Brunch Forum: Apple’s Emmy Ad, Generation Z, Starbucks in Cuba, Female Athletes Score, Ad-Blockers & More

por James Thompson

Enjoy AdForum’s daily roundup of the latest news, trends, and notable work in the advertising industry.

Kerry Washington, Taraji P. Henson & Mary J. Blige Win with Apple Ad During Emmys



“Apple Music just dropped an amazing commercial featuring Kerry Washington, Taraji P. Hensonand Mary J. Blige. People are going wild over the spot, which had them dancing to Diddy and talking about making mixtapes.” Read more at USA Today.

Martin Stockfleth Larsen on Digital Advertising’s Formidable Chanllenge

“In advertising’s earliest days, marketers employed teams of statisticians to analyze ratings, sales reports and other physical sheets of data that, when cross-referenced properly, revealed insights into customer behavior. Turning those insights into effective advertising was as much art as science. That hasn’t changed. No matter how advanced digital marketing technology becomes, certain decisions will always come down to gut instinct. The best campaigns will always begin with creative.” Read the full story at Digiday

Female Athletes Finally Become Players in Mainstream Advertising


“In the male-centric sports world, where the likes of LeBron James score $65 million in endorsement deals, female athletes have largely been an afterthought. But thanks to a constellation of superstars—including a reenergized U.S. women's soccer team, powerhouse tennis players and UFC's unbreakable Ronda Rousey—more marketing dollars are ending up in the pockets of female sports figures.” Read more at Adweek

Job of the Day: Content Coordinator at The Barbarian Group in New York City

The Barbarian Group is looking for a hands-on, tech-driven Content Coordinator to join an established team working on a major global account. Working with internal teams to satisfy client requests, our Content Coordinator plays a vital role in creating and implementing various types of dynamic web pages for one of the largest companies in the world. For more details visit The Barbarian Group

Sorry Millennials: Generation Z Comes of Age as an Advertising Demographic


“Hear the word 'millennial,' and plenty of images spring to mind. There’s Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, in his hoodie, earning his first billion by the age of 23. There’s Miley Cyrus, preening for the cameras in a flesh-baring act that recalls a Snapchat sexting session.There’s Lena Dunham, TV’s queen of overshare, spiraling into navel-gazing soliloquies that seem scripted from the therapist’s couch. They’re brash, they’re narcissistic, they’re entitled. Or so the cliché goes.” Read the full story at The New York Times

Advertising Industry Weighs the Consequences and Morality of Ad-Blockers

“If nothing else, Apple’s embrace of ad-blocking software in its latest iOS release has sparked an intense debate about the economics and ethics of digital media, the vast majority of which is supported by advertising. At least one casualty of this debate is Peace, one of the most popular ad blockers for iOS 9: Creator Marco Arment voluntarily pulled his software from the Apple app store Friday, saying it “didn’t feel good” to be restricting the ability of content companies to pay the bills.” For more information visit Fortune

It’s Happening: Starbucks Will Open in Cuba, but Sans Lattes


“The Obama administration on Friday tore down barriers to U.S. companies doing business on the Communist-ruled island just south of Miami, but plenty of regulatory and legal roadblocks remain on both sides of the Florida Straits… But Starbucks can still not sell prepared drinks like a latte or a cappuccino, only packaged coffee, said John Kavulich, president of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council Inc.” More at Reuters

Agency of the Week 

Critical Mass is a global experience design agency with a relentless focus on the customer. We’ve been doing digital for nearly two decades, but we still meet every challenge head on, with the same tenacity as we have since day one. Today we’re 750 people in 10 offices on 3 continents. We’re thinkers. Tinkerers. Makers. Do’ers. We speak a dozen different languages and are inspired by a million different things. But no matter our discipline or where we are in the world, we’re united by a common excitement for digital that’s absolute and contagious. Learn more about the creative culture and folks at Critical Mass in their AdForum profile.

Because it is Monday and you are in search of happiness, check out this fan-augmented Star Wars: The Force Awakens ad by below HP and Giant Spoon.

(Bloody Mary photo courtesy of Anthony. Thank you! It looks delicious!)  

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