Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a longtime critic of pharmaceutical companies running commercials on television. Now that he's been appointed Secretary of Health and Human Services, he has an opportunity to do something about it. Last year, drug manufacturers spent $34.7 billion on advertising, with just over one-third going to linear TV. A potential ban...
As Donald Trump settles back into the White House for his second term as president, another transition is taking place: Republicans are warming up to Big Tech. Following Trump's election victory in November, Meta, Google, and Amazon all donated $1 million to his inauguration fund. Apple CEO Tim Cook gave the same amount from his...
In its February earnings call, The Trade Desk set an ambitious goal to get all its advertiser clients onto a major platform upgrade, Kokai. Adoption, to that point, had been sluggish, and the company had taken a financial hit. CEO Jeff Green blamed The Trade Desk's surprisingly bad fourth quarter earnings--where it didn't meet revenue...
The Coca-Cola company has selected incumbent WPP and Publicis Groupe as finalists in a closed door review of its U.S. media business, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed to ADWEEK. WPP has held the account since 2021, when it won The Coca-Cola Company's global business and launched a bespoke team called OpenX to...
At a time when companies are rolling back policies to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace, they're also talking about Black History Month less than they did in the past. Just two brands--Spotify and Ralph Lauren--referenced Black History Month in a post on X during February, according to social media performance platform...
As President Donald Trump's promised tariffs on China, Mexico, and Canada become a reality, brands are anticipating that they will charge higher prices to pay for the trade war. Public company CEOs are getting prodded for answers from investors about the impact of tariffs on their businesses. ADWEEK pulled together recent earnings reports and news...
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a longtime critic of pharmaceutical companies running advertisements on television. Now that he's U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, he has an opportunity to do something about it. If U.S. regulators prohibit drug companies from airing ads on TV, the ad dollars will have to flow somewhere. Billions would...
Shake Shack's chief marketing officer (CMO) Jay Livingston is leaving his role at the end of next month, he confirmed to ADWEEK. He has yet to announce his next move. Livingston made the announcement today in a lengthy post on his LinkedIn page. "I'm finally getting around to writing this, but after over six incredible...
The Daily Mail introduced its first paywall for its U.S. edition on Tuesday, marking a shift in its digital strategy as the general interest publisher seeks to diversify its revenue streams beyond advertising. DailyMail+ is part of a broader plan from the privately owned title to attract 1 million paying subscribers by 2029, according to...
What do the most senior execs in the C-suite actually think of chief marketing officers (CMOs)? It's complicated, according to fresh research from Gartner, shared exclusively with ADWEEK. The research firm interviewed 125 chief executives (CEOs) and chief financial officers (CFOs) to get the inside scoop on what's expected of CMOs and how they can...
AppLovin, a tech company that helps developers monetize mobile apps with advertising, is having one hell of a run. Its stock surged more than 700% in 2024, and it has surpassed The Trade Desk as the most valuable adtech company in the world, with a market cap north of $166 billion. Earlier this month, the...
Corporate bombast has gotten worse. In October 2024, ADWEEK scanned distribution hub PR Newswire's database for exaggerated language in U.S. press releases. The examination found mentions of hyperbolic words, such as "thrilled," "cutting-edge," and "groundbreaking," had increased between 2017 and 2023. PR Newswire confirmed the rise of amplified terms was not related to a rise...
When it comes to marketing a good or service, color matters. Christian Louboutin shoes, for example, stand out with their red soles. UPS is known for its brown trucks. Most people can identify a piece of Tiffany's jewelry by its blue box. The same principles apply to food. "Color is important to us when we...
The list of famous white men who appeared in ads during Super Bowl 59 is long. It includes Glen Powell, Adam Devine, Harrison Ford, Chris Pratt, Chris Hemsworth, Post Malone, Shane Gillis, Matt Damon, David Beckham, Pete Davidson, Gordon Ramsay, and Barry Keoghan. Tom Brady, Payton Manning, and Matthew McConaughey all appeared in more than...
For anyone wanting the final say on which Super Bowl 59 advertiser performed the best, look no further than ADWEEK's Ultimate Super Bowl Ad Ranker. Here's how it works: Hootsuite tracked the volume of mentions a Super Bowl advertiser received across the internet. EDO measured how effective a Super Bowl commercial was at generating online...
Pfizer's 2025 Big Game ad, which aired in the first quarter, features a young boy who beats cancer. Early data suggests the internet doesn't like it. So far, the majority of Pfizer mentions across the internet over the past 24 hours have been negative, according to social listening data seen by ADWEEK. Some example posts...
THE AD: Cycling through several images at a rapid pace--from people stepping on a scale to newspaper clippings to a bowl of colorful cereal--the Big Game commercial from direct-to-consumer telehealth provider Hims & Hers declares that obesity is America's deadliest epidemic. It goes on to state that 74% of U.S. residents are overweight and around...
THE AD: A party runs out of Pringles. Actor Adam Brody calls for help by blowing into an empty chip can like a conch shell. Upon hearing the sound of distress, the famously bushy mustaches of actor Nick Offerman, NBA player James Harden, and Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid detach from their respective faces...
THE AD: At the fictional Ritz Salty Club, located in Utah's salt flats, members walk around expressing their inner saltiness. This includes famously salty actors Aubrey Plaza and Michael Shannon, who argue with each other over which of them is more bitter while munching on crackers. Musician and fellow club member Bad Bunny interrupts the...
The Super Bowl debut by digital healthcare company Hims & Hers is now listed on the injury report as questionable, following attempts by a pharmaceutical industry trade group and two senators to block it from airing. The Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM) is pushing the Food and Drug Administration to call a timeout on the...
