Table of contents for April 5, 2021 in Adweek

Khartoon Weiss knows there’s a disconnect between advertisers and Gen Z. It’s unavoidable from her perch as head of global agency and accounts at TikTok. Weiss views her role, which she started in August after a two-year stint at Spotify, like that of a translator between “predominantly 20th-century organizations” and the ultra-young users that dominate the social video app. For the first seven months of her tenure, she worked with brands and agencies to help them understand how their efforts can be “culturally relevant” to an audience that doesn’t care much for tradition. Weiss once wanted to be a doctor. “I like to caretake, and I like to fix,” she said, noting that while she didn’t end up going to medical school, she tries to apply that nurturing sensibility and…

Adweek has heard the drumbeat from our community of marketers for more than a year: To succeed in business and connect with consumers, brands must do good. These executives, including many founders, CEOs and C-suite pros, tie doing good with business results and are pushing ahead in DEI, clean water, sustainable packaging, women’s rights and more. Each winner is tied to one of the U.N.’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—the most widely accepted blueprint for ensuring a healthy society. KINDA LINCOLN CEO, Raven + Lily Fourteen years ago, Hollywood art director and costume designer Kirsten Dickerson found herself in Mumbai, India, meeting an organization that worked with girls who’d been rescued from brothels. Dickerson had long been committed to social causes but was surprised by the beauty of the crafts…

Americans have made so many pandemic purchases that ecommerce has essentially experienced two winter holiday shopping seasons in the 12-month period from March 2020 through February 2021. Last year, U.S. consumers spent $813 billion online, up 42% compared to 2019, according to Adobe’s Digital Economy Index. Adobe predicts ecommerce will surpass $1 trillion in 2022. While buying via the web is more convenient for shoppers, it also puts more pressure on the environment. A handful of disjointed items thrown into a box and shipped to a home in the suburbs involves more packaging and carbon emissions than driving to a local shop. And though the buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS) option is growing in popularity, Adobe found that only 30% of online consumers prefer it over delivery. Merchandise…

How did you get to where you are today? Any noteworthy “aha” moments along the way? A lot of luck, hard work and people helping me along the way. I realized that I can’t always pay it back, but I can always pay it forward; do the same for someone else. What’s the most innovative thing you’re currently working on? Becoming more community-driven and operating our marketing at the speed of culture. ‘It’s so necessary for me that my teams represent the range of colors and voices that make a community strong.’ On community-driven: Marketing can bring people together and provide a platform to help share stories to add dimension to how the brand is perceived (shout-out to the #digimob). On moving at the speed of culture: Every brand wants…

How do we build sustainability into how we grow our brands? What can CMOs do to drive change? How do we focus our efforts to make a measurable difference? These were just a few questions that members of the new Adweek Sustainability Council considered during their first gathering in March. Comprising 23 CMOs and chief sustainability officers from some of the world’s top brands, including Procter & Gamble, GE, Target and Visa, the council is tasked with identifying the biggest challenges and opportunities brands face in advancing environmental practices, social purpose and equality. An outgrowth of Adweek’s long-standing focus on corporate sustainability efforts, as well as its successful 40-plus member DEI Council, the Sustainability Council will work to bridge the gap between leadership, brand and purpose to propel sustainability forward.…

Google Chrome’s proposed alternative to third-party cookies for ad targeting, known as FLoC, is now open to external testing in certain parts of the world. The trial will begin across North American and Asia-Pacific regions as part of the Privacy Sandbox rollout, meaning companies outside of Google will be able to test the developing technologies for the first time. However, FLoC testing will be delayed for an uncertain period of time in the European Economic Area over lingering doubts about its compatibility with GDPR.…

The catalyst for becoming more sustainably minded came around six years ago when I quit fast fashion. Instead, I vowed to buy only from ethical companies. My wallet became my way of voting in favor of brands that put people and the planet before profit. Living a more sustainable lifestyle needs to be both a priority and manageable for people, and it needs to be happening now. While we know that tackling the health of our planet is vital, it’s not always easy. Take, for example, the pandemic. Our air may be temporarily cleaner as a direct impact of less air travel, but we’ve taken huge steps back in our single-use consumption, à la disposable face masks littering the streets. In working with some of the world’s most recognizable brands,…

How did you get to where you are today? By speaking up, being ready and willing to be a part of the solution to the problems that I was pointing out. One of the most pivotal moments in my career was in July 2016, the week of the murders of unarmed Black men, Philando Castile and Alton Sterling, at the hands of the police. When I walked into the agency I was working at, I felt as though almost no one understood that my community was suffering. I spoke up about why this was a major oversight when it comes to our work. I wanted to be a part of the shift towards a solution. How do you view work-life integration, especially now, and what advice can you share with…

As you read these words, a team of writers and animators at Warner Bros. is working on a much-buzzed cartoon film slated for a 2023 release. It will be funny, of course, but it will finally air the details of an ugly legal dispute that’s been festering since 1948. And after 75 years of having shoddy mail-order products malfunction on him, Wile E. Coyote just might see some justice once Coyote v. Acme hits theaters Even though most of the millions of kids who grew up watching Road Runner were cheering for the bird, it’s hard not to ache for the poor prairie wolf who never catches him. Nor, for that matter, could one fail to raise an eyebrow over the appalling performance of the Rocket Skates, the Jet Propelled…