The odds seemed stacked against Scale by Zambezi, the media agency under creative shop Zambezi, at the start of 2024. After a few projects had ended and certain clients reduced budgets, Scale faced a 26% drop in revenue compared to 2023. But business turned around, and over the course of the year, Scale was able...
A teddy bear is typically a symbol of childhood innocence, comfort, and play. But in a harrowing ad from nonprofit Sandy Hook Promise, the stuffed animal serves as a stark reminder of how the gun violence epidemic is impacting childhoods across the U.S. As the organization's latest public service announcement (PSA) reminds viewers, teddy bears...
One of advertising's most famous mascots, Planters' Mr. Peanut, is about to become a movie star. The anthropomorphic peanut character, which has been the Hormel Foods-owned brand's mascot for over a century, will make his feature film debut in upcoming Netflix movie The Electric State, released on Friday (March 14). Mr. Peanut is a major...
Interpublic Group (IPG)'s sale last week of R/GA to private equity (PE) firm Truelink Capital signals a coming wave of PE buying and investing in creative agencies, industry leaders tell ADWEEK. R/GA is not the only agency that has recently sold to PE: last year, Svoboda Capital Partners invested in creative agency Highdive; Keystone Capital...
The Brutalist director Brady Corbet has made his advertising directorial debut with a trio of ads for Bloomberg Media. Fresh off his post-war epic, The Brutalist, winning three Oscars, Corbet directed "The Contextualist," the latest installment of Bloomberg Media's "Context Changes Everything" campaign created by agency Wieden+Kennedy New York. Corbet recently revealed on the "WTF...
Interpublic Group (IPG) has sold R/GA to a group led by private equity firm Truelink Capital and the agency's global leaders. Los Angeles-based Truelink will own a majority stake in R/GA. R/GA's management, including global CEO Robin Forbes and chair and global chief creative officer Tiffany Rolfe, will also take a stake in the business....
After the Academy Awards, even celebrities might be contemplating a hearty, comforting breakfast to recover from Hollywood's biggest night. To cap off the celebrations, McDonald's has dropped a commercial spotlighting the go-to breakfast orders of Hollywood stars, including some Oscar-winning and nominated actors. Kieran Culkin, who won the Academy Award for best supporting actor for...
Technicolor Group's shuttering of its iconic post-production and visual effects (VFX) houses including The Mill and MPC shook the advertising and creative industries, transforming the landscape in its wake. The closures of these creative institutions will affect an estimated 10,000 jobs globally. While The Mill and MPC were big names in Hollywood, winning Oscars for...
The Gap, aiming to recapture the cool factor of its 1990s and early 2000s heyday, has enlisted a fellow '90s icon for its latest campaign: actress Parker Posey. Posey, known for her roles in '90s independent films like Dazed and Confused, Kicking and Screaming, and Party Girl, is experiencing her own return to the spotlight...
WPP's shares tumbled by 18% during early trading hours on Thursday (Feb. 27) following disappointing 2024 results and a weak outlook for this year. The numbers $14.38 billion (GBP11.35 billion) - revenue less pass-through costs in 2024, down 1% on a like-for-like basis. 2.3% - decline in Q4 revenue less pass-through costs. 0 to 2%...
After Technicolor Group began shuttering its storied production and visual effects (VFX) studios MPC and The Mill, sending shockwaves through the advertising and creative industries, The Mill's U.S. leaders announced a new venture in partnership with Dream Machine FX. The creative leadership from The Mill U.S. has formed Arc Creative, a business under the Dream...
In a blow to the advertising and creative production sector, Technicolor Group, the parent company of production and visual effects (VFX) studios The Mill and MPC, is shutting down operations, according to multiple reports. On Friday, Technicolor sent U.S. employees a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice, which requires companies with 100 or more...
If someone sends the "u up?" text late at night, there's usually a saucy connotation. But Ikea put a cheeky spin on the phrase in its latest marketing stunt. Just after Valentine's Day, the brand began sliding into people's DMs (direct messages) between 10pm and 5am with the simple message: "U up?" Those who responded...
Big Ideas is ADWEEK's series in which we talk to the industry's top creative minds. If Amy Ferguson, partner and chief creative officer of Special New York, had a mantra for her creative style, it might be: "responsibly unhinged." Ferguson jokingly coined the phrase when talking about her ambitions for the agency: creating work that...
A strange thing happened after the Feb. 6 NBA game between the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics: Mavericks star Anthony Davis was spotted lugging a giant cooler of CeraVe moisturizer as he left the arena. That same day, TikTok dancer turned Broadway star Charli D'Amelio carried a cross-body container of CeraVe cream on her way...
We all know the fairy godmother. In her latest campaign for her apparel brand, Skims, Kim Kardashian puts a spin on that lore by playing a "fairy butt mother." The ad announces Skims' The Ultimate Butt, a collection of nine new styles including shape wear, leggings, and bodysuits. In the video, a woman sitting in...
Interpublic Group (IPG), which is preparing for a takeover by rival Omnicom Group later this year, reported its full year and Q4 2024 earnings on Wednesday (Feb. 12). The numbers $9.2 billion - IPG's 2024 net revenue, with organic growth of 0.2%. $2.4 billion - IPG's Q4 net revenue, an organic decrease of 1.8%. 1%...
The ads from Super Bowl 59 are an eclectic bunch: lots of laughs, some absurdity, a few doses of body horror, aliens, cute animals, cute kids, bros, women's empowerment, and a couple that made us reach for tissues. Some triggered debate and many built buzz far beyond the game. As the sun sets on advertising's...
The best part of the Super Bowl isn't the wings, the nachos, the halftime show, or even the football itself--it's talking about the commercials. Well, advertising professionals think so, anyway. The day after the Big Game, ADWEEK asked creative leaders to weigh in on their favorite ads. We share their picks below. Budweiser Budweiser's Clydesdale...
It was a big, broad, bro-y comedy year in Super Bowl commercials, and if you were prescient enough to have "so many white people" on your casting bingo card, you would have cleaned up. Manifesting pre-game predictions of a "superficial" bowl, brands mostly steered clear of making statements or getting political. They went silly and...
