Table of contents for Dec-14-15 in Adweek

If last year’s Golden Globe Awards heralded the arrival of streaming services as major players in video programming, this year’s list of nominees shows they have become a dominant force. Netflix led all TV networks with eight nominations, while Amazon had five and Hulu landed its first nod. Those picks came at the expense of the broadcast networks, which managed just 11 nominations—four for ABC, four for Fox, two for The CW and one for CBS—while NBC, which will broadcast the Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan. 10, was shut out completely. (NBC’s cable sibling, USA, received three nominations for Mr. Robot.) Meanwhile, cable had a respectable showing with series including HBO’s Game of Thrones, Silicon Valley and Veep, FX’s Fargo and Starz’s Outlander among those getting nominated in top categories.…

These two huge advertisers concluded closely watched media reviews last week. Beauty products conglomerate L’Oréal consolidated nearly $900 million in annual U.S.ad spending at WPP’s MEC. Separately, P&G awarded most of its North American media chores, estimated in excess of $2 billion per year, to Omnicom Media Group, which plans to create a new agency network to handle the influx of business. P&G also shifted some assignments to Dentsu Aegis’ Carat. The packaged-goods giant’s primary media partner, Publicis Groupe’s Starcom MediaVest Group, retained U.S. chores for some brands P&G intends to sell off in the near future, but continues to handle most of the client’s business outside North America.…

Avoid novelty music Songs that seem funny to some people might strike others as stupid or even offensive. Leave “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” off the set list. Vary the mix Even at the peak of the season, nobody wants to hear Christmas music nonstop. Experts say a 60/40 blend of holiday and nonholiday music works better. Turn it down Some shoppers (older ones especially) are sensitive to volume levels. Blasting them with decibels isn’t a good way to keep them on the premises. Switch it up Different demographic groups often shop at different times of the day or week. Tailoring the music to the type of shopper will increase the chances they’ll stay.…

Even in its sixth season, The Walking Dead is as buzzy as ever. According to Nielsen Social, the AMC series was the biggest show on Twitter in 2015, with nearly 4 million users seeing at least one tweet about new episodes of the program. ABC’s The Bachelor came in second place, followed by Game of Thrones, The Bachelorette and Empire. “By not calling out Trump’s campaign for what it is, many in the media … have been legitimizing his ugly views.”ARIANNA HUFFINGTON, ANNOUNCING THAT THE HUFFINGTON POST WILL NO LONGER COVER TRUMP’S CAMPAIGN AS ENTERTAINMENT.…

Facebook announced last week that it would update the policies for Instant Articles, which could mean up to 40 percent more ads for publishers on the platform. They can now place an ad every 350 words instead of every 500 words, sell Facebook-only campaigns (previously, they had been required to couple Instant Articles sales with inventory from other websites) and manually control the links to editorial content on their own websites. Publishers should welcome the tweaks: Some have complained that Facebook’s original policies made it difficult to get as much revenue as they could from simply publishing articles on their proprietary websites.…

Millennials will rally behind causes they care about—and will stand behind a brand that does the same. As Omnicom Group’s Cone Communications shows, 70 percent will spend more on brands that support causes—and with millennials representing $2.45 trillion in spending power, the subject of corporate social responsibility carries an unexpected level of clout. As big brands such as Clif Bar, Nike and Google incorporated CSR into their business models, an agency cottage industry has sprung up to service them, focusing on socially responsible marketing. Even some larger shops took note—72andSunny, for example, launched its brand citizenship initiative this year. “Brands started saying we can’t continue to have this approach to social responsibility … doing something in the margins. We have to embed it deeply into the business,” said Kirk Souder,…

ALIGNMENT Ensure that both internal and external agencies are fully aligned around a common purpose and moving toward a shared goal. CLARITY Individual roles and responsibilities must be clearly communicated and understood, enabling participants within each agency to recognize what should be communicated from one to the other. STREAMLINED OPERATIONS The combined team should be optimally organized to evolve shared operating practices and a disciplined approach to work. MUTUAL SUPPORT Employees of the internal and external agencies should share ideas, insights and resources to boost overall performance. LEADERSHIP It must foster performance, partnership and accountability among in-house and outside teams.…

Fast Facts 1977 Star Wars hits theaters. 1978 Action figures hit stores. 140 Number of action figures still in production $27,000 Price paid for a Boba Fett figure at a 2015 auction. THE WEAPONS While the characters have varied, one consistent detail is the color of the light saber beams. Darth Vader’s is red, and Luke Skywalker’s is blue. THE BAD GUY The least varied of all the figures, Darth is always black, masked and cape-clad, except for the young version in the Revenge of the Sith collection. THE PRINCESS A perennial collector favorite, Princess Leia has been issued in no fewer than 52 versions, including the controversial “slave outfit” from Return of the Jedi. Along time ago, in a shopping season far away, Kenner made toy history. Yes, this…

Time surprised many when it named German Chancellor Angela Merkel as its Person of the Year, topping candidates like Donald Trump and the leader of ISIS. During the reveal on NBC’s Today show, Time’s managing editor Nancy Gibbs cited Merkel’s role in the European economic and refugee crises as well as her actions in the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks. “Over and over again, the threat to European security really fell to her,” Gibbs said. Merkel is just the fourth woman since 1927 to receive the honor, the most recent being Philippines President Corazon Aquino in 1986.…

Danny Turner will tell you how, just after Thanksgiving, a trip to his favorite Mexican restaurant got ruined. It wasn’t the food or the décor. It wasn’t that his seat was bad. It was the music—specifically, the Christmas music. “Not only did they blast it,” said Turner, global svp of programming and production for Mood Media, the world’s largest provider of in-store music, “[but] it was the wrong kind of music. They turned their back on decades’ worth of amazing Hispanic holiday content with ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.’” Turner’s experience is not unique. This is, after all, the season when retailers break out the holiday tunes for that four-week blitz when many will rake in up to 19 percent of their annual sales. But while holiday music can get shoppers…

When it comes to messaging, Snapchat and Facebook-owned WhatsApp and Messenger are the go-to apps of millennials and marketers alike. But increasingly, a new crop of messaging apps is growing in popularity. Players like WeChat, Line, Kik and Viber are beginning to quietly capture the attention of brand marketers via sponsored stickers and chat bots reaching millions of millennials and teens. “Messaging today is what Facebook was in about 2006,” said Evan Wray, co-founder and vp of Swyft Media, which builds messaging-based campaigns for advertisers like L’Oréal and Coors Light. “The tricky part is that every single app is different and [also] a new environment for brands. They’re each trying to differentiate themselves slightly.” Here, what marketers need to know about four hot messaging apps in the coming year. VIBER…

As magazine newsstand sales continued on their decline in 2015—dropping 12 percent year over year in the third quarter alone, per MagNet—publishers endeavored to produce covers worth pulling off the shelves. While a handful of celebrities both buzzy (Caitlyn Jenner, Miranda Lambert) and tried-and-true (Jennifer Aniston, Brad and Angelina) sparked readers’ interest, others fared less well. Here, we take a look at the year’s hits and misses. HITS VANITY FAIR (July) Newsstand sales: 400,000 Unsurprisingly, Caitlyn Jenner was newsstand gold in 2015. In addition to selling more than 400,000 copies of Vanity Fair’s blockbuster July issue (the magazine’s newsstand average for the first half of the year was just 164,000), she covered top-performing issues of Us Weekly and In Touch. PEOPLE (Aug. 3) Newsstand sales: 804,122 Blake Shelton and Miranda…

Specs Current gig President and CEO of DDB New York Previous gig CEO of DDB Group Australia Twitter @brownchrisd Age 41 As an executive who spent much of your career in Australia and the U.K., what are some differences you have noticed since moving to the States? Of course, there are lots of differences, but I was more struck by the similarities. All clients are experiencing a level of disruption that creates opportunities and challenges, and conversations with clients here indicate that what they are looking for and the things keeping them awake at night are really similar to those in Sydney, London and Shanghai. For example, how do brands become more purpose driven? How do they use paid and earned media more effectively? How can they behave more like…

While Geico’s “Unskippable” campaign was the best of the best in 2015, plenty of other ads combined beautiful craft and compelling storytelling to create gorgeous, hilarious, fascinating and even unsettling visions for their clients. This year’s top 10 might be the most varied Adweek has ever chosen. There’s the funniest :30 and most heartwarming :60 of the year. There’s an all-pro Nike blockbuster and an all-found-footage Android crowd-pleaser. There are stunning and timely PSAs about guns and LGBT rights. We’ve also got the year’s craziest stunt, the best Christmas ad and the most memorable take on another hot topic: gender identity. (Those three campaigns came from France, Spain and Japan, respectively, while all the other work here is American.) Congratulations to all the agencies and marketers for making the year’s…

Qwerkywriter $349 Whether you’re writing the next Great American Novel, replying to emails or composing a lengthy letter to Santa, the Qwerkywriter is sure to add some old-fashioned flair to any of your text-based activities. Modeled after a classic typewriter, the Bluetooth-connected keyboard is made from aluminum and features industrial-strength mechanical switches to provide a distinct tactile feel. Use the Qwerkywriter’s built-in stand to hold your tablet or smartphone as you type away, or even sync it with your computer—it can replace any standard desktop keyboard. Buy it: qwerkywriter.com HOME Present Perfect Kate Spade Square Gift Box Clutch $398 It doesn’t get much more festive than Kate Spade’s playful present-shaped clutch. Made from black lambskin, topped with a gilt bow and lined in bright pink silk, this bag…

For over 23 years, Val DiFebo has been a key member of Deutsch N.Y. Well before assuming the helm as CEO in October 2009, DiFebo has been a key fixture in New York’s advertising scene for years, known for being blunt, outspoken and fiercely loyal to her employees. This summer, when Deutsch N.Y. moved to midtown, DiFebo had a blank slate to create the perfect office that would be comfortable and conducive to collaboration for her and the staff. “I wanted my office to have an energetic and vibrant feel to it,” she said. “The design of our new office is open, clean and modern.” DiFebo carefully curates everything—including the succulents on the table that she chose to bring a human touch and “welcoming warmth” to the space. The agency’s…

Specs Age 40 Claim to fame Co-host of the third hour of NBC’s Today and co-host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe Base New York Twitter @WillieGeist What’s the first information you consume in the morning? The first information when I wake up at 4 a.m. is an email from our producers that summarizes the things that happened overnight and things we should look for this morning. But then I go right to Twitter. I follow so many people and news organizations from left, right, middle. I treat Twitter like a news ticker, basically. Then I click on my newspaper apps, go through The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Times, then I’ll get a little deeper into it with Politico or Bloomberg Politics. What other social media platforms do you…