Adweek

For ADWEEK’s October issue, Starbucks is betting on its “Back to Starbucks” plan can revive the third place with warmer service and smarter operations. But layoffs, store closures, union tensions, and rising costs threaten trust. Read the full cover story 👉 https://adweek.it/4rMELDg

Here are the daily rating for Thursday, Oct. 22: Fox remains No. 1 in total viewers and demo. MS NOW won the 11 p.m. ET hour in the Adults 25-54 demo. MS NOW was second in total viewers and the total day demo; CNN was No. 2 in the primetime demo. Read more 👇

At Bravo Fan Fest in Charleston, @nbcuniversal.com is bringing brands into the heart of the Bravo universe. Leaders Kimberly Francella and Sari Feinberg share how they collaborate with partners to create fan-first activations that make the event even more memorable.

Less stuff, more experiences. In a survey of 4,000 U.S. consumers conducted by Deloitte in August and September, 50% said they plan to shop for experience-based gifts such as a meal or gift card for a restaurant, tickets to an event, or subscription services.

Liquid I.V. has hired Poppi’s former CMO, Jenny Danzi, to lead its marketing department. Danzi will oversee its marketing, creative, and consumer teams, with a brief to unite Liquid I.V.’s “science-backed foundation with modern, culture-driven brand building,” per a statement.

Bravo Fan Fest brought fans together to celebrate their favorite shows and Bravo personalities, and brands joined in on the fun too! Colgate Optic White, @planetfitness.bsky.social, State Farm, Wayfair, and Wendy’s each offered experiences with fans in mind. Read more 👉 https://adweek.it/3SRNSWt

It's official: Jay-Z will headline the Apple Music Super Bowl LXI Halftime Show. “Thirty years of music, work, and culture on the world’s biggest stage. This run continues to be a dream come true,” Jay-Z said in a statement. Learn more 👉 https://adweek.it/4yOA4Ll

After @paramountpictures.bsky.social and Warner Bros. Discovery merged to form Skydance, chief revenue officer Jay Askinasi named his advertising leadership team in a staff memo, following the exits of WBD ad sales leaders Ryan Gould and Bobby Voltaggio.

For the week of October 12, Fox News, MS NOW, and CNN all gained viewers week over week in primetime and total day. CNN posted the strongest demo growth and passed MS NOW for second in total-day Adults 25–54.

As Strava broadens its audience, it’s also competing with a broader array of fitness apps. The differentiator for Wee is community, reinforced by shareable cards that allow people to stay connected on social media and in their DMs.

Stagwell, led by Mark Penn, has acquired Freestar, an ad monetization company serving more than 1,000 publishers and handling 50 billion ad requests each month. Read more 👉 https://adweek.it/3W7wmib

Anthropic has filed for a potentially record-setting IPO, reporting $11.56 billion in second-quarter 2026 revenue—up from $787 million a year earlier—and $974 million in operating income, its only profitable quarter disclosed.

Pinterest has made its Programmatic Deals broadly available across North and South America and Asia Pacific, allowing advertisers to buy its display and video inventory through Amazon Ads DVA+, Google Display & Video 360, and Yahoo DSP.

Seth Rogen stars in Sephora’s “We All Sephora” holiday campaign, helping shoppers find beauty gifts with advice from store staff. Sephora will launch it Oct. 29 across TV, streaming, and social, with Rogen’s picks available online and in the app. Read more 👉 https://adweek.it/4yGTscQ

Motherly is shifting its business toward vertical video, podcasts, WhatsApp group chats, and in-person events. In doing so, the publisher aims to offset declining search traffic by building a highly engaged community around socially native, fact-based reporting.

An old saying goes that the first thing people notice about someone is their shoes. For some brands, that same logic has made footwear one of the most powerful vehicles to break into culture. Read the full article 👉 https://adweek.it/4k6A2dJ

It’s tough to find an authentic way for a brand with so many diverse interests to go to market cohesively, especially when it’s trying to participate in the cultural conversation, but Land O’Lakes is cracking the problem.

@jessicatarlov.bsky.social's plea is for you to get out and #vote!

As @primevideo.bsky.social enters the fifth season of its 11-year Thursday Night Football deal, Amazon is expanding its sports advertising offerings. TNF advertisers grew 6% year over year, with double-digit growth in several categories, and 17% were new to TNF and Prime Video.

@polymarket.com has reportedly fired CMO Matthew Modabber after a series of controversies according to the New York Post. Recent scrutiny includes allegations of fake promotional videos, bets placed with stolen card numbers, and possible insider trading. Read more 👉 https://adweek.it/4yEzkIm

On a Comcast earnings call on Thursday, executives noted that the World Cup generated incremental advertising of $224 million in the third quarter, reaching $664 million in total. See all the numbers from the earnings call below👇

Speaking on the Marketing Vanguard stage at last month's Brandweek, Dentsu X's Bruce Williams noted how “experience platforming” has helped tear down silos and fragmentation in media buying and brand experiences. Learn more 👇

According to multiple reports, Elon Musk has invested around $1 billion into Skydance. Musk has a long history with Skydance co-CEO David Ellison’s father, Larry Ellison, who previously invested in Musk’s deal for X and also invested in Tesla. Read more 👉 https://adweek.it/4izzrQG

Common Interest is expanding its U.S. presence by taking a minority stake in Los Angeles-based agency Mirimar. The deal will see Mirimar’s founders and partners become equity holders in Common Interest, giving the two companies shared ownership.

McDonald’s is ending its FIFA World Cup sponsorship after 32 years amid an overhaul to its marketing model. The split follows McDonald’s biggest-ever World Cup campaign this summer, which the company said at the time was its largest marketing push of 2026. Read more 👉 https://adweek.it/47H1rf5

BREAKING | WPP has retained Coca-Cola’s global media account and Omnicom has won its North American business after two separate competitive reviews and weeks of speculation. Read more 👉 https://adweek.it/4Bn57QA

99 Ranch Market is expanding as Asian food grows in popularity. To connect with shoppers, the chain launched its first cookbook, Did You Eat Yet?, featuring 88 recipes and stories from employees, while also investing in online sales and plans to open stores near Chicago and Phoenix in 2027.

In this episode of Adspeak by ADWEEK, Angela Voss, CEO at Marketing Architects, and Dale Harrison, chief strategy and innovation officer at The Insight Collective, challenge conventional marketing wisdom and explore why broad, consistent reach is essential to driving market share growth.

EXCLUSIVE | Dentsu Creative will lead Diageo’s U.S. trade and shopper marketing. The deal expands a 25-year relationship and brings work from multiple agencies under Dentsu. The agency will help shape strategy, experiences, and build on more than 100,000 events it has already delivered for Diageo.

After a long hiatus, daily ratings for CNN, Fox News, and MS NOW are returning to TVNewser today. The updated ratings will use interactive charts to show total viewership and the Adults 25–54 demo in a clearer, more user-friendly format.

Advertisers have had their issues with Meta’s AI features for a long time. What appears to be more recent developments are Meta’s AI making enhancements without being asked, and the liability for any inaccuracies landing on the advertiser.

Walmart is opening its shopping platform to AI agents through a new portal and beta Agent Gateway, which uses the Model Context Protocol to help agents shop efficiently without accessing customers’ personal information or purchase histories.

Meta reported third-quarter ad revenue of $63.1 billion, up 26% year over year, as impressions rose 10% and average ad prices increased 14%. AI improvements boosted engagement and ad performance, with Meta’s GEM model increasing conversions by 1.7% for off-site campaigns and 9.6% for app ads.

Publicis Groupe has appointed Scott Hagedorn as Marcel’s first CEO as it expands the AI platform into a client-facing tool used by thousands of employees for more than 90 clients. Hagedorn, who joined Publicis in 2022, will lead the effort with Sam Levine Archer, Marcel’s new chief strategy officer.

LePub has hired Shannon Nunn to lead its New York office as CEO. He will oversee operations across the US, reporting to Susie Nam, CEO of Publicis Creative U.S., and Bruno Bertelli, global CEO and CCO of LePub Worldwide. Read more 👉 https://adweek.it/4BmNpgg

PepsiCo and AB InBev veteran Sebnem Erim is Diageo North America’s new chief marketing officer. She said she was excited to help shape the future of its iconic brands. Diageo owns about 200 brands, including Tanqueray, Smirnoff, Captain Morgan, and Guinness. But North America is a challenge.

Cuttable, an Australian startup that turns brands’ photo and video assets into AI ads across Meta and TikTok, has raised $20 million in Series A funding. View the pitch deck below 👇

Whatnot's first national spot stars New York Giants' Cam Skattebo plunging his head through the walls of three sellers busy shooting their livestreams. Learn more about Whatnot's first national campaign 👉 https://adweek.it/3UEQBTV

As fans await Apple Music’s next Super Bowl halftime headliner, the platform has unveiled a new “made by sound” identity created with TBWA\Media Arts Lab. Working with Fred Again and Nest Acoustics, the team filmed musical vibrations rippling through mineral oil.

Best Buy and IGN are launching Best Buy Gamers, a beta portal featuring gaming reviews, videos, and exclusive content, as well as holiday programming on IGN, including a gift guide and shoppable livestream.

On Thursday, Grindr will host its third Pleasure Ball in New York City, a Halloween party and costume contest. The LGBTQ+ dating app hopes it will become the “gay rival to the Met Gala,” said chief marketing officer Tristan Pineiro. This year’s party is backed by Absolut, Lyft, and Back Market.

@cnn.com has introduced a new homepage layout, including a new video carousel at the top to showcase live channels and on-demand offerings included in CNN’s DTC subscription product, All Access.

In a previous Q1 earnings report, Netflix said it was targeting $3 billion in ad revenue for 2026, which would double its take year over year. However, in its latest quarterly earnings, Netflix is adjusting its expectations, targeting $2.7 billion instead.

Target has debuted “Academy of Giftology,” a holiday campaign starring D’Arcy Carden that is aimed at helping customers find gifts they’ll be excited to give and that loved ones will be excited to receive. Learn more about the campaign 👉 https://adweek.it/4dRmhvO

Kalshi latest campaign features NBA player Dillon Brooks playfully using a device that mutes any mention of his rival, Lebron James. And Kalshi is offering The King Blocker as a real product that fans can enter to win. Learn more 👉 https://adweek.it/4zMddko

Salesforce has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Braze for roughly $5.66 billion. In an investor presentation filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Salesforce said it will fund the deal entirely in cash, and that Braze will boost growth but dilute profitability in the near term.

Netflix has announced updates to its in-house advertising platform, Netflix Ad Suite, showcasing improved buying, planning, and results. Learn about them all below 👇

The FTC has approved Publicis Groupe’s $2.2 billion acquisition of LiveRamp. The order comes with strict guidelines Publicis must adhere to for the next five years in an effort to ensure competitors have “neutral and nondiscriminatory access to LiveRamp Holdings Inc.’s products and services."

Robert Downey Jr. has joined Snap Inc.’s Specs brand as honorary chief customer experience officer, working across product innovation, marketing experiences, original content, hardware, and in-person events. Learn more 👉 https://adweek.it/4shl0nG

Music, Fashion, Film, Vodka. Absolut has signed a two-year partnership with Charli XCX in a collaboration that will include limited-edition drops, collectible items, custom glassware, and fan events. Learn more 👉 https://adweek.it/4BhzKa8

Jay-Z is brushing the dirt off his shoulder, and his set list, with the rapper reportedly set to headline the Super Bowl XLI halftime show. The NFL, Apple, and Roc Nation didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Learn more 👉 https://adweek.it/47wny7T