Table of contents for April 18, 2022 in Adweek

When Tanya Giles entered the television industry, streaming didn’t exist. Now, the executive heads up programming for one of the biggest names in digital media. Paramount, formerly ViacomCBS, named Giles chief programming officer of streaming last summer. That put her over programming decisions for Paramount+ and Pluto TV, helping to scale the company’s rapidly growing streaming division. Giles started at Paramount in 1995, back when the company was known simply as CBS. She started in the research department, arriving at the office at 7 a.m. to pull the ratings. But her passion for television began much earlier than that. “When I was 6, I used to memorize TV Guide schedules, and in college became a TV major. To say that I’m a fan of content is probably quite an understatement,” Giles…

Almost all of last year’s big reviews resulted in the businesses changing hands. Prominent examples include The Hershey Company, which sent its business to Horizon Media from incumbents UM and Dentsu; Home Depot, which moved its creative from The Richards Group to BBDO; Stellantis, which pulled its media from GroupM and awarded it to Publicis; and Philips, which severed relationships with its incumbent agencies to consolidate with Omnicom. Then there’s Coca-Cola, Cigna, Walmart, White Claw, Planet Fitness, Unilever, Daimler, Chanel, Dunkin’, Cigna, KFC. The list goes on.…

Brightfield Group polled 3,500 cannabis users and found the pandemic has spawned “a new crop of heavier, more frequent cannabis consumers.” That spells opportunity for brands to “show up and show off” to a wide array of buyers. 89% of cannabis consumers are aware of 4/20. 49% of cannabis consumers celebrate 4/20. 40% of cannabis consumers report “using more cannabis than usual” to celebrate 4/20. 47% of women cannabis users plan to take advantage of dispensary deals. 73% of users say price is the most important purchase factor. 62% of consumers report “daily” or “multiple times daily” use, up from 44% in 2019.…

Why has Tailored Brands decided to focus on inclusivity with its new campaign? One thing I’ve learned in my career is that representation not only matters, it is necessary to engender trust with your customer. We also heard from our employees internally how important it was that they see themselves and their communities represented in our advertising. Last year, we had a same-sex couple in our wedding campaign, and the internal and external response was overwhelming. When brands as well known as Men’s Wearhouse [one of Tailored Brands’ retailers] take steps like that, it has a true impact. What was the main inspiration for the campaign? My inspiration was the resurgence of ’90s trends and themes, and the response to fashion, music and culture from that time. We worked with…

Last year, the very foundation on which television advertising is bought and sold—Nielsen’s rating metrics—started to crumble. Following months of controversy and client outrage, the Media Rating Council pulled Nielsen’s national and local TV accreditation last September after the measurement company admitted it had undercounted TV viewership following its inability to maintain the integrity of its in-home panel during the Covid-19 pandemic. That was the proverbial final straw that prompted almost all the major media and holding companies to accelerate their own efforts to create alternative currencies to Nielsen’s, announcing partnerships with other measurement companies, and each other in some cases. “Nielsen ratings are broken,” Kelly Abcarian, evp, measurement and impact at NBCUniversal advertising and partnerships (and a former Nielsen exec), told Adweek in February. “Now it’s time for our…

For better or worse, American foods have a tendency to find their way to the far corners of the earth, which is why steak-flavored Doritos are popular in Europe and South Koreans give tins of Spam as gifts. But there’s a notable exception to the tradition of America exporting all of its treats: a 1.2-ounce oval-shaped confection from Britain that’s presently flying off store shelves before they all disappear come April 17. We speak, of course, of the Cadbury Creme Egg. Even if you don’t plan on eating any, you can’t miss them. Each year around this time, the seasonal confection takes over checkout lanes across America. According to data from RetailMeNot, Cadbury Creme Eggs are the third best-selling Easter candy in the U.S. In Britain, they’re more popular still:…

Two years after the pandemic shuttered a wave of alternative-weekly publishers across the country, the industry has emerged from the near-death experience leaner, wiser and, in some cases, radically transformed. In a bid to survive the overnight disappearance of their advertising business, many alt-weeklies experimented with a variety of new business tactics, including launching membership models, transitioning to nonprofit status and modernizing their digital infrastructure. “Publishers are feeling optimistic,” said Graham Jarrett, president of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia. “They are experimenting with new revenue models, growing more diverse and evolving in a really serious way.” Now, as small businesses reopen and advertising spend returns, alt-weeklies have found themselves at an inflection point, eager to build upon the success of their pandemic pivots while taking pains to preserve the egalitarian spirit…

GET TO THE SOUL In order to solve a problem, you’ve got to think about all of the different layers of the consumer’s experience. What are the external factors, category factors and our brand factors that could be impacting that consumer? And it’s really about triangulating that. That’s when you’re going to get to the soul—because the consumer is not just a consumer of your brand or the category. There are so many different factors that are at play, and brands that understand and respond to that are having so much more success. EMBRACE GOING OFF TRACK Early in my career, I was always chasing the next role, the next promotion, the next best thing. And what I learned is that there are dips in the path and pivots along…

Game shows are as old as TV itself. Hundreds have come and gone since Cash and Carry hit the airwaves in 1946. But none is better known than The Price Is Right, which debuted 65 years ago with host Bill Cullen. While most Americans remember TPIR’s post-1972 revamp starring Bob Barker, the show’s basic format remains the same: Contestants bid on prizes ranging from washing machines to cars, trying to hit the retail price without exceeding it. Companies vie to donate the prizes because a few seconds of exposure on TPIR is still among the best advertising to be had. In the early days, co-producer Bill Todman worried that people might be turned off by what’s essentially an hourlong string of commercials. But Drew Carey, host since 2007, recently explained…

Mediahub’s global leader, John Moore, hasn’t defended a piece of business in years. By the time accounts get to review, there’s usually no point. Moore bases his decision on what he knows to be true: Incumbents rarely succeed in reviews. “Any good CEO of an agency needs to understand that there are red flags and warning signs all over that account before it goes up for review,” Moore said. “And when it finally goes up for review, that means the agency just hasn’t been able to fix those problems.” Data confirms that jarring reality. Just 15% of agency incumbents retained business amid reviews in 2021, according to marketing consultancy R3. And the stakes were growing, with last year seeing 53.5% more new business reviews than in 2020. Despite the hurdles,…

To mark April 20, the dankest day on the cannabis calendar for fans and retailers, Wana Brands plans to donate $140,000 to nonprofit groups combating hunger in local communities across America. With its #4ward20 program, the Colorado-based edibles maker is encouraging consumers to join the fight against food insecurity by giving to Lorraine’s Soup Kitchen & Pantry in Massachusetts, Health in the Hood in Florida, Three Square in Nevada and other organizations. When they do, Wana will reward them with discounts on the brand’s gummies, tarts and tinctures. The charitable effort may not have been possible even a few years ago when philanthropies hesitated—or refused—to take money from cannabis companies, according to Wana CMO Joe Hodas. The continued normalization of cannabis and the spread of legalization to 38 U.S. states have…

There was a moment in 2021 when the fate of scripted network comedy seemed a little shaky. Watercooler talkers like Succession and Mare of Easttown kept cable dramas on top, while longtime fan favorites Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Black-ish prepared for their final seasons. For the first time in 50 years, NBC—once a leader in prime-time half-hour comedies—released a fall schedule that didn’t include a single one of them. Paired with a viewing public that statistically favors streaming over live broadcasts, it was unclear where the network sitcom stood with today’s audiences. Some critics even began to question whether the genre was dying out, citing a significant shift to streaming platforms and a generally overcrowded TV landscape. Then came Abbott Elementary, a spirited comedy created by writer and comedian Quinta Brunson…