So you could be like, 'I hate her because of the American Eagle,' or you love her because of the American Eagle, but no matter what, you're talking about her. For a brand launch, that's always a good thing. Controversy and craziness and all that kind of stuff is good for initial curiosity.
I grew up in a small town in Indiana, but my interest in Japan started early. I still remember watching a "Sesame Street" episode where Big Bird visits Japan. That image stuck with me. In college, that curiosity took shape: I studied Japanese at the University of Chicago and spent a summer in Hokkaido. After graduating, I moved to Japan in 2008 to teach English, though a career in teaching was never my goal.
The pastel-colored conversation hearts stay relevant year over year because their embossed messages can be easily and quickly updated, transforming a generic shape into a crunchy candy canvas that's adaptable to the moment. That makes the face of these tiny hearts some of the most valuable real estate in the Valentine's Day candy landscape, because the right quip could convert a passerby into a sale.
This year's Super Bowl highlighted a striking reality: companies are willing to spend record sums for cultural relevance they often lack the organizational capability to sustain. With viewership projected to rival last year's 127-plus million U.S. audience, yesterday's Super Bowl LX reinforced the event's unrivaled power to concentrate mass attention as the Seahawks and Patriots took the field and Bad Bunny delivered a halftime performance engineered to dominate global conversation.
But we in marketing also have a certain fixation on youth. Millennials (put roughly, those born between 1980 and 2000) are the prime suspect at the minute because from where we sit in London, it seems like they're reaching their prime consumption years. They value experiences over things. They want authentic connections to brands. They want to be marketed to via a social influencer instead of a traditional ad (ha! they want to be marketed to - insert laugh/cry emoji here).
On Tuesday, as spotted in a press release about Take-Two's Q3 2026 earnings results by IGN, the company confirmed that it plans to start marketing Grand Theft Auto 6 sometime in summer, which seems to indicate that the game, which has been delayed a few times now, is actually (for real) getting close to launching later this year. "I feel good about it. Very good about it," said Zelnick when asked by the outlet how he felt about GTA 6 's November 19 release. "Of course, because any time you're getting closer to marketing beats, you're obviously in a place where your confidence level is as high as it can be."
Prior to her role at Tumblr, Simonian was vice-president of branded music for Nielsen Entertainment and, earlier, inaugural head of Twitter Music. She has additionally held roles at Disney and Hot Topic, where she created multi-platform activations for music film and product initiatives.
Strategy and creativity are celebrated in equal measures at The Drum Awards. Across the board, there are plenty of examples of fantastic and innovative work produced by agencies, brands and individuals each year. But what makes a winner? How do you shout from the rooftops that your campaigns are brilliant? At The Drum, there are 22 awards that celebrate the finest work produced globally. Following are seven examples of the best of the best of The Drum Awards 2017 winners.
Donald and Melania Trump were walking a charcoal-coloured carpet beneath a stark black-and-white MELANIA backdrop. Do you believe you'd be the man you are today if you hadn't met your wife? a reporter asked the US president. Trump smiled and said: He's asking me a very dangerous question! He went on to praise his wife without answering. When the reporter put the same question to Melania, she ventured: Well, we will all be in different places, I guess.
the founder and CEO of fitness technology company Whoop has found himself thrust into the center of a global controversy after his startup 's products became the unlikely breakout star of this year's Australian Open. It was not a typical viral moment. It happened after the top tennis players in the world across the women's and men's game, Aryna Sabalenka, Carlos Alcaraz, and Jannick Sinner, were all asked by umpires to remove their Whoop fitness devices from their wrists during the middle of their matches.
They also specifically asked not to have a TV script. Come the pitch, the agency brought in their chief strategist who acted out the viral script. Dean's reaction? "Scared shitless. We've got to do it." The campaign went on to create huge amounts of attention with the delight of people sharing it being one thing and the outrage of some adding to the high profile of the video.
"What's old is new again," Lam said. "I think brands are going to think about how to really inspire people in everything they do - from product development to other areas of business."
My childhood dream was to become a news anchor. I was obsessed with watching the news and inspired by women anchors such as Connie Chung and Barbara Walters. I would beg my parents to let me stay up late to watch them. I held on to that dream all the way until college. But once I took a few journalism classes, I learned something about myself that ruled it out as a career - I absolutely hated being on camera. I realized that what attracted me to journalism was storytelling and crafting a narrative that shapes how people understand and interpret the world.
These days, many Americans are looking for part-time or freelance work to earn extra money from home. However, getting a side hustle to supplement their income is not the only way to keep a little extra cash in their wallets every month. In fact, one of the major perks of landing a remote job is the time and money saved on commuting to work every day.
OpenAI's new LLM has revolutionized AI and opened up new possibilities for marketers. Here's a look at how three big-name brands have embraced the technology. In March, the AI lab OpenAI released GPT-4, the latest version of the large language model (LLM) behind the viral chatbot ChatGPT. Since then, a small number of brands have been stepping forward to integrate the new-and-improved chatbot into their product development or marketing efforts. To a certain extent, this has required some courage.
Mark Ritson, a leading figure in the world of marketing With a BSc and PhD in marketing, Mark has spent the past 25 years teaching his unique method to MBA students at some of the world's top business schools, including award-winning courses at London Business School, MIT and Melbourne Business School. Not only has he taught on these prestigious programs but his teaching has been widely acclaimed with Mark winning the teaching prize
Richardson succeeds Lynn Blashford, who is retiring after working at White Castle for 15 years, including the past six years as CMO, according to a press release emailed to Restaurant Dive. Richardson has worked at the fast food chain for more than 27 years in various marketing roles with increased responsibility, according to his LinkedIn profile. He will report to White Castle President Anthony Joseph. Prior to his promotion, Richardson served as vice president of marketing and public relations,
Nintendo, a company that regularly brings in billions of dollars each year , could have easily afforded to set up a real photoshoot to promote its upcoming line of coming to its New York City and San Francisco stores in February, but it looks like it might have used genAI instead. At least, that's what people think after looking at the photos of parents playing with their kids and the toys.
A typical AI-powered tool leverages the "knowledge" gained from previously processed image libraries. The more vivid these databases and the more additional information they include - like detailed descriptions of objects in pictures or other tags that may simplify visual object recognition- the better the final result a tool delivers. The origin of processed databases and the legal safety of generated images are other critical issues regarding AI-powered tool usage.
HOPWTR is kicking off its Drink Whatever You Want campaign, just as global curiosity peaks around the mysterious interstellar object 3i/ATLAS, which is currently making its way toward Earth. As headlines swirl about unidentified objects beneath U.S. waters and scientists debate whether 3i/ATLAS signals extraterrestrial life or just another space rock, HOPWTR is leaning directly into the moment with a simple message for consumers: drink whatever you want, because the aliens are coming anyway.
Our first-ever Social Media Dictionary offers a deep dive into the words that defined global conversations this year. And what was the word of the year? 'Aura' skyrocketed from relative obscurity to more than 31.9bn impressions, becoming a new cultural touchstone for millions. Boat dance 'Aura' originated in niche online communities, where it was used in early conversations about sports, fashion, and meme culture as a way to playfully talk about someone's vibe and presence.
Starbucks has poached a senior manager from E.l.f. Cosmetics as part of its ongoing quest to re-energize the Starbucks brand through cultural collaborations. Neiv Toledano has joined Starbucks as its senior marketing manager of fashion and beauty. While Starbucks has always had employees who have worked on collaborations, including in the fashion and beauty spaces, this is a first-of-its-kind dedicated role and a signal that Starbucks is placing a bigger premium on these types of partnerships.
Bowman will continue supporting her VB Group (vbgmarketing.com) clients while adding this new role that aligns with her long-standing commitment to helping transportation companies strengthen communication, compliance outreach, and strategic growth,
Deven grew up in a small town in southern Oregon, renowned for its extensive trail networks. He has held almost every job in the industry, from an unpaid shop groom to sales and service manager, and even PR and Marketing for several prominent cycling brands. With a deep love for cycling in all its forms, Deven advocates opening the sport to everyone and facilitating positivity.
Essentially what it refers to is someone or something presenting as straight but in reality is not. It's the exact opposite of 'queer-baiting', where someone or something presents as being queer without actually identifying as such. In 2018, people said Brokeback Mountain was an example of 'straight-baiting' as its advertising used the film's mixed-gendered couples in its marketing. This appeared to have lured numerous people in who probably wouldn't have gone to a gay film had they known that was at the its core.
