Week of May 18 Evening News Ratings: CBS News Has Double-Digit Gains in Demo
The May 18 Nielsen week showed all three major network evening newscasts holding steady or growing, with CBS Evening News delivering the strongest performance. CBS added 6% in total viewers and a double‑digit 21% jump in the coveted Adults 25‑54 demo, pushing its audience past the 4 million mark for the first time in weeks. ABC World News Tonight remained the leader with 8.2 million total viewers, while NBC Nightly News stayed second, narrowing its demo gap with Good Morning America. Year‑over‑year, CBS also posted modest gains, outpacing its rivals in weekly growth.
Ferrari Just Pulled a Jaguar
On May 25 Ferrari unveiled the Luce, its first fully electric lift‑back sedan, priced at $640,000 and delivering 1,113 horsepower from four motors. The model, designed by Jony Ive, departs sharply from Ferrari’s traditional aggressive styling and naming conventions. Investors reacted negatively, with...
How Crocs Turned ‘Ugly’ Into Cultural Cool Ft. Chief Brand Officer Terence Reilly
Terence Reilly, newly appointed Chief Brand Officer of Crocs, detailed how he transformed the once‑mocked shoe into a cultural staple. By embracing criticism, rewarding rapid experimentation, and tapping frontline employee insights, Crocs generated viral moments such as the Post Malone partnership...
Pitch Deck: How Olyzon Sold Sir Martin Sorrell’s S4S Ventures on Its $10M CTV AI Bet
Paris‑based AI startup Olyzon announced a $10 million Series A round, adding Sir Martin Sorrell’s S4S Ventures to its backers while existing investors Cassius Capital, Ventech and Eurazeo also participated. The company’s AI agents automate audience definition and media‑plan generation for brands...
Creative Leaders Place Their Bets on 19 Campaigns to Win at Cannes Lions 2026
Creative leaders have identified 19 campaigns they believe will win at Cannes Lions 2026, the advertising industry's most coveted awards. The selections span a lo‑fi video‑game style spot, darkly comedic musical pieces, and meta‑movie marketing, reflecting a broad creative palette....
What Brands Are Actually Worried About Behind Closed Doors, According to Ad Leaders
Ad leaders from Netflix, Disney, Amazon, Fox and other major publishers revealed the hidden worries marketers bring into the TV upfront season. They cited macro‑economic headwinds, supply‑chain disruptions, persistent measurement and cross‑currency reporting challenges, and the rapid influence of AI...
‘Switzerland Is No Longer Neutral’: LiveRamp Faces Risk of Client Pullback Under Publicis
Publicis Groupe completed a $2.2 billion acquisition of LiveRamp, the data‑onboarding platform famed for its neutral stance. LiveRamp’s CEO Scott Howe has long described the service as the “Switzerland” of ad tech, integrating with competing agencies, publishers, and tech stacks. Since...
The Trade Desk’s Jeff Green Made More Than Any Other Adtech CEO Last Year
Jeff Green, CEO of The Trade Desk, received $27.4 million in total compensation for 2025, the highest among publicly traded adtech CEOs. The figure, derived from Equilar’s regulatory filing dataset covering 22 adtech and agency‑holding companies, exceeds the median S&P 500 CEO...
Netflix’s Nicolle Pangis on Measurement, AI, and the Future of Streaming Advertising
Netflix’s advertising chief Nicolle Pangis says the next wave of streaming ads will hinge on unified data, interoperable measurement and AI‑driven infrastructure. She argues that siloed metrics limit advertisers’ ability to assess performance across streaming and retail channels. Netflix is...
Ahead of Paramount Mega-Merger, WBD Bets on Agentic Ads
Warner Bros. Discovery introduced a suite of AI‑driven ad products at its May upfront, including shoppable ads that appear when viewers pause programming and a Kerv.ai partnership that aligns ads with specific scenes. The company also upgraded its dynamic creative tools, linking...
Amazon Flexes Its Reach With Star-Packed Upfront
Amazon held its third annual upfront on May 11 at New York’s Beacon Theatre, drawing hundreds of ad executives, agency reps, and brand marketers. The 90‑minute, star‑studded event featured DJ Diplo, Kacey Musgraves, Oprah Winfrey, NFL quarterback Matthew Stafford, and Arnold Schwarzenegger,...
At Fox’s Upfront, the World Cup, Tubi, and AI Adtech Headline the Pitch
At Fox’s upfront, the network emphasized a streamlined portfolio anchored by live sports, news, entertainment, and ad‑supported streaming. The centerpiece was Fox Fan OS, an AI‑native media operating system that tags every second of video and powers the new Fox...
WPP Shareholders Approve CEO Cindy Rose’s Potential $14.8M Pay Package
WPP shareholders have approved a new compensation plan for CEO Cindy Rose that caps her total annual pay at $14.8 million, up from the $10.8 million limit for her predecessor. The package includes a $1.7 million base salary (about £1.25 million) and performance‑linked bonuses....
Adcolor Marks 20 Years With a New Program for a Changed DEI Landscape
Adcolor marks its 20th anniversary by unveiling a revamped, year‑long DEI programming slate for 2026, shifting focus from a single conference to multiple events across Cannes, New York, and Los Angeles. The organization also revamps its flagship Awards, moving to an alumni‑jury...
Ads of the Week: 12 Campaigns That Caught Our Eye, From Adidas to Canva
The weekly roundup from Cannes Lions spotlights twelve standout ads, ranging from Adidas’ Timothée Chalamet‑led World Cup narrative to Canva’s absurdist squirrel stunt in Brooklyn. Brands leaned heavily on humor, unexpected casting, and unscripted moments, with Lewis Hamilton’s dinner chat for S.Pellegrino and Liquid Death’s...