- Reddit Lead-Generation Ads Tap User ConsentLead Generation Ads on Reddit moved into public beta this week. The ad format integrates with the AI automation platform Zapier to collect "high-quality leads" signaled by opt-in information provided by Reddit users. ... read more
- The New Agile Political Media Campaign CycleIt's a matter of months, not years, of campaign spending, because the biggest factor now is what happens organically in the political news cycle leading up to an election. ... read more
- Modern TV-Video Consumers: How Much Do They Really Spend Per Month?The average TV consumer may be looking at least $60-$70 a month in total fees - comparable (or more) to what they were where paying before the streaming revolution started circa 2019. ... read more
- In A World Of Robot Arms, Etsy Plays A Human HandIn this masterly spot, the spoken line is matched with an equally artful image. ... read more
- Biden Says Farewell With Election Year Digs At GOP OppositionFor many, President Biden's live, televised farewell speech on Wednesday night was moving and historic. ... read more
- OpenAI Tests Prototype Of Search Tool It Plans To Integrate With ChatGPTNew OpenAI search features that reply to queries with timely information and source links are being tested by a limited number of users.The company calls the tool a "temporary prototype." ... read more
- OpenAI Tests Search Prototype, Plans ChatGPT IntegrationNew OpenAI search features that reply to queries with timely information and source links are being tested by a limited number of users. The company calls the tool a "temporary prototype." ... read more
- WhatsApp Hits 100 Million Monthly Active U.S. UsersWhatsApp has maintained its position as the most popular messaging app in the world and is starting to become more popular in the U.S, and Meta is working to build the app out as a ... read more
- Gen Z Hates Politics – They Still Want Brands To Speak OutNew research shows that Gen Z mistrusts and rejects almost every institution. But they demand brands take a stand on key issues. ... read more
- Amazon Prime Subscribers Battle Company Over Video Privacy"Once consumers are in the Amazon system, Amazon amasses data profiles for consumers with little regard for protecting their privacy," lawyers for subscribers say in new court papers. ... read more
- Meta Removes Thousands Of Accounts Driving Global Sextortion ScamsMeta is following its recent launch of "sextortion" prevention tools by removing over 60k accounts linked to sextortion scams on Instagram, all based in Nigeria. ... read more
- NA Performance Stunts Havas Growth Through The First HalfOutside of North America, the company was in growth mode, with Europe up 3.8%, Latin America up 8.8% and Asia-Pacific up 0.5%. ... read more
- Senate Advances Kids Online Safety BillThe Interactive Advertising Bureau is among a broad array of groups to express concerns that the bill would limit free speech online. ... read more
- Paris Olympics: Google To Offer Virtual Trips, Updates, Trending EventsThe 2024 Olympics kick off Friday in Paris as more than 10,000 athletes compete in 320 events across a 19-day period. ... read more
- NBA Strikes $77B Rights Deals, Rejects WBD 'Match' OfferOn Wednesday, as expected, the NBA finalized deals with Walt Disney, NBCU and Amazon Prime Video - 11-year agreements totaling $77 billion. ... read more
- Ad Market Expands For 15th Month In July, Rises 4.8%June's expansion was driven primarily from smaller ad categories, as the top 10 only increased their spending 1.3% vs. 9.4% for all other categories. ... read more
- Ad Market Expands For 15th Month In June, Rises 4.8%June's expansion was driven primarily from smaller ad categories, as the top 10 only increased their spending 1.3% vs. 9.4% for all other categories. ... read more
- What's The Secret To A Great Cookieless Targeting Press Release… Timing!Just days after Google scrapped plans to do away with cookies, Havas Media Network this morning disclosed results of a "landmark cookieless test" demonstrating 100% target audience reach. ... read more
- Microsoft Blocked From Reddit Content, Declined To Play By RulesBing, DuckDuckGo, Mojeek and other search engines are no longer indexing and serving up full Reddit results as the company rethinks its business model. ... read more
- Nielsen's Gracenote Creates Contextual Ad-Targeting BizThe business aims to support publishers and give advertisers better targeting signals in new contextual categories for CTV, with help from launch partner Peer39 and Magnite. ... read more
- CIMM, TVB Issue 'Four-Week' Post Analysis Guidelines For Local TVOne major change is a new guideline that looks to amass viewing over a four-week period rather than a single telecast or a small number of telecasts. ... read more
- Porsche Rides Shotgun In New Spot Made By Dua LipaThe multi-talented singer/songwriter hyphenate has emerged with yet another creative role: advertising copywriter and co-director. ... read more
- 60% Of Ad Execs Plan Big Hikes In CTV Ad Spend, Study FindsA majority of advertisers plan to increase CTV ad spend this year by an average of 21%, a study finds. ... read more
- YouTube Growth Slows: CTV, Competition Poised To Make A Dent?YouTube has seen continued quarterly improvements in ad revenues since Q1 2023 - and its Q2 '24 results look good. But Wall Street was expecting a bit more. ... read more
- Netflix Black Death Comedy Inspired By COVID-19 PandemicThe COVID-19 pandemic killed 1.19 million Americans. Is it really time now for a comedy series inspired by it? ... read more
- Product Placement Spending Surges, Despite Impact Of Hollywood StrikesBrands increased product placement spending 12.3% globally on TV, film, video games and music video in 2023, according to just-released estimates from PQ Media's Global Product Placement Forecast. The U.S. grew at a slightly lower ... read more
- Microsoft Retrains, Releases AI-Based Search With Consideration To PublishersMicrosoft has made important changes as it transitions to AI-supported search by combining the power of large and small language models with Bing's search results. It has also taken publishers into consideration as it makes ... read more
- Microsoft Retrains AI-Based Search, Accommodates PublishersMicrosoft has made important changes as it transitions to AI-supported search by combining the power of large and small language models with Bing's search results. It has also taken publishers into consideration as it makes ... read more
- Cameo Settles Charges Over Paid EndorsementsCameo, valued at $1 billion in 2021, will pay $100,000 to settle allegations that it failed to ensure celebrity endorsements included ad disclosures. ... read more
- Spotify Invests In Ad Business Through Rebranded Ads ManagerWith a new look and feel, the rebranded Spotify Ads Manager has a redesign aimed at simplifying the navigation process for advertisers, as well as advanced audience-targeting capabilities. ... read more
- Colin Kaepernick Launches AI-Driven Creator-Publishing PlatformColin Kaepernick is launching Lumi, a startup that will guide creators through the process of publishing original stories in the form of comic books, graphic novels and manga with the help of creative AI tools. ... read more
- FTC Tells Businesses: Identifiers Are Not Anonymous"Companies should not act or claim as if hashing personal information renders it anonymized," the FTC said Wednesday ... read more
- ANA: Advertisers Struggle With Performance, Data, Metrics Across Retail Media NetworksAdvertisers tapping into retail media networks are struggling with performance, data and metrics - mainly because methods are inconsistent, making comparisons across RMNs and other media platforms challenging. ... read more
- ANA: Advertisers Struggling With Retail Media NetworksAdvertisers tapping into retail media networks are struggling with performance, data and metrics - mainly because methods are inconsistent, making comparisons across RMNs and other media platforms challenging. ... read more
- Ascential, Informa Agree To Pay Shareholders Cash Dividend On Hudson MX SaleThe agreement, part of Informa's $1.5 billion bid for Ascential, would pay Ascential shareholders the net proceeds of Hudson MX's sale if it closes before Ascential is acquired by Informa. ... read more
- Google's Weather Ad-Choice SimulatorCould pulling apart data's black box to layer in information from a highly accurate weather simulator become an ad-targeting option? ... read more
- IPG Explores 'Strategic Alternatives' For Huge, R/GAIf the agencies are sold off, CEO Philippe Krakowsky explained, it would be part of a broader asset remix at the firm, which is also ramping up a new principle buying operation. ... read more
- What's On IPG's Mind: Media, Especially The Principal KindThat's based on remarks IPG chief Philippe Krakowsky made during the holdco's Q2 earnings call this morning. Other big topics: retail media, commerce, AI and health. Creative, not so much. ... read more
- NBCU's Olympics To Have First Ad-Free Opening Ceremony With Sponsor LogosNBC says the Paris Summer Olympics will hit a record for national TV ad spending. ... read more
- IPG Reports Q2 Growth Of 1.7%, In Line With ExpectationsThe company expects to achieve 1% organic growth for the full year. Earlier it had stated a 1% to 2% growth range, but noted at the time the loss of a significant client that could ... read more
- Best Buy's Adventures In Spokes-nessI was predicting cringe. But it was the opposite. I couldn't believe the retail giant could spend a whole 30-seconds embracing my exact neurotic spokes-pronunciation ramblings. I felt seen. ... read more
- Red, White And Blue Snoop Dogg Carries Torch For The USAThe incredible story of Snoop Dogg continues with the news that he will be carrying the Olympic torch on its journey to Paris. ... read more
- Harris Enters Race: Is Political Ad Spend Suddenly Accelerating?The campaign for Kamala Harris, the new Democrat Presidential candidate, raised an an eye-popping $140 million in just a few days from small - not billionaire - donors. ... read more
- Meta Launches New AI Model, Strengthens Partnership With NvidiaLlama 3.1, created in partnership with Nvidia, is available in three unique versions - including one that marks Meta's biggest open-source AI model yet - keeping Meta in direct competition with tech giants and startups ... read more
- Alphabet Brings In $64.62B In Quarterly Ad Revenue"We delivered revenues of $85 billion, up 14% year-on-year driven by Search as well as Cloud, which for the first time exceeded $10 billion in quarterly revenues and $1 billion in operating profit," said Ruth ... read more
- Alphabet Takes In $64.6B In Q2 Ad Revenue"We delivered revenues of $85 billion, up 14% year-on-year driven by Search as well as Cloud, which for the first time exceeded $10 billion in quarterly revenues and $1 billion in operating profit," said Ruth ... read more
- Lawmaker Seeks Probe Of X Over @KamalaHQ ThrottlingRep. Jerry Nadler is calling for an investigation into reports that X prevented some users from following Kamala Harris's presidential campaign account, @KamalaHQ. ... read more
- Cannes Lions Operator Ascential Weighing $1.5B BidAscential plc, which also is in the process of selling agency tech startup Hudson MX, says its board is "minded" to accept the $1.5 billion offer from British publisher Informa plc. ... read more
- Google's Tumultuous Two DaysRegulatory scrutiny of several planned decisions that Google had in the works could have been the reason for reversals announced this week by the Alphabet company. ... read more
- 4A's CEO Kaplowitz Set To Leave In 2025 After 8 Years In The RoleKaplowitz is set to depart May 30 of next year. The Board of Directors and its Search Committee will now begin looking for her successor. ... read more
- Yes She Can!Kamala Harris has the super powers necessary to beat Trump: She's the underdog; people underestimate her; she's tenacious, and she's on the right side of a binary choice about our future. ... read more
- Utah's Social Media Law Doesn't Conflict With Section 230, Judge RulesThe Utah Minor Protection in Social Media Act requires platforms to limit minors' ability to communicate with other users. ... read more
- Meta Automatically Suggests Offers In AdsMeta is introducing a new hands-off way for marketers to include all available offers listed on their site into their Meta ad campaigns across Facebook and Instagram. ... read more
- NBCU Posts Mixed Q2 Results, Peacock Cuts LossesPeacock posted its smallest quarterly loss since its launch in 2019 - $348 million - while revenue rose 28% to $1.05 billion in Q2. ... read more
- Making Everything Shoppable, Everywhere, Even Jennifer Aniston's SweaterThat's what Kinesso Commerce says its new "ShopNow" creative units will enable over time, beginning with digital video across the open web, social media, etc. ... read more
- Kinesso's Mission: Everything Shoppable Everywhere All At OnceThat's what Kinesso Commerce says its new "ShopNow" creative units will enable over time, beginning with digital video across the open web, social media, etc. ... read more
- New Yelp Ad Formats Strengthen CTVYelp's features and updates - aimed at national advertisers and businesses with multiple locations - began rolling out Tuesday. ... read more
- The Mayor Showcases Ted Danson's Charm In 4 Consumer Cellular SpotsThe agency won creative AOR duties in March and just debuted its first client work. ... read more
- Netflix: On The Right Advertising Path… Even If It's Slow Moving?Spencer Neumann, Netflix chief financial officer, says ad spend won't be a "primary driver" of growth until later this year or next year. ... read more
- Netflix, YouTube Dominate Aggregate Growth In JuneWalt Disney - the industry leader in this June index - fell to a 10.8% share from 11.4% in May, while YouTube moved up to 9.9% share and Netflix rose to an 8.4%. ... read more
- Declining Biden Was Providing Too Much Ammo For GOP AdsThe more Biden appeared on TV since the Waterloo of the debate on June 27, the more the Trump campaign's trove of negative Biden clips multiplied. ... read more
- VEEP VS. VEEP: High Stakes Thrilla Gets Less VanillaThe ascension of Harris recalibrates the battle, from the thrilla in vanilla (though Trump also puts some orange tones in there) to a fight between what's perceived as backward- and forward-moving forces. ... read more
- Warner Bros. Discovery Matches Amazon's NBA Deal: Industry ExecsIn a statement, WBD's TNT Sports group said: "We have reviewed the offers and matched one of them." ... read more
- Google Alternate Third-Party Cookie Strategy: Reactions From Anger To ReliefSome ad execs were relieved to learn that Google's approach to third-party cookie deprecation would not be an all-or-nothing strategy that still prioritizes consumer privacy, while others were angry. Google plans to keep third-party cookies ... read more
- Snapchat Partners With Lincoln Center for Immersive AR Sculpture ExhibitSnapchat has partnered with Lincoln Center to help artists bring their sculptural works to life via the company's custom location augmented reality lens technology. ... read more
- Google, Meta Compete Over Ray-Ban Smart Glasses PartnershipGoogle has approached EssilorLuxottica about integrating its Gemini AI into future smart glasses, according to reports from The Verge, ... read more
- Judge Sides With Google In Fight Over Health DataA federal judge has dismissed a privacy lawsuit alleging that the company's analytics tool collected sensitive data from health care sites. ... read more
- Google To Keep CookiesGoogle said Monday it will scrap its years-long efforts to eliminate third-party cookies on Chrome, and will give users a choice on how and when to protect their privacy. ... read more
- Boring In SightMaybe politics is headed toward boring. Maybe not. Either way, brands beware. Brands should to take a step back from activist politics and causes. Not abandon important values, but embrace them as a way of ... read more
- X Battles Washington State User Over Ad-Targeting BlunderX Corp. is urging a federal appellate court to reject a Washington state resident's attempt to revive claims that the company violated an "anti-pretexting" law by asking users to provide contact information for security, then ... read more
- X Blasts User's Bid To Revive Battle Over Ad-Targeting BlunderX Corp. wants a federal appeals court to reject an attempt to revive claims that the company violated an "anti-pretexting" law by asking users to provide contact information for security purposes, then harnessing that information ... read more
- Reddit Heats Up Major Sports League Partnerships With Ads, Fan PostsDeals with the NFL, NBA, MLB, NASCAR and PGA Tour will bring Reddit more sports highlights and ads as deals for licensed clips allow it to make money from fan posts. ... read more
- Ad-Driven Analytics Business Secures $1M Seed Funding, Focuses On AIElly Analytics, a technology startup that tracks data across a user's entire funnel, has secured $1 million in seed funding led by Altair Capital and PTV Ventures. ... read more
- After Proposed Vivendi Spinoff, Bollore Group Could Own 40% Of Havas Voting RightsVivendi issued an update today on its proposed split into multiple independent companies and Havas would be listed on the Euronext Amsterdam exchange while remaining a French "resident" for tax purposes. ... read more
- Is Alphabet Earnings Adjusting To Google As Its Biggest Competitor?Alphabet will release earnings Tuesday, and advertisers will be listening for information on how the rollout of AI Overview in search will impact businesses. ... read more
- Is Alphabet Adjusting To Google As Its Biggest Competitor?Alphabet will release earnings Tuesday, and advertisers will be listening for information on how the rollout of AI Overview in search will impact businesses. ... read more
- All Eyes On Biles As NBC Paris Olympics Start On FridayFor viewers in the U.S. and possibly around the world too, gymnast Simone Biles is the main attraction of the upcoming Olympics on NBC. ... read more
- 'Twisters' Spins Out $80M In Third-Biggest 2024 Film OpeningThe movie was third-biggest theatrical domestic film opening weekend of this year, after Disney's "Inside Out 2" ($154 million) and Warner Bros. "Dune: Part Two" ($82 million). ... read more
- Is Monks Being Dressed Up For Sale?Last week's announced makeover follows a Wall Street Journal report back in March that S4 received multiple acquisition offers including one from Stagwell. ... read more
- Why Democrats May Be The Author Of Their Own DemiseIf Kamala Harris' nomination is contested, her chances of being elected will be slim to none. The choice of a popular running mate, e.g., Mark Cuban, may or may not be enough to counter history. ... read more
- Let The Mass Deportations BeginTrump vowed to "begin the largest deportation operation in history" if elected -- which would send shockwaves through the U.S. economy. ... read more
- New Biden Ad Tackles the Toughest Issue Head-OnIn a hard-hitting abortion rights spot, 20something Hadley Duvall,discusses being impregnated at age 12 by her sexually abusive stepfather. ... read more
- X Launches Ads For Trending EventsX is introducing "Trend Genius" ads, which utilize AI to deploy "hyper-relevant ads" based on real-time conversation trends. ... read more
- Judge Sides With Amazon In False Advertising FightA judge has dismissed a class-action complaint alleging that Amazon touted free deliveries as a benefit of Amazon Prime, but charged users a $9.95 "service fee" for grocery orders from Whole Foods. ... read more
- How NBCU, Google Deal Could Change TelevisionNBCUniversal's partnership with Google could change the direction of television if the company experiments as much as it can. ... read more
- Snapchat Launches 'Unconventional' AR Sports Series With Creators, BrandsThe immersive in-app viewing experience highlights "unconventional" sports - including dog surfing, hobby horsing and professional pillow-fighting - in an effort to channel users' viewing habits and make the experience unique to the app. ... read more
- Meta Opens Door To Research On Instagram's Impact On TeensMeta will open a small pilot program allowing academic researchers to access Instagram data for up to six months to learn more about how the social platform affects the well-being of teens and young adults, ... read more
- NBCU: Upfront Sales Complete, With 'Modest Growth'NBCU says it saw growth of 45% in prime-time program advertising and nearly 60% in news and 90% in sports programming. A strong focus on sports programming across all linear TV network groups has driven ... read more
- Massive Outage Impacts Advertising, Publishing – What We KnowA massive information tech glitch impacted Microsoft cloud-computing services early Friday. Cybersecurity company CrowdStrike reported that the outages were the result of one of its routine software updates gone wrong - "not a security incident ... read more
- Oracle Settles Privacy Battle For $115 MillionOracle, which recently said it was shutting down its ad business, has agreed to settle allegations that it combined data about people's web activity with other information purchased from outside brokers. ... read more
- 3.know: Shelly's Take On Crowdstrike/Microsoft, The GOP Convention, And MoreThankfully, Shelly Palmer and I conducted this "3.know" via Zoom, not Microsoft Teams, otherwise you might not be seeing it now. He also puts his producer's hat on and assesses the GOP convention. ... read more
- Should Media And Creative Re-Integrate?Full-service agency benefit: Creative today is tightly woven into where it will appear. Decisions on what to say and when/where to say it should be closely connected. ... read more
- Just Call It Monks: S4 Capital's Media.Monks Gets A Major OverhaulIt's designed to simplify operations and includes a transition to two main practices - Marketing Services and Technology Services, both powered by the agency's AI-driven workflow platform Monks.Flow. ... read more
- Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, Others Launch Coalition For Secure AIMajor tech companies have formed an industry group intended to enhance security in AI amid its rapid growth and adoption in advertising, media buying, marketing and content creation for websites, mobile apps and television. ... read more
- Yawn And Long: Trump Speech Goes Late, Sets Length RecordWatching Donald Trump's acceptance speech was like watching one of those interminable playoff baseball games that everybody complains about. ... read more
- Is Max Still Mostly About HBO? Subscribers Are Saying YesSubscribers have high demand levels for HBO content versus everything else Warner Bros. Discovery has to offer. ... read more
- Is Max Still Mostly About HBO? Subscribers Say YesSubscribers have high demand levels for HBO content versus everything else Warner Bros. Discovery has to offer. ... read more
- Netflix Reports First-Half Surge In Ads, SubscribersNetflix says 45% of all new signups (ad-supported or ad-free standard/premium tiers) are for its ad option, and that percentage is accelerating - from 40% in Q1 and 32% in Q4 2023. ... read more
- Amazon's Back-to-School Campaign Preaches Parental RealismActor Michelle Buteau touts lunchboxes she got for less at Amazon -- "for a homemade meal they'll barely touch." ... read more
- Apple's Olympic 'Shot On An iPhone' Campaign Celebrates '2036 Hopefuls'The latest in the long-running series was helmed by legendary sports photographer Walter Iooss Jr., and includes social media and OOH activations. ... read more