Of all the creative assets in a brand marketer's toolkit, few are as humble (or essential) as the lifestyle photo--those stills and videos that feature a smiling model appearing alongside the product. Scores of agencies stand at the ready to book talent for jobs like this--often slender younglings who'll pair their good looks with a...

Rigby is on a freelance gig. His day job is sniffing out cadavers for the police department, but today, the frisky retriever is on a soundstage in front of a camera. In a few minutes, a bunch of kids will kick off a taco party. Rigby's only job is to look cute--and not eat the...

In recent years, the marketing landscape has been dominated by large-scale, expensive campaigns designed to capture consumer attention. From the ubiquitous pink of the Barbie movie to the pervasive green of Wicked, these mega-marketing efforts raise a critical question: When does a campaign cross the line from excitement to exhaustion? Since debuting in theaters last...

For years--especially in the last four--we've watched brands expand marketing efforts holistically and prioritize voices of color through organic and paid media placements. However, a continuously overlooked medium for major brands and advertisers is Black culture-focused tentpole events. As a regular attendee at such events as Essence Festival, CurlyCon, or CultureCon, to name a few,...

The music and streetwear publisher Complex launched a curated shopping platform called Complex Shop on Wednesday, part of a broader bid from the media company to expand its burgeoning commerce business. The platform will live both as a distinct hub on the Complex website and integrate into editorial content, according to chief executive officer Aaron...