Table of contents for May 23, 2016 in Adweek

CBS What a difference a year makes. In 2015, Stephen Colbert was the talk of CBS’ upfront. But this year, he was quite literally an afterthought, as the network gave its other late-night host, James Corden, not one but two showstopping moments: a taped Carpool Karaoke segment with network ad sales chief Jo Ann Ross and a Hamilton number onstage. ABC Networks claim that all of their new shows are sensational, but with rare programs, they seem to actually believe it. That was the case with ABC’s mic drop to finish to its presentation, when instead of just showing a sizzle reel for its new Kiefer Sutherland drama, Designated Survivor, the network screened the entire first act. NBCUNIVERSAL NBCUniversal crammed two broadcast networks and 15 cable networks into a single…

The Congress of Vienna probably received less build-up than Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s meeting with Glenn Beck and 14 other conservative political commentators last week, and the powwow seemed to bring peace to social medialand. Zuckerberg invited them to his company’s headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., to address a recent report where a former Facebook staffer claimed that the social network was omitting buzzy, right-leaning stories from its prominent news section called Trending. Beck came away convinced that Facebook was not a left-wing agent of censorship, later writing on his blog that “they are acting in good faith and share some very deep, fundamental principles with people who believe in the principles of liberty and freedom of speech.”…

‘There has been some discussion that not all business is worth having.’Tom Finneran, evp, agency management services, 4A’s The ongoing McDonald’s creative review initially included all three of the industry’s largest holding companies. But WPP made headlines earlier this month for bowing out (leaving incumbents Publicis and Omnicom in the running), and the alleged reasons behind its decision are even more intriguing. The client required competitors to complete their respective pitches in 60 days, with a June 30 deadline, and presented contracts forbidding future partners from turning a profit on base compensation, according to sources with direct knowledge of the matter. Agencies would allegedly operate at cost before meeting unspecified targets for performance-based pay. “Clients have always had the power,” said Bryan Wiener, executive chairman of 360i. “And performance-based compensation…

‘Instead of power residing only at the top of an outdated organizational chart, we’ll see flatter, more flexible organizations that quickly form and reform in response to fast-changing needs.’ A good thing about getting old in this business is that you’ve actually lived through all the changes and survived the perennial predictions of ad agency extinction. Along the way you’ve also observed, maybe even been a part of, any number of power shifts. But when I was asked by Adweek’s editors to contribute a few lines about the evolution of power within our industry, my thoughts went immediately to the one thing that’s remained constant throughout my 60 years in the business: creative power—the power of an idea to transform the meaning, and thus the fortunes, of brands. In the…

To assemble Adweek’s second annual Power List, we considered the profiles and results of global corporate titans, taking into account such criteria as company value, revenue and revenue growth, market performance, consumer reach and affinity, their standing among rivals, the number of employees overseen, key acquisitions and partnerships, industry accolades and media buzz. This list is not intended as a ranking based solely on earnings ups and downs or the fluctuations of a company’s work force, nor is it designed to chart executives’ progress—or lack thereof—year over year. An executive’s standing in last year’s rankings largely does not figure into our calculations this year. There are many intangibles. Image counts a lot, as does the volume of news a company contributes to the Adweek stream. For example, Google’s Larry Page,…

June 6 Food A look at the hottest marketing trends in the industry, centered around the inaugural list of the 30 Most Influential in Food Media & Marketing. C 5/24 B Food & Wine Classic (6/17-19) June 13 Cannes Lions An inside look at the happenings on the Croisette during the biggest fête of creatives in the world. SPECIAL SECTION AUDIENCE TARGETING GUIDE C 5/31 B Cannes Lions (6/18-25) June 20 CMO Report 2 (CPG) Second in quarterly series spotlighting major ad sector – focusing on the most newsworthy trends and marketers in the category. C 6/7 June 27 Sports/Olympics A playbook on what to expect when the year’s sports marketing MVP’s hit the playing field. featuring 25 MOST POWERFUL WOMEN IN SPORTS SPECIAL SECTION RETAIL & SHOPPER MARKETING GUIDE…

Since being acquired by Apple in 2014, Beats by Dre has been in expansion mode under the leadership of marketing vp and Wieden + Kennedy veteran Jason White. While the firm has worked with R/GA and its own in-house production unit to make most of its biggest ads to date, it recently reached out to various shops to find a new creative partner to spearhead that growth. This week reliable sources told Adweek that Beats had awarded unspecified creative duties to MDC Partners’ Anomaly. Neither the agency nor the client responded to queries, but sources claim the New York shop beat out rivals including 72andSunny. Sources also said that the news does not affect the client’s relationship with R/GA, which was not involved in the review.…

The annual broadcast upfronts week has wrapped, as the networks spent four days wooing buyers with their new schedules, lots of impressive-sounding stats (some figures were more accurate than others) and, most importantly, open bars and buffets. And while each company made distinctive pitches in an effort to grab the biggest slice of the upfront pie, several universal themes emerged from the week—and not just that everyone had the same idea to incorporate Hamilton (the Broadway musical was mentioned during four different events and inspired three musical numbers). The biggest trends that emerged: DOWN WITH DIGITAL While the networks took a few swipes at one another, they each saved their heaviest artillery for digital video companies like Facebook and YouTube, which had just spent the two weeks of NewFronts claiming…

The McDonald’s creative review comes as the fast-food chain is in the midst of a recovery. Q1 earnings marked the company’s third straight quarterly sales gain, driven in large part by its much-hyped all-day breakfast offering. Yet the turnaround comes on the heels of a decade-long struggle for McDonald’s, which has an ongoing relationship with both remaining competitors in the review: Omnicom and Publicis Groupe. In 2015, the company’s agency of record DDB faced off against Leo Burnett, with the latter ultimately winning lead duties on the subsequent breakfast campaign. WPP’s decision to drop out of the current review makes Omnicom and Publicis the last shops standing as McDonald’s seeks to consolidate its marketing efforts by partnering with a single creative agency.…

Each year, Dentsu’s out-of-home agency Posterscope conducts its Outdoor Consumer Study that zeroes in on a range of sought-after demographics. Tech-savvy consumers—people who describe themselves as such, love to buy tech gadgets and also give tech-related advice—are among the most coveted. The OCS study was able to target these consumers to gain information about their online habits and behaviors. “At a time when the omni-connected, tech-savvy consumers are bombarded with constant advertisements, OCS provides the necessary data for selecting out of home in places where our clients can engage their audiences,” said Posterscope USA svp, director of insights Clare-Marie Panno. Best of all, these consumers are ready and willing to shell out cash. 18 MAY 23, 2016 | ADWEEK…

Running an agency requires midnight oil, salesmanship of the highest order, a deep keel, guts, thrust, and a genius for sustaining the morale of men and women who work in a continuous state of anxiety. It is popularly believed that advertising attracts neurotics who are naturally prone to anxiety. I don’t believe this. What happens in agencies is enough to induce anxiety among the most phlegmatic people. The copywriter lives with fear. Will he have the big idea before Tuesday morning? Will the client buy it? Will it get a high test score? Will it sell the product? I have never sat down to write an advertisement without thinking THIS TIME I AM GOING TO FAIL. The account executive also has reasons for anxiety. He represents the agency to the…

THE DOORS The Mercedes 300SL had gullwing doors. So did the DeLorean. Tesla calls these doors “Falcon Wings,” but some owners have complained they won’t open. THE PROFILE Model X’s sinuous body boasts a drag coefficient 20 percent lower than the closest competing SUV, and the car can still fit seven people. THE GLASS Pioneering and panoramic, the “Big Sky” windshield offers an “unparalled view,” though the raked angle reportedly also causes double vision. THE LOGO Tesla’s stylized “T” in a shield is the work of Prado Studio, which also designed the logo for SpaceX, which happens to be Elon Musk’s other company. Some of us old enough to remember the 1980s know that Tesla used to be a hair-metal band. Others who paid attention in history class know that…

The past year has seen plenty of shake-ups on the business side at Condé Nast, and last week some equally momentous news came from its editorial ranks: Amy Astley, founding editor in chief of Teen Vogue, is taking over Architectural Digest, while a trio of editors—including beauty and health director Elaine Welteroth, digital editorial director Phillip Picardi and creative director Marie Suterwas appointed to run Teen Vogue. At AD, Astley replaces Margaret Russell, who has been the magazine’s editor since 2010.…

 If 2012 was the “Twitter Election,” this year’s presidential race is more about zingers in the form of memes and GIFs than 140 characters—especially with presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump socking it to his rivals daily on social media. ‘Memes are aimed at younger voters, who are really good bullshit detectors.’Jordan Cohen, CMO, Fluent Such buzzy blurbs can be funny, they can be mean, they can go viral, and they can backfire. Whatever the result, marketing experts believe that Trump and the Democrats—whether Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders is the nominee—will need to sharpen their skills around using such formats. “Memes and GIFs are the perfect expression in the era of snark and Snapchat,” explained marketing consultant David Deal. “And the 2016 election is already a troll’s dream.” The numbers…

‘Activism is from the heart, and it needs an anthem. And music has always been this amazing unifier.’ Money can’t buy a ticket to one of the hottest concerts of the year, and that’s just how Hugh Evans likes it. The CEO of education and advocacy group Global Citizen wants people to mobilize to fight extreme poverty in the world, and when they do—via lobbying Congress, signing petitions, tweeting decision makers—they’ll win a chance to see chart-topping acts for free in New York’s Central Park. Global Citizens, as members are called, have taken millions of individual actions in this battle since 2012, starting what Evans calls a “sustainable movement, not a flash in the pan.” The Global Citizen Festival, timed to coincide with the UN General Assembly meeting in September,…

Growing up, were you an Esquire reader? Sure I was. I tell this story in my first editor’s letter, when I was about 13 or 14 and growing up in San Antonio, I started getting into magazines, and Esquire and The New Yorker were two magazines that I just got curious about and wanted to know more about. They were probably both a little above my head at the time. But I started having that experience with magazines that I envision still being the most powerful thing a magazine can do, that kind of religious conversion where you realize you want to see this thing every month. So that was the beginning. What made Esquire such an important brand? Because it was genre-busting. When you have Nora Ephron writing about…

Hero Smart Pill Dispenser $599 Managing a daily regimen of prescription medications, vitamins and supplements can be a pain. Brooklyn-based startup Hero Health is trying to make the process a whole lot easier with a new smart appliance that organizes, schedules, dispenses and tracks pills for you and your family. Just drop your pills into an empty cartridge and slide it in—Hero holds more than a month’s worth of 10 different medications—then follow the prompts on the LCD screen to identify and schedule them. When it’s time for a dose, just push a button and Hero will automatically drop the correct pills into the dispensing cup below. The connected Hero app sends reminders, lets you know when you (or someone else, like a child or elderly relative) have missed a…

What’s the first information you consume in the morning? I read the morning newspaper from Sweden, DN.se. When it comes to coverage of world affairs, I prefer to read Swedish newspapers. There are some great American papers, like The New York Times, but I think I’m just used to the Swedish point of view. Your character on the most recent season of House of Cards, Gov. Will Conway, is constantly using social media as a campaigning tool. Are you a big social media person? No, not really, actually. I’m not on Twitter. I finally caved and joined Instagram, but I’ve only been on there for about six months. It’s kind of fun. As a way to connect with people, I enjoy it. But I don’t think it has any worth…