Instagram To Add IGTV Previews; Twitter Reveals Daily Active Users

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As the marketing world recovers after SuperBowl LIII and looks ahead for what 2019 has in store, social media platforms don’t snooze. Here is what’s happening with Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat and Pinterest this week.

Instagram IGTV Will Clutter The Users’ Feeds

Instagram intends to add IGTV previews to users feeds.

Why it matters: The company’s major intent with IGTV was to compete with larger video content sites, such as YouTube and Twitch. The feature, however, didn’t receive a lot of enthusiasm from Instagram users.

The details: Instagram told Techcrunch that the users will see brief, one-minute previews in their Feed and will be able to control the audio. To watch the full version of the video, the user will have to tap the IGTV icon.

As for IGTV app itself, Sensor Tower reported that after seeing 1.5 million downloads in its first month in 2018, IGTV app has only grown to 3.5 million total downloads worldwide.

Twitter Reveals Q4 Results And Daily User Pool

In its Q4 earnings report, Twitter disclosed the number of engaged users who come to the site each day. The company has 126 million daily active users.

Why it matters: Even though the new report shows Twitter’s lesser size in comparison with other social networks (Facebook has 1.2 billion daily users), the number keeps growing, with a nine percent increase YoY.

The details: Here are the highlights from the report.

  • Q4 2018 ended with revenue up 24 percent YoY
  • According to Twitter, the platform saw a 16 percent YoY decrease in abuse reports “from people who had an interaction with their alleged abuser on Twitter”
  • Average monetizable daily active users were 126 million in Q4, up 9 percent YoY

Pinterest Is Completely Automating “Shop the Look” Tool  

Pinterest is completely automating its “Shop the Look” tool, the company shared on Wednesday.

Why it matters: The tool automation will make it easier for the “inspiration searchers” to find and shop the products, and brands will be able to better market and sell their products on Pinterest.

The details: The update increases “Shop The Look” Pin coverage by 22.5x across billions of Pins and products, and in early testing has already lifted engagement by 7 percent, the company reported. Previously, Pinterest had experimented with a human-in-the-loop approach to match product links with Pins but required a more effective method of scaling across the billions of images the platform hosts. As a solution, computer vision was used to fully automate the process of matching products to user preferences and needs.

Facebook Acquires Its First Blockchain

According to Cheddar, Facebook made its first acquisition in the blockchain industry. The company bought a small blockchain startup, Chainspace.

Why it matters: The sharp move signals Facebook’s ambition to be a big player in the application of blockchain.

The details: As per Cheddar, at the moment, more than 40 people work in Facebook’s blockchain division, and Facebook has also demonstrated eagerness in hiring other teams behind developing cryptocurrency and blockchain-related projects similar to Chainspace.

A Facebook spokesperson confirmed that the company had hired employees from Chainspace but declined to comment on specific hires, Cheddar reported.

Snapchat Stops Losing Users, Reports Stable Q4 Numbers

Snapchat isn’t gaining a ton of new users, but the company has stopped losing them, Snapchat’s Q4 report shows.

Why it matters: At the end of last year, marketers were concerned with Snapchat losing popularity, but the report demonstrates strong and steady numbers.

The details: The company remains stable at 186 million users per day, after seeing a decrease from 191 million in Q1 to 188 million in Q2 to 186 million in Q3. 30 percent more people are now watching Publisher Stories and Shows every day compared to last year, and each person is consuming more of these Stories per day on average. Snapchat increased reached more international markets, including France, Germany, Ireland, Norway, the UK, India, and the Middle East in 2018. It reached record revenue of $390 million in the holiday quarter, up 36 percent year-over-year to beat the $378 million Wall Street estimate, and Snapchat lost just $0.04 per share compared to Wall Street’s $0.08 loss estimate for a beat in Q4 earnings.

Facebook Is Developing A Feature For Business Messaging

Axios reported on Tuesday that Facebook is in the process of developing a messaging for businesses feature that will allow businesses access and manage Instagram Direct Messages and Facebook Messenger messages simultaneously.

Why it matters: Since countless businesses worldwide use Facebook’s messaging platforms as a communication tool, the feature promises to make communication more convenient.

The details: In business messaging feature, Instagram Direct messaging will be added to a page host’s messaging inbox within the Facebook Pages Manager app on both web and mobile. At the moment, the feature only lets businesses control messages coming from Facebook Messenger. It is important to note that the tool will only be available to business page managers and Facebook users would not be able to see the difference when their message is answered, Axios reported.

Twitter Reports Data On Purpose-Driven Marketing Campaigns In Super Bowl 2019

The winners of its #BrandBowl, which celebrated the most successful Super Bowl tie-in campaigns via tweet, were not the only focus of Twitter’s Marketing Insights team this week. On Wednesday, Twitter Marketing also posted a brief summary of data on purpose-driven marketing campaigns.

Why it matters: The data shows that purpose-driven campaigns were met by the users with a lot of positive engagement and are worth emulating in approaches to marketing strategies.

The details: According to Twitter, Microsoft’s,”‘We All Win” message was the absolute winner. Here is a quick overview of the data highlights:

  • 42 percent more brands activated a “purpose-driven” message on Twitter during #SB53 vs.#SB52.
  • 88 percent of Tweets about purpose-driven ads were positive.
  • 85 percent of Tweets about purpose-driven ads were from women (compared to 42.15 percent men)
  • 58 percent of all Tweets about purpose-driven ads were related to Microsoft.

Twitter Announces Winners of #BrandBowl 2019

This case study published by Twitter today showcased the brand campaigns that inspired the most engagement and activity on the platform.

Why it matters: Several brands chose not to buy the on-air advertising time at all this year and joined the #BrandBowl competition on Twitter in the fight for the Interception Award instead, which proved the growing power of social media in the world of marketing once again.

The details: Planters won the top prize for their sweepstakes; Game of Thrones & Bud Light’s co-branded spot spiked the discussion; Marvel Studio’s Avengers trailer was eagerly shared; Frank’s Red Hot dominated the feed by placing themselves on every other ad; Verizon’s tribute to first responders campaign had all eyes on it, the case study reported.

UK Publishers Are In Search For Snapchat Alternatives

Digiday reported Tuesday, that the UK publishers are looking for alternative ways to profit from their Snapchat efforts. Many consider piloting shows to sell to broadcasters and exploring eCommerce options, as the Snap’s six-second commercials in Europe hasn’t yet reached its full potential.

Why it matters: Since most UK publishers are using the platform in creative ways for other revenue opportunities, profits from ads in Shows isn’t the end goal for them.

The details: Snapchat told Digiday that it was too early to draw definitive conclusions from the success of Shows feature in the UK. The company is confident, though, that the audiences are growing and the company plans to add more content partners in 2019.

YouTube Reaches A Milestone At 2 Billion Monthly Users

According to Fortune, YouTube celebrates a new milestone of nearly 2 billion monthly logged-in users.

Why it matters: This number reflects the platform’s steady-growing popularity and thriving profit opportunities. And the impressive pool of users gives Youtube’s owner, Google, and its parent company, Alphabet, a chance to offer YouTube subscription services to a massive audience.

The details: The number of YouTube channels with more than 1 million subscribers grew twice in size in 2018. The number of content creators earning between $10,000 to $1 million grew more than 40 percent compared to a year earlier, as well.

Facebook Introduces Household Income Targeting Based On Household Income

Facebook now allows marketers to reach audiences based on their US ZIP codes’ average household income.

Why it matters: With the new feature introduced by the company, marketers can now tailor their creative content and incorporate income demographics to display more relevant ads to their audiences.

The details: As per the report published by the company, to build Facebook’s household income by US ZIP, the company ordered all US ZIP codes by their average household income and then grouped them into ranges. There are also some restrictions, as the reports stress the fact that the audiences are not available for Housing, Employment and Credit ads and are only available for inclusion targeting for other ads.

YouTube Is Changing The Pricing And Format Of Masthead Ads

According to Business Insider, YouTube is changing its masthead ad pricing model from cost-per-day to cost per impression.

Why it matters: The new model will make it more challenging and competitive for brands to advertise on the YouTube platform.

The details: YouTube’s masthead ads used to be charged on a fixed, cost-per-day rate, which means that a single advertiser could purchase one slot each day. But with the new pricing model implemented by YouTube, masthead ads will be sold on CPM (cost per impression), which will make it possible for multiple advertisers to bid and set the price for up to seven days in a row.

Instagram Is Working On Stories Quiz Stickers Launch

As spotted by code hacker Jane Manchun Wong, Instagram seems to be getting close to releasing a new “Quiz” sticker for Instagram Stories, Social Media Today reported on Saturday.

Why it matters: The feature would provide additional creative options for boosting engagement via Instagram Stories. Considering that 500 million users utilize Stories every day, Quiz Stickers can be potentially used by brands.

The details: The new feature should allow brands to create buzz around new products, obtain authentic audience feedback and educate the followers about brands through quiz questions.

TikTok Is Getting To The Top Of Social Media Food Chain

TikTok, the Chinese social media platform which allows users to create and share short video clips, is getting to the top of download charts and is becoming a huge competitor to Snapchat and even Twitter, according to CNBC.

Why it matters: TikTok hosts 500 million monthly actives users compared with Twitter’s 326 million, which makes it a desirable platform.

The details: Research firm App Annie reported that TikTok’s ranking in 2018 was No. 4 worldwide in downloads across iOS and Google Play.

Gap Brand Hires CMO; Lime Appoints Chief Marketing Officer

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This week’s executive shifts include TikTok hiring their first-ever general manager for the U.S., Gap Brand appointing a former Adidas exec, e.l.f. Beauty hiring a former bareMinerals exec, BankMobile appointing a new CMO, Nurture Life hiring a new chief marketing officer, former StubHub CMO joining Indigo Ag, Inc., Breeders’ Cup CMO stepping down, SpartanNash appointing a new CMO and LivSpace hiring their first-ever CMO from Flipkart.

Check out our careers section for executive job openings and to post your own staffing needs.

Gap Brand Appoints Former Adidas Exec

Gap Brand has hired Alegra O’Hare as senior vice president and chief marketing officer. Previously, O’Hare served as vice president of global brand communications for Adidas Originals and Style. During that time, she was responsible for the award-winning Adidas Originals campaign ‘Original is Never Finished.’

“I have always admired Gap’s ethos, including the culture, creativity and heritage of the brand. These core values are what make Gap unique, and I am thrilled to join Neil and the team with the important task to shift brand perception, amplify our stories, and deliver a bold, new and exciting point of view to our consumers around the world,” said O’ Hare in a press release.

Lime Hires First Chief Marketing Officer

Lime, the electric scooter company, appointed Duke Stump as their first-ever Chief Marketing Officer. Previously, Stump served as EVP of brand & community at Lululemon, where he successfully launched their global campaign ‘This is Yoga.’

Before that, Stump spent over 15 years at Nike where he worked as vice president of product marketing. He also served as CMO at Seventh Generation.

TikTok Hires Former First-Ever GM For The U.S.

TikTok appointed Vanessa Pappas as general manager for the United States. Prior to joining the video-sharing app, Pappas served as YouTube’s global head of creative insights where she worked for over seven years. TikTok started testing ads recently and this new appointment shows the Chinese-owned company’s growing interest to target American audiences.

e.l.f. Beauty Hires Former bareMinerals Exec

e.l.f. Beauty appointed Kory Marchisotto as their chief marketing officer. Previously, Marchisotto served as the senior vice president of marketing for bareMinerals. She also worked at Shiseido’s Beauty Prestige Group for 16 years, where she worked her way up from a marketing manager to SVP of marketing.

“I’ve long admired the e.l.f. brand and its pulse on the beauty enthusiasts that e.l.f. serves, bringing innovative products to the market at incredible speeds and affordable prices,” said Marchisotto in a statement. “I’m very excited to join this talented team and help bring more consumers into the e.l.f. experience in new ways.”

Nurture Life Appoints New Chief Marketing Officer

Nurture Life, a provider of meals for children delivered direct to consumers, has appointed Christina Kline as their new chief marketing officer. Prior to joining Nurture Life, Kline served as CMO at Analyte Health, a platform that connects patients to diagnostic services.

“I am excited to be part of Nurture Life’s journey to disrupt the traditional baby, toddler and kid food industry,” said Kline in a statement. “It is an honor to join this growing organization and work with visionary co-founders authentically focused on addressing a growing health concern for children in the United States.”

Indigo Ag, Inc. Hires Former StubHub CMO

Indigo Ag, Inc., a company building systems to help farmers create sustainable food, appointed Jennifer Betka as the company’s first chief marketing officer. Betka has been brough in to help build Indigo Ag’s global brand.

Previously, Betka served as CMO for StubHub, where she raised the company from a secondary ticketing platform to the world’s leading ticket marketplace in over 40 countries. Betka also spent time as SVP marketing at Fandom and VP consumer and interactive marketing at the Los Angeles Times.

“Throughout my career, I have been committed to brands that enrich people’s lives,” Betka said in a statement. “Indigo is making a vast impact at a time when the effects of climate change have shifted conversation to action. By bridging consumers’ desire for transparency and access to healthier food choices with products and services that accelerate the adoption of more sustainable growing practices, this company has introduced a complex portfolio of solutions that touch the entire supply chain. This, in itself, creates a unique and exciting brand opportunity.”

Breeders’ Cup Limited’s CMO Steps Down

Breeders’ Cup Limited’s chief marketing officer Bryan Pettigrew announced he is stepping down to pursue other interests. His official title was SVP of marketing and sponsorship for the last four years.

According to his LinkedIn, “Prior to joining the Breeders’ Cup, Pettigrew worked for the National Thoroughbred Racing Association where he worked with horse industry leaders including the Breeders’ Cup, The Jockey Club, Stronach Group, Churchill Downs and New York Racing Association to develop national partnership strategies. ”

SpartanNash Hires New CMO

SpartanNash has hired Lori Raya as the company’s new chief merchandising and marketing officer. Before joining SpartanNash, Raya worked at Safeway/Albertsons for 31 years. Most recently she served as division president of Albertsons, where she led the post-merger transition with Safeway.

BankMobile Promotes VP of Marketing

BankMobile, a division of Customers Bank, has hired Regine Fiddler to be the company’s chief marketing officer. Fiddler served as vice president of marketing and product management for five years. Prior to joining BankMobile, she worked as VP of product management for Higher One, a financial technology company.

LivSpace Appoints Thier First Chief Marketing Officer

LivSpace, an online home interior design and renovation platform, appointed Kartikeya Bhandari as the company’s first-ever CMO. Previously, Bhandari served as Flipkart’s senior marketing director where he led the launch of Big Billion Days. Flipkart was acquired by Walmart last year for $16 billion.

Roak Brewing Co. Hires New VP of Sales And Marketing

Roak Brewing Co. appointed Aaron Lanctot as their new vice president of sales and marketing. Previously, Lanctot served as director of sales at Blake’s Hard Cider for three years and before that he worked as a regional sales representative for Rochester Mills Beer Company.

EMPIRE Hires Peter Kadin As VP

EMPIRE, a music label and digital distribution company, has hired Peter Kadin to be the company’s vice president of marketing. Kadin, who started out at The Chamber Group where he started out as an intern but worked his way up to working directly with the company’s big clients, like Future and Erykah Badu.

Kadin then took the position senior director of media and artist relations at Def Jam Recordings, but left last year to start his own agency, Kadin Creative.

Kadin told Billboard, “I’m thrilled to join the bold and innovative team at EMPIRE. EMPIRE has a keen sensibility for artist discovery and growth beginning at the earliest, most exciting phase of an artist’s career, and it couples that with the foresight to capitalize on future trends in the music industry and in culture as a whole.”

Salata Promotes CMO To President

Salata, a fast-casual restaurant, promoted their chief marketing officer Michelle Bythewood to the role of president, according to Nation’s Restaurant News. Blythewood had been in the CMO position since 2017. Prior to that was the VP of marketing at Cici’s before starting her own marketing agency Field Marketing Focus, of which she continues to be the founder and principal.

Symantec Hires New Chief Marketing Officer

Symantec has hired Debora Beachner Tomlin as the company’s chief marketing officer. Tomlin was previously the chief marketing officer at CSAA Insurance and vice president of marketing at Capital One. Tomlin also serves on the board of LiveRamp.

Greg Clark, Symantec President and CEO. said of the appointment, “We are thrilled to welcome Deb to Symantec. An accomplished and influential leader in the marketing industry, Deb brings tremendous experience leading marketing, customer experience, distribution and product teams. I am confident her expertise will help take our leadership portfolio and customer success to the next level in the market, and that she will be a strong addition to the Symantec management team as we execute our strategic growth plans.”

Editor’s Note: Our weekly careers post is updated daily. This installment is updated until Friday, February 8. Have a new hire tip? We’re looking for senior executive role changes in marketing and media. Let us know at editorial@alistdaily.com.

Job Vacancies 

Chief Marketing Officer eBay London, UK
Global Head (CMO) of Print Marketing HP Palo Alto, CA
Vice President, Marketing Strategy  Saks Fifth Avenue New York, NY
Head of Marketing  Sony Music London, UK
Head of Marketing Uber London, UK
VP Marketing Analytics DISNEY New York, NY

Make sure to check back for updates on our Careers page.

The Spinner And The Faustian Bargain Of Anonymized Data

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For the price of just $29, everyone can harness the power of targeted messaging and use it to persuade a chosen target to quit smoking, commit to a relationship, stop eating meat—virtually anything. It’s called The Spinner.

By surreptitiously sending a cookie to someone via a link, that individual becomes part of a small target set of lookalikes that receive 10 pieces of content and 180 impressions intended to convince them of something.

Of course, what The Spinner is doing, as marketers know, isn’t a new tactic. The company, while incorporating some proprietary tech, is using existing targeting tools that have been developed by Facebook and Google.

Spinner’s CEO, “Elliot Shefler” just presents it in a way that the average consumer can understand and utilize without needing to know the in’s and out’s of programmatic distribution.

Shefler closely guards the details about his operation and was reluctant to provide his own background information and contact info to AList. According to him, The Spinner employs about 10 people for its consumer product and partners with a British agency for nameless larger brand clients.

The Spinner, which launched in April 2018, has sparked some interest among users looking to sow seeds of influence among their relationships.

“Every day we have many requests with many different messages and goals,” said Shefler in a call with AList.

He also vehemently believes in the power of using this targeting and social media to persuade.

“Definitely, there are some success stories,” said Shefler, citing an example of a client who wanted their son to not quit college by delivering content about college dropouts.

“If the message is tailored to the recipient and you repeat it frequently enough—very powerful.”

The Spinner

—–

In a post-Cambridge Analytica environment, an increasing number of consumers are becoming more concerned about how targeting tools and consumer data could be leveraged outside of the scope of marketing purposes.

According to a study by Janrain in 2018, 57 percent of 1000 consumers surveyed cited the Cambridge Analytica scandal as the reason they shifted their opinion on concern around data privacy and security.

The conversation prior to this moment, however, has been concentrated on personal data and the responsibility of protecting and effectively managing the data of individual consumers. While GDPR has gone a long way to hold accountable companies to protect this data, should we also be worried about anonymized data and targeting if it can be used by anyone for any purpose?

Grouped into little factions based on our interests, our purchase histories, our political beliefs, our jobs, we’ve been assuaged by the promise of our user data not being personally identifiable by third-parties, and therefore not susceptible. (Never mind that this has already been proven untrue.)

As Shefler is quick to point out, a key difference in what he provides with his expertise isn’t about using his technology to reach the broadest swath of potential customers, but rather about honing in on those you already have a relationship with.

“The value is in retention, not in the acquisition,” he said.

He related a story about one insurance company he was commissioned work on, where he would target the insurance agents at the company to “brainwash and manipulate” them and change the perception of the company itself with the goal of retaining those agents.

“We planned a similar campaign with a big pharmaceutical company that was targeting doctors (not patients—doctors) with articles about the benefits of a certain medicine.”

—–

Shefler himself does not have any social media accounts, in part it seems to guard himself against the very tools he is monetizing from and also partly because of the nature of his work. It is hard to tell if this is pragmatism or paranoia—if he has truly seen what lurks beneath the hood.

In an email following our call, he used the common adage of those in tech—“If you’re not paying for it, you’re the product”—as an answer to his philosophy on privacy and when pressed about whether he feels the same targeting tools he leverages for The Spinner could be vulnerable to possible misuse, his response was matter-of-fact:

“I would prefer using the word “effective” instead of ‘vulnerable.’ The answer is: highly effective.”

T-Mobile Avoids Celebrity Trend, Focuses On Simplicity For Super Bowl Ads

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This past Sunday, T-Mobile’s Super Bowl ads reminded marketers that brands don’t need celebrity or spectacle to garner a strong audience reaction. The mobile company aired four commercials during the game and two of their ads ranked in the top ten of Ipsos’ real-time, nonconscious rankings.

T-Mobile strayed from the methods of Pepsi, Olay or Stella Artois, and merely presented something we see every day: a phone screen where a text conversation was underway. On Ipsos’ rankings, T-Mobile’s “We’re Here For You” ad ranked number four and their “We’ll Keep This Brief” spot came in at number eight.

Mostly, the ads work because they’re relatable. Consumers identify with the awkwardness and miscommunication that comes with texting.

Two of the spots not only promoted T-Mobile but free offers for their customers. During the “What’s for Dinner” spot, the ad announced a collaboration with Taco Bell for free tacos every Tuesday and the “We’re Here For You” spot partnered with Lyft to promote free rides (both via the T-Mobile Tuesdays app).

However, not everyone reacted to the ads positively. Some viewers accused T-Mobile of stealing a meme from 2017 for the Lyft spot. But, unlike some meme-makers, but it turns out T-Mobile licensed the joke.

This is the second year Ipsos tested the ads in a real setting—the market research company recruited 37 people to watch the ads during the game at a Super Bowl party. Participants also brought friends to the viewing.

As for the “nonconscious” part of “Ipsos real-time, nonconscious ranking,” it refers to biometric data.

According to the press release, “each viewer was fitted with Shimmer’s NeuroLynQ system—a wrist bracelet and finger sensor to passively capture galvanic skin response (GSR).”

The data was used to find out which ads had the “strongest emotional impact on the audience during the event itself—not when tested in isolation.”

Overall, though, the ads were less engaging than 2018’s ads. “Not surprisingly, given the historic lack of touchdowns for most of the game, the overall score for the game was noticeably lower than the Patriots vs. Eagles contest of 2018.” said Pedr Howard, Ipsos’senior vice president for creative excellence in a statement.

“The $5.25 million question is whether the game itself impacts the engagement with the ads or whether we saw a dip in creative quality.”

Trump’s Branding Report Card: Thoughts From Two Marketing Professors

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Written By Daniel Korschun and Americus Reed, II

Donald Trump. Master showman. Savvy brand builder. Reality TV star. Forty-fifth president of the United States. Wait! You did hear that right. This is not a television show. After an unsuccessful bid for the presidency in 2000, Donald Trump began a years-long project to reinvent his personal brand. A journey to complete the most significant transaction of his life, the 2016 election. Last night he updated the country in his second state of the union address.

As two marketing professors, we always look for teachable moments. We decided to sit down and analyze the Trump brand, from a marketing and branding point of view. Our conclusion? He excels in some areas, but his branding has not kept pace with advances in marketing on how to create lasting brands.

Years ago, branding scholars often focused on the moment of purchase. Imagine a consumer standing in a supermarket aisle trying to decide between two brands of yogurt. In this scenario, each time a consumer goes to the supermarket, they choose by recalling key traits of each brand and then evaluate how well those traits match with what is important to them.

From this point of view, the job of a manager is to make sure that the most important traits pop into mind as soon as the consumer sees the brand. Traditional marketers do this by rote repetition. Drum-in a concept enough times and often it will stick. At that point, any mention of the brand will call the concept to mind (try to think of Clorox without thinking of “sterile,” or Activia yogurt without thinking of probiotics).

This time-tested approach is one of the President’s go-to techniques. A common critique of the President is that he does not stay on message. That may be true for some policy announcements, but when it comes to the language, he uses he has been remarkably consistent. From his catchphrase on the Apprentice (“you’re fired!) to his interviews, rallies, and tweets, he invariably describes himself as “strong,”“speaks his mind” and “a winner,” while labeling his rivals as “weak,” “politicians” and “losers.”

This latter point is reminiscent of the classic “Hi, I am an Apple (Hi, I am a PC)” ads, where Apple depicted itself as hip, cool, creative, media intensive, sleek and fun—while simultaneously branding Microsoft as stodgy, out of date, uncool, boring, and hard to use. Trump has branded his rivals in the same way (lying Ted, low-energy Jeb, failing New York Times, rat Michael Cohen, publicity seeking Lindsey Graham, and of course, the infamous crooked Hillary).

Layer on top of this simplistic branding approach the fact that many of the arguments made by Trump to persuade voters are based primarily on emotions. Emotional branding can be powerful because decisions that are based on emotions feel more like they come from an authentic sense of who you are. Once convinced, based on emotions, many people will resist changing their minds, even when presented with those stubborn things that we call, well, facts.

Therefore, top-notch emotional and simplistic branding of both himself and rivals led to a victory at the moment of choice—in the ballot box. Enough of the target market chose Trump over Hillary Clinton and became what we might call in marketing, “brand evangelists for 45”—those who might literally be willing to overlook a shooting on 5th avenue.

One might say that in terms of success in creating a legion of loyal customers, this approach gets an A. So where is the problem?

The President is trying to run the government like a master brand promoter creating reality television. There is no sense of customer history, context, using past customer data to inform future decision making across all aspects of presidential protocol. It is all moment by moment brand building to win the next news cycle’s sound bite.

Moreover, most brands eventually want a “larger target market.” For example, sportswear brand Under Armor started out niche, with “We Must Protect this House” aimed directly at hardcore athletes. In fact, they were the first company to get men to put on spandex and not feel silly. But at some point, they wanted to grow their base and reach more of a mass market. Candidate Trump converted many voters at the time of the election, but President Trump has been unable or unwilling to rethink his approach to speak to the larger market. Perhaps the larger market he needs to win again in 2020.

There is a second key challenge. His leadership style is drawing him into a classic marketing trap. Brands today realize that a strategy that was successful in attracting customers can be disastrous when it comes to retaining them.

Consider the classic way to attract customers’ discounts. Brands that rely on deep discounts quickly discover that the customers that are most attracted to great deals are precisely the ones who are fickle enough to defect when a competitor provides a discount of their own.

To overcome this challenge, the best marketers today retain customers by doing at least two things. First, they deliver on promises with each interaction. Exciting claims may help win a customer, but consistent actions keep a customer. The brand must be a reliable partner over time. And second, the brand should appeal not only to self-interest but also to the customer’s values and ideals. Patagonia does this by reminding customers that the brand’s raison d’être is as much about protecting the environment as it is about providing quality outdoor apparel. Nike was once a brand solely of performance (“Just Do It”) but now alludes to traits such as courage in addressing social ills (e.g., its campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick).

Donald Trump has always been effective at appealing to a small target market’s short-term interests, but he persistently struggles at maintaining longer-term relationships. For example, after bad experiences in the 1980s and 1990s, many American banks no longer extended him credit (background here and here). He cycled through contractors, some of whom complained about not being paid. He was able to brand his way out of some of these challenges.

His reversal on a prior agreement with Senate Republicans is in part what led to this year’s government shutdown. Some commentators have noted that Senate Republicans are merely waiting for the right moment to shift their allegiance. And ominously, the Mueller probe finds it all too easy to flip former confidants for whom it no longer serves their interest to be loyal to the President.

The breakdown is even more apparent among people less beholden to self-interest. In his resignation letter, Former Defense Secretary James Mattis said his role had been to serve “in defense of our citizens and our ideals,” not the President himself. Likewise, the late Senator John McCain could not bring himself to partner with the President, because “The world expects us to be concerned with the condition of humanity…[but] I’m not sure the president understands that.”

The world’s most successful brands today create long-term relationships that appeal to a combination of self-interest and values, and they do so with a chess-type eye towards long term market building and growing of the customer base. You need many customers on your train to successfully sustain your business model. President Trump’s brand builds on emotional persuasion rather than long-term value. And even though he tried to message to the country in last night’s state of the union address, with each passing day, the challenges we cite become more apparent. In our view, this portion of his branding report card gets an F.

Brands Relied On The Tried And True For Super Bowl LIII

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Unsurprisingly, celebrity dominated the commercials of Super Bowl LIII. But what’s more interesting, and perhaps surprising, are the other trends of futuristic tech, art and emotional appeal.

Artistically-Inspired Commercials Take The Lead

Some brands turned to art to create cultural resonance and a sense of nostalgia. Both Coca-Cola and Burger King drew upon Andy Warhol’s cartoonish and simple art for their respective commercials and despite the vintage aesthetics, it came across as rather contemporary and even a little edgy. Andy Warhol once famously noted “A Coke is a Coke and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking.”

Moreover, it was a subtle reminder to viewers that the brands have been around for a long time and are rooted so deeply into American culture, much like football.

Expensify’s groovy collaboration with 2 Chainz also had an artistic bent, weaving in and out of animation, taking place in a surreal world with off-the-wall imagery.

Emotional Appeal Remains Important

Studies show that people rely on emotions, rather than information, to make brand decisions and that emotional responses to ads are more influential on a person’s intent to buy than the content of an ad.

Whether happy, sad, afraid, surprised or angry—these emotions can be manipulated with finesse into an impulse to buy.

This year, Google’s ad inspired the highest emotional engagement according to Ipsos. Ipsos tests the ads in a realistic situation by recruiting an audience of 37 people to watch the ads at a Super Bowl party. Participants could even bring friends. Each viewer was fitted with a wrist bracelet and finger sensor that could capture galvanic skin responses that could provide insight into how emotionally engaged each attendee was to each commercial.

Back To The Future

While some brands focused on nostalgia and plying your heartstrings, others imbued their ads with futurism. Some notable examples of this were Pringles’ “Sad Device” commercial and Intuit’s (slightly) disturbing “RoboChild.”

Celebrities Remain In The Mix

According to MarketWatch, “with a celebrity endorsement, sales for products endorsed by athletes go up by an average of 4 percent.” Amazon’s Alexa Super Bowl commercial involved not only one but five celebrities from different backgrounds, including Gordon Ramsey, Rebel Wilson, Cardi B, Anthony Hopkins and Jeff Bezos himself.

Marketers know that a familiar face is likely to magnetize the viewer’s attention—it’s the original influencer marketing after all.

Super Bowl Social: Pepsi Dominates Conversations; ‘Avengers’ Flexes Hashtag Muscle

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February 3 was Super Bowl Sunday—a day for competition among football players and the brands that dish out millions for coveted air time. According to social media analytics company Talkwalker, Pepsi inspired the most social media conversations among Super Bowl LIII advertisers with its bare-chested Maroon 5 performance and Spongebob tribute, while Avocados from Mexico and a new teaser for The Avengers: Endgame battled for hashtag supremacy.

Talkwalker measured 30 days of social media engagement for the Super Bowl and its advertisers, ending at midnight on February 2. Twitter served as the main source of conversation during this time, with over 8.7 million tweets—nearly 87 percent of all social media activity for the Super Bowl LIII.

For the previous 30 days, Super Bowl 2019 received over 10 million mentions and 60.8 million likes/shares on social media. This number peaked on January 20 and 21 after the Conference Championships and again on February 3 during the Super Bowl, itself.

The Top Five Hashtags About Super Bowl LIII Are:

  1. #SuperBowl: 1,600,000
  2. #SBLIII: 672,600
  3. #NFLPlayoffs: 411,000
  4. #SuperBowlLIII: 233,600
  5. #AvengersEndgame: 173,400

The New England Patriots emerged victorious on the field as well as on social media, although with a much smaller gap. The Patriots were mentioned 370,800 times (52 percent) versus the Los Angeles Rams with 341,500 mentions (48 percent).

Coca-Cola took a break from Super Bowl advertising for the first time since 2006, giving the upper hand to its century’s old rival, PepsiCo. While Coca-Cola aired a brief pre-game spot, Pepsi dominated the air space with two star-studded commercials and the half-time show.

This gave Pepsi the opportunity to shine with its “Pepsi is More than Okay” commercial featuring Cardi B, Steve Carrell and Lil John. The :60 TV spot complained about the common response to asking for soda: “Is Pepsi okay?” The brand’s #PepsiIsMoreThanOkay hashtag went on to garner 48,000 mentions on social media.

Pepsi was the most-talked-about brand during Super Bowl LIII with over 71,800 accumulated mentions which peaked after the halftime show. Not all of that attention was positive, however, as fans wanted to hear Maroon 5 play “Sweet Victory” in memory of SpongeBob’s recently-deceased creator.

Before January 2019, both Coca-Cola and Pepsi had an equal social media exposure. That all changed over the last 30 days, says Talkwalker. Thanks to its Super Bowl LIII involvement, Pepsi earned 596,700 mentions in North America versus Coke’s 155,900. In addition, Pepsi’s social engagement rose to 3.5 million shares and retweets, whereas Coke received 1.5 million.

Overall, brands that featured collaborations or mashups won the day in terms of social media engagement.

Doritos’ collaboration between Chance the Rapper and the Backstreet Boys (#NowItsHot) was shared over 57,300 times across social media.

Bud Light, meanwhile, partnered with HBO to promote the final season of Game of Thrones. A light-hearted “Dilly Dilly” spot quickly turned dark when a stranger entered the jousting arena. Bud Light garnered over 13,400 mentions for the period piece mashup.

Budweiser’s emotional “Wind never felt better” campaign has earned 17,800,000 views on Youtube so far.

Avocados from Mexico kept its #AvocadosFromMexico hashtag trending thanks to 96,000 mentions over the past 30 days.

The number one non-sports hashtag went to Marvel Studios with a teaser for The Avengers: Endgame with 173,000 mentions. When the official Avenger’s Twitter account posted the teaser video, it was retweeted 71,767 times and liked 145,957 times.

 

MWC Barcelona 2019: New Keynote Speakers Confirmed

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The winter season is officially here… the weather is frosty and coats and scarves are officially part of our closets. And so, the preparations for MWC have also commenced! GSMA is busy gathering some of the biggest names in mobile to speak in Barcelona.

Executives from Daimler AG & Mercedes Benz, Microsoft, Niantic Inc., United Nations, Sprint, Vimeo and more are among some of the keynote speakers confirmed. These leaders will be in Barcelona at MWC19, discussing the future of mobile.  They represent a wide variety of operators and organizations across the technology ecosystem:

  • Chuck Robbins, Chairman and CEO, Cisco
  • Dieter Zetsche, Chairman, Daimler AG and Mercedes Benz
  • Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner, Digital Economy and Society, European Union
  • Thomas Bach, President, IOC
  • Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft
  • John Hanke, Founder and CEO, Niantic Inc.
  • Hiroshi Mikitani, Founder, CEO and Chairman, Rakuten
  • E. Dr. Aisha Bin Bishr, Director General, Smart Dubai
  • Amina  Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations
  • Sir Lucian Grainge, Chairman and CEO, Universal Music Group

The conference will address key topics such as the evolution to 5G, connectivity, immersive content, AI, digital wellness, and digital trust, among many others. In addition to the keynote sessions, the conference will include a series of focused track sessions that explore specific subjects in greater depth. For more information on the keynotes and the conference, visit here.

Further updates for the event, including new exhibitors, sponsors and programs have also been announced. For more details on new exhibitors, sponsors and partners, check out the latest press release.

Super Bowl 2019: Brand Campaigns And Commercials Round-Up

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Super Bowl LIII is on Sunday, February 3 in Atlanta and millions of people will watch the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams battle it out to see who wins the supreme title.  Game day is not only about football, but it’s a time for brands to show their very best ads. Slowly, brands are revealing campaigns and advertisements that will premiere during the big game.

We will be updating as brands announce more details and release teasers, full spots

Serena’s Bumble Collaboration Debuts

Bumble is debuting a year-long marketing campaign with Serena Williams starting on Super Bowl Sunday. The campaign is titled “The Ball is in Her Court.” Bumble has not revealed how the ad will appear, but we do know it’s a multi-platform campaign.

Toyota Will Show Its Redesigned RAV4

Toyota’s RAV4 got a makeover and it will get a lot of attention during one of the biggest events of the year. Ed Laukes, head of marketing for the Toyota Division told Automotive News the car has the marketing budget to promote itself on a mainstream platform like the Super Bowl.

AB InBev Hitting The Super Bowl

Bon & Viv Spiked Seltzer, an alcoholic carbonated drink by Anheuser-Busch, is one of the five brands the brewery will feature along with Bud, Bud Light, Michelob Ultra and Stella. In the Bon & Viv Spiked Seltzer 30-second spot, two mermaids on the packaging—named Bonnie and Vivian—come to life. They pitch the drink to CGI sharks. The spot will air during the Super Bowl’s first ad break.

The world’s largest brewer also came out with its Michelob Ultra commercials. One 30-second spot promotes Michelob Ultra through fitness and robots.

The second Michelob 45-second ad promotes Michelob Ultra’s Pure Gold beer through ASMR. Actress Zoe Kravitz whispers into the microphone, taps the glass and pours the beer for a heightened the sounds of Michelob.

The Stella Artois ad combines Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw and The Dude from The Big Lebowski. The iconic characters are known for getting certain drinks, but the bar goes into chaos when they both order a Stella Artois.

AB InBev has exclusive alcohol advertising rights during the game and will air four 45-second spots, three 30-second spots and one 60-second ad. Anheuser-Busch will also have four billboards and four bumpers during the Super Bowl. AB InBev told Adweek this decision is part of maximizing their time during the game to “capture consumer attention at the right time.

TurboTax Returns To The Super Bowl

Intuit is the official NFL sponsor for financial and accounting software along with tax prep services. This will be the sixth year in a row TurboTax has advertised during the event.

Pizza Hut Features President Lincoln In Ads

The official pizza of the Super Bowl will continue its Abraham Lincoln-themed commercials. Two 15-second spots are set to air before the big game promote the $5 deal. The pizza company is also temporarily changing its name for the Super Bowl to “Pizza Hut Hut” and one Atlanta location posted its new sign. They’ve decided to expand beer delivery to about 300 restaurants in preparation for the game.

PepsiCo Will Run Three Super Bowl Ads 

PepsiCo debuted its 60-second “More Than Ok” ad with Steve Carrell, Cardi B and Lil John. The ad admits most consumers ask for Coke and its usually met with the response from bartenders or servers, “Is Pepsi, ok?” Carrell, sick and tired of hearing it, goes off on a rant.

Leading up to the game, Pepsi released three teasers featuring each one of the celebrities separately, but the setting—the diner—tied them all together. A 30-second version of the spot will air during the game and the 60-second ad will remain online.

Bubly Partners With Bublé

PepsiCo’s bubly will air an ad starring Michael Bublé, because bubly = bublé. Sort of.

In the press release, Bublé says “I might be Canadian, but I’m a big fan of American football… I had a blast doing my very first Super Bowl commercial with bublé – I mean bubly. Because of our similar names, the brand and I share a special bond. I love how the cans are bold, bright, and full of personality. They’re perfect for any Super Bowl viewing partés you might be having.”

Audi Wants To Push Their All-Electric Cars

The German automobile company is spending big money to show Super Bowl fans their full electric line of cars. Last year, Audi came out with the eTron followed by the eTron GT. The company wants to continue promoting the car and they felt the Super Bowl a great platform for it.

Loren Angelo, vice president of marketing of Audi of America, told CarBuzz “We’re returning to the biggest advertising stage to let America know that electric has gone Audi.” Audi will debut a 60-second spot during the second quarter and but haven’t disclosed how much they spent.

M&M’s Test Christina Applegate’s Patience In Super Bowl Ad

M&M’s 2019 Super Bowl ad features actress Christina Applegate driving three unruly M&M’s. Like children, Applegate threatens to “break them apart or eat them alive. The 30-second spot is promoting their new M&M’s chocolate bars. Last year’s spot featuring Danny DeVito was voted #6 in USA Today‘s Ad Meter top 10 list. “We’re excited to bring M&M’S back to such an iconic stage as the Super Bowl,” said Allison Miazga-Bedrick, brand director of M&M’S, in a press release.”  This is the fifth commercial M&M’s has done for the Super Bowl. The ad will air during the game, but there’s been no mention when.

Colgate’s Commercial With Comedian Luke Wilson

For the third year Colgate will run an ad during the big game. They made their Super Bowl debut in 2016 with a 30-second ad about saving water—with no mention of their products. This year, the 30-second spot features Luke Wilson as a ‘close-talker’ to demonstrate how good Colgate Total works. The campaign tagline is ‘Do More For Your Mouth,’ and is set to air during the third quarter’s second commercial break.

Kia To Publicize Education Scholarship During Super Bowl

Kia will promote their “The Great Unknowns Scholarship,” to “help young people get a foothold in higher education.” The South Korean car company aired the teaser during the NFC championship game. The spot questions the idea of using famous stars in a super bowl commercial, saying, “Millions of dollars will be spent on celebrity endorsements for Super Bowl LIII. But what if that money could be spent differently?” It’s a shift from last year’s ‘Feel Something Again’ spot with singer Steven Tyler.

Hyundai Shows You The Pains Of Car Shopping

Super Bowl ad veteran, Hyundai, released their 60-second commercial promoting the “Shopper Assurance” program—a modernized way to purchase a car with less hassle. The spot—featuring actor Jason Bateman as the elevator operator—takes the passengers to floors with life’s worst experiences, like getting a root canal, sitting in the middle seat during a flight and buying a car at a dealership. The ad called “The Elevator,” will air during the first quarter of the game.

Hyundai has been extremely successful during the Super Bowl, research shows they’ve aired top-10 ads in each of the past seven games.

Kraft’s DEVOUR Will Debut A Less Racy Super Bowl Ad

The frozen food brand debuted their 60-second ad of its Super Bowl commercial and it definitely lifted some eyebrows. The spot plays with the notion of a “food porn” addict. A tamer 30-second spot will appear during the third quarter.

Mercedes-Benz Is The Name Of The Game

Mercedes-Benz released its commercial featuring Atlanta’s own Ludacris. The Super Bowl ad with cameos from Wile E. Coyote and Free Willy promotes the new Mercedes A-Class, aimed at a younger demo.  The ad follows a man who gets everything he wishes for—much like the in-vehicle voice assistant feature, known as MBUX, will answer your wishes. The luxury car company also own the rights to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, where the game will be played this year.

Avocados From Mexico Features Kristin Chenoweth And Puppies

Avocados From Mexico announced Emmy and Tony award-winning actress Kristin Chenoweth will star in their 30-second commercial during the second quarter for its ‘Always worth it’ campaign.

Persil’s ‘The Professional’ Returns To The Super Bowl

Adweek reports Persil ProClean is making its Super Bowl comeback for the fourth year in a row. Last year’s “Game-Time Stain-Time” spot features the recurring pitchman who loudly points out a viewer’s guacamole stain. It was directed by the comedic duo Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim. The detergent brand didn’t reveal any details about the new spot, when it will air during the game or how long it will be.

Skittles Is Producing The First-Ever Broadway Show

The Mars-owned candy brand announced it will air a live Broadway musical with actor Michael C. Hall. The teaser shows Hall talking to a psychologist about his anxiety about taking the role and explains how the ad is not a regular spot.

The show is titled Skittles Commercial: The Broadway Musical and written by playwright Will Eno. The spot will feature a 17-member cast ensemble and a Michael C. Hall in front of The Town Hall in New York City at 1 p.m. EST.

Turkish Airlines Continues Its Super Bowl Presence

Turkish Airlines returns with its third Super Bowl ad and Sir Ridley Scott is directing their 30-second commercial.  Scott, known for Gladiator and Blade Runner directed the short film, The Journey, for Turkish Airlines.

Olay Debuts First In-Game Super Bowl Ad

The Skincare brand will run its inaugural thriller-theme ad ‘Killer Skin,’ starring horror star Sarah Michelle Gellar from I Know What You Did Last Summer and Scream 2. The 30-second spot is set to air during the first quarter of the Super Bowl.

Planters Makes A Comeback With Mr. Peanut

Kraft Heinz-owned Planters will air a 30-second spot with A-Rod, Charlie Sheen and the nutmobile. Mr. Peanut speeds through town to save A-Rod from eating kale chips. The mascot arrives right on time to give the famous baseball player a can of mixed nuts to enjoy as he watches the game. The 30-second commercial will run during the second quarter.

Doritos Teaser Features Chance The Rapper And Backstreet Boys

Doritos’ 60-second spot #NowItsHot was finally released unveiling the “I Want It That Way” remix with Chance and the Backstreet Boys, promoting the brand’s Flamin’ Hot Nacho. The commercial even mimics the original 1999 Backstreet Boys video with the white outfits and airplane hanger. Doritos will air a 30-second version during the game on February 3.

Hotels.com Is Offering a Free Room For Baby Makers

The hotel company took the “Super Bowl babies” concept—that the birth rate in winning cities goes up nine months after the game—for a few of its former Super Bowl spots. However, this year they’re offering free hotel rooms to 53 fans of the winning team to continue the tradition. Fans can visit BigGameBabies.com and enter for the chance to win a $250 gift certificate. They’ve also partnered with Spotify to create a playlist called Big Game Babymaking.

WeatherTech Brings Back ‘Made In America” Message

WeatherTech, a car mat and accessory manufacturer, will run a 45-second ad during the game. Instead of last year’s patriotic theme, the company is centering on our furry companions. The company said in a statement that WeatherTech founder David MacNeil “ventured into the pet products space after losing his last three dogs to cancer.” This is the sixth time the brand has run an ad during the Super Bowl.

Expensify Debuts Its First-Ever Super Bowl TV Ad

The expense management platform announced the airing of its first TV commercial during the big game. The 30-second spot features actor Adam Scott and 2 Chainz. The Super Bowl ad is part of the company’s multi-channel marketing campaign ‘You Weren’t Born To Do Expenses.’

SimpliSafe Is First Home Security Provider To Debut At Game

SimpliSafe’s posted a teaser of its first Super Bowl ad “Fear is Everywhere.” The 30-second video features a man trying to peacefully mow his lawn, but three neighbors on the other side of the fence keep reading unsettling updates about their neighborhood (looks like a dig at their competitor). The 30-second spot won’t be revealed until the game, which will air during the first quarter.

Verizon First-Responder Ad

Verizon plans to run a 60-second spot during Super Bowl LIII. It features 12 NFL stars who were rescued by first responders.

Pringles Humanizes Voice Controlled Speaker In Clever Ad

Pringles officially released its 30-second Super Bowl Ad called “Smart Sad Device.” Two friends are “flavor stacking”—the act of piling up chips of various Pringle flavors. An Alexa-type device wants to partake flavor stacking but begins to sadly list off why she can’t do it. She goes down a depressing rabbit hole, but before it gets too sad, one of the men stop her and ask her to play a song. The ad is scheduled to air during the game’s second quarter.

Yellow Tail Wine Features Fans In Its Commercial

Yellow Tail wine announced they’re coming back for its third consecutive year to the Super Bowl. The new ‘Tastes Like Happy’ campaign will feature two fan-produced video segments. Last year, the wine brand hosted a contest and received over 1,500 submissions. The Grand Prize winner Adrien Colon can be seen dancing salsa on a beach in Ibiza, Spain and runner up Katherine Nunez swings from a rope off a boat in Aruba during her honeymoon. The commercial will air between the second quarter and halftime.

Volvo Doesn’t Want You To Watch Super Bowl Ads

Volvo wants you to pass on the commercials this year and participate in a contest that could win you a new Volvo S60 sedan. On February 3, starting at 6 p.m. ET consumers will be able to take a digital test drive by visiting S60LongestDrive.com from an eligible mobile device. The three people who keep their eyes on the car the longest will win a Care by Volvo subscription to the S60.

According to Marketing Daily, the contest will be promoted through a digital and social campaign and through Volvo’s own channels such as email and its website.

Tostitos Plans To Set Unofficial World Record of Longest Livestream 

Tostitos will livestream a tortilla chip bowl for 53 straight hours in celebration of 53rd Super Bowl.  #TostitosLiveBowl is the first-of-its-kind event and it will be hosted at the Tostitos Cantina in Atlanta. Various NFL legends are expected to participate in the event such as Barry Sanders. The livestream will air on Tostitos.com starting on Friday, February 1 at 1:29 p.m. ET and conclude on Sunday, February 3 at 6:29 p.m. ET.  The official press release states “the bowl will be regularly refilled, and various Tostitos flavors can be requested by fans commenting on the livestream.”

Frank’s Red Hot Will Host A Twitter Sweepstakes During The Game

The hot sauce brand will present a sweepstakes as part of its ‘I Put That $#!t on Everything’ campaign. To participate, fans need to watch other brand’s commercials in certain categories like an adult beverage, candy, auto snack and several more. When an ad comes on viewers should tweet the chili pepper emoji, the ad’s category and the hashtag #FranksSweepstakes during the commercial break in which the ad airs.  There are several prizes, participants can win a brand new car with a trunk filled with Frank’s or a trip to Mexico for two. The contest runs on Sunday, February 3 from 3:30 p.m. to 11:59 p.m. ET. Like Volvo, Red Hot is taking a different approach to its Super Bowl advertising this year by making it interactive.

SNL Airs Spoofs Super Bowl Ads With Charmin Brutal Focus Group

Saturday Night Live got in on the Super Bowl ad action. The show aired a skit featuring a focus group discussing a fake Charmin commercial. The participants bring up every scenario the Charmin bears could get boxed into. One woman (Kate McKinnon) claims the bears are white and privileged. Another participant (James McAvoy) wearing an Eagle shirt under his hoodie recommends the ad should show a bear waking up “after a night of raging and the bathroom is completely destroyed, like Chernobyl” however, the bear’s bum is clean, so Charmin did its job.

Coca-Cola Will Not Run A Super Bowl Ad

Coca-Cola decided to opt out on running a commercial during the game this year. It’s the first time since 2006. Rather, the beverage company will run a 60-second animated pregame spot “Coke is a Coke,” before the National Anthem. AdAge reports the voices in the ad “recite an original poem that is inspired by quotes from Andy Warhol’s 1975 book, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol. The spot promotes Coke as a beverage anyone can enjoy.

Skechers Ad Features Former Quarterback Tony Romo

Tony Romo stars in Skecher’s 30-second Super Bowl ad to promote their slip-on footwear. The former Dallas football quarterback shows how he likes to make his life “easy.” He has a mini flying saucer give him his drink and has a tennis ball launcher to throw balls at his dog, so he doesn’t have to. The commercial is scheduled to air during the third quarter, but it could be moved to the second. Romo has been working with the show brand since 2017.

Head & Shoulders Showcases Unique American Entrepreneurs

The 30-second teaser takes a peek at the three business people who will be featured in each one of Head & Shoulder’s Super Bowl #HeadstrongAds. The commercials will highlight three people who went on to pursue less than conventional businesses. The P&G brand posted the video on their YouTube channel. No word on when the ads will air during the game.

Ram, Dodge And Jeep Spots Released At The Same Time

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles posted three ‘Big Game Blitz’ teasers for their various car brands. The 60-second Dodge spot shows two cowboys talking about favorite Super Bowl commercials, but they can’t remember the brand behind them. As if that wasn’t a jab to other brands, the other cowboy continues “They go crazy and spend all this money on a commercial for a game—can’t even remember who it’s for. They need you to just show you what they’re selling.” He then steps into 2019 Ram Heavy Duty truck.

Dodge’s new 45-second mini-spot highlights their cars and trucks driving around Atlanta, where the Super Bowl will be held. To add more of the state’s flavor, it features a remake of the Charlie Daniels Band song “Devil Went Down To Georgia.”

Jeep’s teaser features a Gladiator Jeep Truck beating a car crusher at a junkyard. According to AdWeek, Fiat Chrysler’s CMO didn’t specify whether these videos are actual teasers or if they’re the spots that will be aired during the Super Bowl. The company also didn’t say when the spots are set to air on February 3.

Dietz Nutz Makes Fun Of Name With Play On Words

Dietz & Watson, a meat and cheese manufacturer, created a spot with a lot of “dietz nuts” puns. The 30-second video features comedian Craig Robinson eating a bag of Dietz Nutz next to his brother Chris. Dietz Nuts aren’t really nuts and Robinson explains they are “meat nuts.”  They’re dried and cured sausage bites. After Chris goes into the bag to try one, Robinson can’t help himself and starts joking with him.  He asks him, “Hey Chris, how Dietz Nuts taste? Are they delicious?” The spot won’t be aired during the Super Bowl, but the company wanted to bring awareness to their meat snacks.

NFL Debuts Vague ‘NFL 100: Cake’ Teaser With Marshawn Lynch

In the 10-second video, the football star stares at a cake at a fancy party—looks like a wedding. Adweek reports the commercial shows what could happen if a football game broke out during a banquet celebrating 100 seasons of the NFL. The spot will also feature NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, former Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning and League commissioner Roger Goodell. You can watch the teaser on the Raider’s YouTube channel.

Sprint Ad Features Bo Jackson, A Mermaid And A Keytar

Sprint released its 30-second commercial starring football and baseball star, Bo Jackson. He’s not the only one who takes the spotlight, but an overly confident robot steals the show with his hilarious imagination. Sprint also posted a series of teasers with the sassy little robot. The company’s spokesman Paul Marcarelli also makes an appearance along with robots in last year’s Super Bowl ad. “Who better to tell the Sprint story of offering both a great value and a great network than a two-sport all-star athlete who really does ‘know,’” said Sprint CMO Roger Solé to AdWeek. “Bo Jackson personifies the ‘best of both worlds,’ and he recognizes that customers don’t have to compromise with Sprint.”

Microsoft Shows Anyone Can Play The Xbox Despite Differences

Microsoft’s Super Bowl ad follows the lives of young Xbox players who are differently-abled. They explain how the typical controller wouldn’t always work for them, but the new Xbox Adaptive Controller lets them play and feel like the other kids. The emotional spot highlights how these technological advances do more than just improve the way someone plays a video game, but enhances their lives. There is an extended version of the commercial online and the 60-second ad will air during the fourth quarter’s first commercial break.

Benefit’s ‘Boss Brows’ Campaign Highlights Activists Making A Difference

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Benefit is leveraging their top-selling brow products as the focus of their new campaign ‘Boss Brows,’ which features four unique women with one thing in common: activism.

Mama Caxx is a model, disability activist and an advocate for body positivity. Hayley Kiyoko, a singer and LGTBQ and human rights champion. Jen Gotch is the founder and CCO of gift and accessory brand ban.do and mental health advocate. Ericka Hart identifies a non-binary femme and is a breast cancer survivor, a sexuality educator and podcaster.

The campaign’s video begins with the words “There’s more to a brow,” each one fills in the sentence as the video goes on—a compilation of their thoughts into one. Hayley Kiyoko ends with “We show the world who is boss.”

Beyond the compilation video, each influencer stars in their own video sharing their story. The campaign reassures viewers to “raise their voice.”

The San Francisco-based brand’s brow line is extremely popular—they even have brow bars in malls and storefronts, offering various services such as brow waxing, threading and tinting placed next to their products.

“At a time where the beauty space is very noisy, there’s a lot of brands out there and a lot of conversations, it’s really important that we show who we are as a brand, and that people will align with that. … You’re going to see a lot of bold moves coming from Benefit,” said Erin Kramer, director of brand marketing for Benefit to Adweek.

The campaign has a new limited-edition set, which is also a collaboration with ban.do. The post featuring the set already has over 8 thousand likes on Instagram and the video over 15,000 views.

For many years, Benefit has been working with charities like Look Good Feel Better and The Princess Project. In 2017, their Bold Is Beautiful initiative—where 100 percent of the proceeds from their brow wax services at Benefit Brow Bars are donated to local charities for women and girls—raised $4.7 million.