Table of contents for March 14, 2016 in Adweek

In the wake of Maria Sharapova’s announcement last week that she had failed an anti-doping test due to her use of a recently banned heart medication she had been taking since 2006, numerous sponsors were quick to suspend ties with the 28-year-old tennis star. Among them were Nike (which notably stood by Lance Armstrong even after the United States Anti-Doping Agency supported claims that he had used performance-enhancing drugs), Porsche and TAG Heuer. Sharapova’s racket supplier, Australia-based Head, continued to stand by her, however. Three days after Sharapova’s revelation, Head CEO Johan Eliasch confirmed that the company planned to extend its sponsorship deal, saying that there was no “evidence of any intent by Maria of enhancing her performance or trying to gain an unfair advantage.”…

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles last week tapped DDB in Chicago as lead creative agency for both its Jeep and Alfa Romeo brands. Of late, FCA has made numerous changes in its agency lineup, with various shops coming and going in the past year. DDB had already produced a commercial for Jeep, “4x4ever,” which ran last month during Super Bowl 50. All told, FCA spent almost $220 million on measured media supporting Jeep and Alfa Romeo during the first nine months of 2015.…

American Apparel, the Los Angeles-based clothing retailer known for its risqué advertising, has been through some tumultuous times. It would be easy to point to Dov Charney, the controversial founder and former CEO who over the years has been embroiled in several sexual harassment lawsuits and then fired in 2014 for misconduct. But the retailer’s problems go deeper than Charney. The once publicly traded company hasn’t been profitable for five years, and in February it exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings as a private firm. American Apparel is now busy stitching together a new global marketing plan that’s said to be more reflective of today’s tastes and trends. Adweek recently spoke with Cynthia Erland, American Apparel’s svp of marketing, to hear how the company plans to spring forward. How are you…

‘We can tell stories that maybe celebrities don’t even think about telling themselves.’Leesa Coble, editor, Tiger Beat In the past six decades, youth culture—and the way it’s consumed—has undergone a major transformation. But there’s one important thing that hasn’t changed: teen girls’ obsession with fresh-faced celebrities. Now, Tiger Beat magazine is undergoing its own transformation in an effort to keep up with the times. Founded by Chuck Laufer in 1965, the newsstand staple has since been sold to a series of different owners and last year was purchased for $2 million by a group of 17 investors that includes The Daily Mail, finance entrepreneur Mark Patricof, TV host Nick Cannon, NBA star Kevin Durant, film producer and New York Giants chairman Steve Tisch, and music manager Scooter Braun (whose clients…

Specs Current gig Co-president, Mindshare Content+ Entertainment N.A. Twitter @gymanago Age 39 What was it like to transition from TV to becoming a creative guy in a media agency? When I started at Mindshare in the beginning [2005], it was all under this rubric of branded entertainment. [Mindshare’s chief content officer and I] always hated that—what is it? What’s happened over the past 10 years is as content has become so important in media plans and the marketing mix our group evolved. We always look at ourselves as a content and production group inside a media agency. Having never worked in an ad agency we didn’t understand how they traditionally worked—with a copywriter and art director going off and coming back with the idea. In the TV world it’s more…

The holding company unveiled a new structure for its media arm, Publicis Media. The move comes shortly after Publicis announced a massive restructuring plan late last year that aims to simplify the media side of the business. The network consolidated six of its global brands into four stand-alone agencies. Starcom and Zenith will operate as two separate agencies under Lisa Donohue and Vittorio Bonori, respectively. Mediavest I Spark, led by Brian Terkelsen, will combine to form the third, while Optimedia I Blue 449, under Andras Vigh, makes up the final agency.…

Specs Claim to fame Sharon Napier, CEO of Project: WorldWide agency Partners + Napier, is an entrepreneur and self-declared nonconformist. When not working, you’ll find her hanging out with her husband of 25 years and her two grown daughters (who were both crazy enough to join this industry too). Base New York Twitter @sharondnapier You can’t grow up in a large Italian family and not be a hugger. For one, it’s physically impossible to avoid the hugs. They come at you fast and loud and for all sorts of reasons. It’s your job to smile, open your arms and catch them. Yes, I’m a hugger. I dispense them with reckless abandon. You just got promoted? Bring it in. Your chocolate Lab died? That’s terrible, let’s hug it out. And maybe…

The A&E series follows the growth of the business, and the comings and goings of the family—from store openings to meeting the Pope. Seasons 6 and 7 have already been green-lit, even though ratings have tapered off. NOW THAT’S A BRAND AMBASSADOR Mark Wahlberg with Pope Francis in Philadelphia. THE LOGO I’LL EAT MANHATTAN Wahlburgers’ food truck hits Rockefeller Center. BBQ BACON BURGER CELEBRATION! Donnie Wahlberg at an opening in Coney Island. FAN CLUB Mark attends an opening in Orlando. SCAN HERE for a taste of Wahlburgers season 5.…

THE STYLE Introduced in 1977 and today as Style No. 98, checkerboard Vans are among the brand’s top five sellers and have been imitated by other brands. THE CHECKS When Vans noticed that kids were coloring in their waffle soles to make checkerboard patterns on their own, the company moved the pattern to the top of the shoe for them. THE SLIP The original Vans were lace-ups, but a slip-on model appeared as early as 1966. Freedom from laces later made the shoe popular with BMX riders. One afternoon, a sun-tanned 21-year-old actor named Sean Penn sauntered into the Vans store in Santa Monica, Calif., in search of a pair of comfortable shoes. Penn, who had recently landed a movie part playing a SoCal stoner dude named Jeff Spicoli, picked…

When Jane Rosenthal, along with husband Craig Hatkoff and actor Robert De Niro, co-founded The Tribeca Film Festival in 2002, the trio set out, in part, to make New York City a major hub for filmmaking. Now in its 14th year, the TFF is regarded as a preeminent film festival that draws celebrities, filmmakers, artists and, yes, even big-name advertisers. Famously, American Express was its first sponsor and continues to be an active brand in the festival’s activities. This year, the festival is partnering with another brand, Snapchat, launching a new media initiative called Tribeca Snapchat Shorts, where Snapchat users submit stories to be judged by celebrity journalists and Snapchatters like DJ Khaled. As Rosenthal prepares for the festival’s mid-April opening, we took a look inside her Tribeca office filled…

You can run, but you can’t hide from another upfront season, which kicked off March 2 as Nickelodeon celebrated its return to No. 1 in the 2-11 kids demo and announced enhancements to its partner marketing division, which has been renamed Nickelodeon Velocity. The following day featured two other Viacom channels, CMT and TV Land. Country-themed CMT is doubling its original programming in the coming year and branching into scripted series for the first time, while TV Land said last year’s rebrand is drawing more younger viewers than ever. On March 8, GSN vowed to do “more of the same,” per president and CEO David Goldhill, as its brand refresh several years ago has resulted in rising ratings and a younger audience. Meanwhile, Disney Channel has ditched its annual New…

The global communications officer for WPP agency J. Walter Thompson has filed a discrimination suit claiming that CEO Gustavo Martinez made a series of jokes about raping female colleagues and mocking minorities. In a statement provided to Adweek, Martinez denied the charges, saying, “I want to assure our clients and my colleagues that there is absolutely no truth to these outlandish allegations, and I am confident that this will be proven in court.”…

SAY YES TO THE DRESS New York’s Kleinfeld Bridal was already a success, but the long-running TLC series made it world famous. CAKE BOSS The TLC hit put Buddy Valastro and his bakery in Hoboken, N.J.—now a chain—on the map. LACHEY’S BAR A&E canceled this show about a Cincinnati bar owned by Nick Lachey and his brother Drew.…

Lego Education WeDo 2.0 Core Set $159 What do you get when you mix building blocks, robotics and coding? The answer is WeDo 2.0, Lego’s app-connected construction kit that helps elementary school-aged kids learn important STEM skills under the guise of, well, playing with Legos. Each WeDo system comes with a Bluetooth-enabled Smarthub, rotating motor, and tilt and motion sensors, all of which can be programmed through Lego’s easy-to-use, icon-based app for computers and tablets. The software includes instructions for building things like Milo the Science Rover (which teaches kids about real-life space rovers) and a Drop and Rescue vehicle (which requires kids to design a device that reduces the impact on humans and animals after a weather-related disaster). Buy it: legoeducation.com PLUG IT! Vision Quest ThinOptics Glasses and Pouch…

Specs Age 40 Claim to fame Actor/comedian (ABC’s Fresh Off the Boat, Adult Swim’s Childrens Hospital); co-host of the How Did This Get Made podcast; executive producer of Fox’s Party Over Here (Sundays, 11 p.m.) Base Los Angeles Twitter @paulscheer What’s the first information you consume in the morning? The first information I get is from Twitter. The second piece of information is usually something very exciting about Thomas the Train from my son. I don’t know if you’re following it at all, but there’s an issue between the Steamies and the Diesels. We’re hoping to get some resolution on the Island of Sodor. Who do you follow on Twitter? Besides the dumb ones I follow? There’s a Twitter account called Whoopi Pics that is just pictures of Whoopi Goldberg…