Table of contents for February 8, 2016 in Adweek

From 1994 to 1995, the American public was utterly captivated by the O.J. Simpson murder case. Now, more than 20 years later, the story is proving just as engrossing as ever. FX’s American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson debuted last Tuesday night to stellar ratings, its 5.1 million viewers (including 2.5 million in the 18-49 demo) making it the network’s most-watched original drama premiere since The Shield in 2002. The Ryan Murphy-helmed series, based on a book by New Yorker writer and CNN chief legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, was also a hit with critics, garnering the best aggregate review total of any TV premiere this year, according to Metacritic.…

Within 48 hours last week, Sumner Redstone went from executive chairman of both CBS Corp. and Viacom to being replaced at both companies. On Wednesday, CBS Corp. appointed Les Moonves as its chairman, replacing the ailing Redstone, who is 92. The following day, Viacom announced that its president and CEO Philippe Dauman had been named executive chairman. Redstone, who vowed never to retire (even going as far to declare that he would never die), is now chairman emeritus at both companies. The news came two weeks after Viacom and CBS were sued by a shareholder, who questioned Redstone’s mental competence—which led investors to wonder whether Redstone should continue running both companies.…

‘Women today have different needs than we have had in the past, but beauty companies haven’t necessarily been the most reactive to that.’Emily Weiss, Glossier Considering its obsession with the new and innovative, the beauty industry has remained surprisingly stagnant over the past half century, with 70 percent of the $60 billion makeup market still under the control of just 10 conglomerates. Something that has changed drastically, however, is buyer behavior. Whereas older generations of consumers pledged loyalty to one or two department store beauty counters, today’s young women are comfortable going on Sephora.com to purchase a product they only just learned about from a YouTube vlogger. Now, a group of savvy entrepreneurs is taking advantage of this evolving landscape by launching direct-to-consumer beauty and grooming brands like Glossier, Stowaway,…

Getting a brand’s message in front of an eSports audience isn’t as simple as buying a TV spot. “Advertisers need to be open to a less traditional approach of integrating their brand into the actual content,” explained Turner Sports’ Craig Barry. Here, some tips on how to score points: DO IT YOURSELF Rather than simply sponsor tournaments, brands like Red Bull and Intel have created their own, which shows gamers they’re truly invested in this space. “Intel is probably the biggest eSports brand,” said Mathieu Lacrouts, founder, CEO of Paris-based eSports ad agency Hurrah. PROVE YOUR VALUE Find out the brand value that you want to talk about that makes sense to the gaming audience. “You’ve got to find which one of those actually layers into the eSports environment,” said…

Specs Current gig Chief strategy officer, iCrossing Previous gig Brand strategy vp, TripAdvisor Twitter: @bologniac Age 58 You’ve been in the industry now for more than 25 years. What is technology in advertising like now compared to when you began? I think there are two significant shifts in the industry. One is that we have not seen this level of disruption since the invention of the television. The second is we are no longer a business-to-consumer economy. We are a c-to-b economy, which means the consumer is empowered to be in control. They have the tools and technology to actually control their entire lives. Back then in the ‘50s, systems had to be created. It was the commercial, the pod, the advertisement. It started with soap opera, right? So now…

After seven years, Nationwide is no longer on McKinney’s side. Last week, the insurance giant said it would “move in another direction regarding our creative work.” The shop, a unit of Cheil Worldwide, helped develop Nationwide’s “Join the Nation” campaign, and produced a Super Bowl spot for the client in 2015 starring Mindy Kaling. (It did not create the much derided “Make Safe Happen” commercial—the one with the dead kid—for last year’s game. That was Ogilvy & Mather.) Nationwide’s ad outlay has been around $300 million in recent years. Sources told Adweek’s AgencySpy blog that the business was shifting to Ogilvy, but an agency spokesperson deferred to the client, which declined to elaborate on whether it had conducted a review and which agency or agencies it will work with moving…

The retail world was sent into overdrive last week when Sandeep Mathrani, CEO of mall operator General Growth Properties, said during an earnings call that Amazon was planning to open 300 to 400 brick-and-mortar bookstores. While Mathrani later backtracked, saying that his statement “was not intended to represent Amazon’s plans,” Re/code later reported that Amazon is, in fact, planning to open more bookstores (as well as other types of stores). Amazon has yet to comment.…

‘The synergies can be executed globally.’Matt Candy, vp of the European division of IBM Interactive Experience For the past few years, IBM has been quietly ramping up its ad tech play, but a recent shopping spree really had digital marketers take notice. Big Blue last week picked up European interactive agencies Aperto and ecx.io—right on the heels of buying creative shop Resource/Ammirati and closing a deal for The Weather Company’s data-rich digital properties. Those four acquisitions represent a panoply of online marketing capabilities—from customer experience to ad targeting. “The one-plus-one will certainly equal more than two,” said Matt Candy, vp of the European division of IBM Interactive Experience, noting the units will work cohesively for his company’s clients, which include Jaguar, Citi and Staples. “The synergies can be executed globally.”…

THE DOME Envisioned as a genie, Mr. Clean was bald from the start. As times have changed, some have suggested he looks more like a sailor than a genie. But he never had hair. THE MAN After P&G ran its “Give Mr. Clean a First Name” contest in 1962, the character was given the name Veritably—as in Veritably Clean. Cute, huh? THE EARRING An early sketch of Mr. Clean in 1957 featured him wearing a nose ring. P&G executives preferred the ear version instead, and he’s worn one ever since. THE SHIRT A blindingly white T-shirt has been Mr. Clean’s standard uniform since 1958. Along with his muscles, it’s also fueled chatter that Mr. Clean is gay. He’s alive! Though Mr. Clean has spent most of his life as a…

After almost 100 years in Manhattan, pre-eminent business magazine Forbes packed its offices last year and hopped over the Hudson River to New Jersey. Now located in downtown Jersey City, the office boasts sprawling views of Manhattan and the river and serves as the hub for the Forbes Media state of the art newsroom. The space also provided a blank slate for Forbes CEO Mike Perlis to reimagine his new digs. His ninth-floor perch is outfitted with mementos and items collected over this 30-plus years in the media world, which has included stints at Playboy, Ziff Davis and even a spell in the VC world at SoftBank Capital. As it turns out, the move out of New York hasn’t been that difficult. “Jersey City is just a little bit farther,”…

Yahoo, fighting to set the company on a more profitable course, is planning to slash 15 percent of its workforce and shutter legacy products while also putting greater emphasis on search, email and Tumblr. The news came during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call last Tuesday afternoon. Yahoo also plans to shut down some digital magazines and consolidate content for others. CEO Marissa Mayer said the company would focus on four key areas that have been strong for the firm in the past: news, sports, finance and lifestyle. “The only jokes I regret have been on social media.”LENA DUNHAM AT THE AMERICAN MAGAZINE MEDIA CONFERENCE…

‘The more that agencies and media speak out about diverse people and putting them in the light, the more it will start becoming the truth.’ When FCB announced last June that it was hiring Susan Credle as global chief creative officer, it marked the end of an era for Leo Burnett as well as a refresh of sorts for the IPG network. In her 25 years with BBDO New York, Credle rose through the ranks to become executive creative director. From 2009 until leaving last year, she led Leo Burnett’s creative department as U.S. chief creative officer. There, she drove some of the Publicis shop’s biggest accounts, including Allstate and Procter & Gamble’s Secret. Eight months after announcing her departure, Leo Burnett has yet to replace Credle, one of the…

It’s no surprise ad tech has grown exponentially over the past few years. The Exchange Lab, a programmatic marketplace, recently took a look at just how far the industry has exceeded expectations over the past five years. “It is obvious that ad spend has and will continue to grow through digital platforms, and consistently at a rate faster than we predict,” said Exchange Lab chief strategy officer Tim Webster. “The speed of growth in digital marketing naturally brings new challenges, such as viewability [issues] and ad blocking. The industry tends to thrive off shocking predictions, therefore marketers should evaluate and take considered actions, because ad tech continues to show agility in addressing these issues, as it has proven so far.”…

Arca Board $19,900 With all of those hands-free scooters claiming to be “hoverboards” (when they’re not busy spontaneously combusting, that is), it’s not hard to understand why the Arca Space Corporation isn’t rushing to claim that title for its own brand-new levitating device. But that’s exactly what the ArcaBoard is: the first commercially available hoverboard on the market. The board—which looks like a cross between a Lego and a flying mattress—is powered by 36 electric ducted fans with a maximum thrust of 430 pounds and is capable of lifting its rider a foot off the ground for up to six minutes. Featuring a built-in stabilization unit, it can be controlled by smartphone or manually by the rider—just tilt it in the desired direction and you’re off. The nearly $20,000 price…

Specs Age 31 Claim to fame Saturday Night Live cast member; appears in the upcoming Zoolander 2 (in theaters Feb. 12) Base New York Instagram @kylemooney What’s the first information you consume in the morning? I check my email pretty immediately, and then usually Facebook or Twitter. And then whatever people are linking to, I’ll follow their lead. Sometimes for fun I’ll go to an animation blog called CartoonBrew.com. I also like to see what movies are screening in New York, so I use the website ScreenSlate.com. But honestly, I can’t really go to the movies because I’m usually so busy working, so it’s more of a wishful thinking thing. What are your go-to social networks? I’ve definitely found myself having a lot more fun with Instagram in the past…