which is owned by Publicis Groupe chairman Maurice Lévy, says it still has a shot, as the deal with Amazon has yet to close.Because Sizmek filed for bankruptcy on March 29, it has a “fiduciary duty to the creditors that t
  
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• Gucci owner Kering uses artificial intelligence to keep up growth

  07-06-2019 16:59
  Kering is equipping sales assistants with new software and using artificial intelligence to better allocate stocks in the hopes that digital tools can keep up rapid growth at brands including the red-hot Gucci label.Gucci is targeting growth twice as fast as the luxury sector this year, and has said it expects online sales to reach 10 percent midterm. Kering Digital Director Gregory Boutte said Gucci will be the group’s first brand to use artificial intelligence to decide where to send new
  
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• A surprising ad from Amazon's smart home brand. Plus, Walmart delivers to your fridge: Friday Wake-Up Call

  07-06-2019 12:00
  Welcome to Ad Age’s Wake-Up Call, our daily roundup of advertising, marketing, media and digital news.What people are talking about today
  Amazon’s smart home security brand, Ring, is running some attention-getting Facebook ads. As Vice reports, Ring targeted a Facebook ad to people in Mountain View, California, labeling it a “neighborhood alert.” It featured real security camera footage of an unknown woman trying to open a locked car in a garage. “On May 22, th
  
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• Change is hard: NBCU brass on future-proofing the peacock

  07-06-2019 11:00
  Depending on whom you ask, this is either the worst time to be in TV, or the most exciting: Cord-cutting and so-called “time-shifting” have made it nearly impossible to reach demographically desirable viewers who won't skip the ads at the first opportunity—outside of live sports, that is.And C3, the industry standard for measurement, is outdated but held in place by the weight of legacy. Among other things.And yet, count Linda Yaccarino and Josh Feldman among the hopeful.
  
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• Walmart will launch direct-to-fridge deliveries in three cities

  07-06-2019 06:01
  What could be easier – or possibly creepier – than having a Walmart employee deliver groceries straight to your refrigerator while you’re gone? Starting this fall, the retail behemoth will offer that possibility to about a million households in Kansas City, Pittsburgh and Vero Beach, Florida through a service called Walmart InHome that executives believe can roll nationally in short order.Walmart will lean on employees at existing stores that already offer curbside pickup
  
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• As U.S. women defend their World Cup crown, sponsors rush to lend support

  07-06-2019 01:21
  As the U.S. women’s national soccer team prepares to defend its World Cup title in France, advertisers are eager to mop up all the impressions sure to be in store if Carli Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan and the rest of the squad earn a spot in the July 7 final. And while the American side is a favorite to win the month-long tourney, they also face their most formidable competitive field in the likes of Germany, England and the host team.That the USWNT steamrolled its way to a berth in t
  
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• What advertisers should know about the Facebook and Google probes

  07-06-2019 00:00
  The specter of a regulatory inquiry into the tech industry is already being felt by advertisers, who are stuck in limbo while the Federal Trade Commission, Department of Justice and Congress consider action on everything from data security to market power.This week, reports emerged that the Justice Department was looking into Google while the FTC will handle Facebook, to potentially investigate anti-competitive practices in the tech sector. Meanwhile, Apple and Amazon are likely facing similar p
  
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