September 25, 2017 Important to Important People

Megyn Kelly has had it with political nastiness By Jeanine Poggi

BREAKING WITH THE BELTWAY p. 56

Dwayne Johnson owes his success to manager Dany Garcia. She’s just getting started By Ann-Christine Diaz

THE ROCK IS ON A ROLL p. 22

Sheryl Sandberg and her team are betting that video is Facebook’s future. They’re in for a fight By Garett Sloane PRIMAL STREAM p. 40 NEWSPAPER NEWSPAPER $9.99 U.S./CAN. £6.95 U.K.

PG001_AA_20170925.indd 1 9/15/17 8:43 PM MASTER September 25, 2017 Important to Important People

Megyn Kelly has had it with political nastiness BREAKING WITH By Jeanine Poggi

THE BELTWAY p. 56

Dwayne Johnson owes his success to manager Dany Garcia. She’s just getting started By Ann-Christine Diaz

THE ROCK IS ON A ROLL p. 22

Sheryl Sandberg and her team are betting that video is Facebook’s future. They’re in for a fight By Garett Sloane PRIMAL STREAM p. 40 NEWSPAPER NEWSPAPER $9.99 U.S./CAN. £6.95 U.K.

PG001_AA_20170925.indd 1 9/15/17 8:49 PM September 25, 2017 Important to Important People

Megyn Kelly has had it with political nastiness BREAKING WITH By Jeanine Poggi

THE BELTWAY p. 56

Dwayne Johnson owes his success to manager Dany Garcia. She’s just getting started By Ann-Christine Diaz

THE ROCK IS ON A ROLL p. 22

Sheryl Sandberg and her team are betting that video is Facebook’s future. They’re in for a fight By Garett Sloane PRIMAL STREAM p. 40 NEWSPAPER NEWSPAPER $9.99 U.S./CAN. £6.95 U.K.

PG001_AA_20170925.indd 1 9/15/17 8:47 PM @ardentreverie

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AA013856.indd 3 9/14/17 6:34 PM Creativity Pick Photography by Helmut Stelzenberg Helmut by Photography

MIDNIGHT MUNCHIES? A NEW OUTDOOR AD LIGHTS THE WAY TO MCD’S IN THE CITY OF LIGHTS

Date September Client McDonald’s Agency TBWA/Paris

Important to Important People 1

P001_AA_20170925.indd 1 9/15/17 12:08 PM Inside this Issue

“To me, a brand Behind the Headlines 4 was Kellogg’s. New and improved Q&AA Why Ad Age chose to redesign A teˆte-à-tête with Publicis But I have gotten Groupe’s Arthur Sadoun comfortable with Don’t let this happen to you Flipping the bird Fixes and fails: How to right Twitter, the term.” Four brands in crisis in 140 characters or less Outgoing Glamour Editor-in-Chief Cindi Leive, to The New York Times on the Tips for transformation era before magazines were brands Agencies tout their biggest changes Publisher Josh Golden Advertising, Sponsorship Associate Publisher, General & Insights Sales Manager, Marketing & Brand General Manager, Revenue & Creativity 19 Heidi Waldusky Client Partnerships Jackie Ramsey Editors Iconic changes Fitzloff’s next act Senior Manager, Client Famous logos before and after Former W&K creative opens a Editor Brian Braiker Partnerships Alex McGrath Executive Editor Nat Ives Senior Manager, Client Portland shop called Opinionated Deputy Editor Judann Pollack Partnerships Brent Rupp Managing Editor Senior Manager, Client Upon this Rock Credit crazy Roberta Bernstein Partnerships Liz Spitaleri Member & Custom Content Manager, Client Partnerships ‘Ballers’ star Dwayne Johnson Adland is awash in creative credits. Editor Ann Marie Kerwin Danika Felt opens an advertising agency But what do all those people really do? Senior Account Executive, Datacenter Agency Relations Karla Jordan Director, Data Analytics Sales Coordinator Bradley Johnson Alexis Marrero 35 City Spotlight Director, Data Management Kevin Brown Program Management Shanghai Senior Research Editor General Manager, Product Catherine Wolf & Technology Kevin Skaggs Tour Shanghai’s ad industry–and don’t Director, Program Management forget the Avocado Lady Editors at Large Kerri Ross The Media Guy Senior Marketing Programs Simon Dumenco Manager Emily Chiang Personal Products/Research Marketing Programs Manager Feature 40 Jack Neff Eniko Skintej Associate Marketing Producer Diane Firmalino Watch list Accentuate the positive Editorial Beat Sheet Facebook has TV-like ambitions Megyn Kelly on her turn to Digital Content Producer Marketing & Audience Nefertiti Anderson Development for its Watch video service more uplifting news Creativity Editor Ann-Christine Diaz PR & Communications Rachel Sandler Janie’s got a gun A new reality Asia Editor Angela Doland Media Agencies Megan Graham Senior Audience Development Maria Giatrakis Firearms get a big business Female executives battle London Editor Emma Hall Manager boost from women African-American stereotypes Retail, Finance Marketing Coordinator Adrianne Pasquarelli Emma Jarry Media Jeanine Poggi Cover stories Saving grace Conferences & Events Chicago Bureau Chief A retrospective of the biggest How Walmart found its footing E.J. Schultz Senior Director, Conferences & headlines in Ad Age history in a brutal retail environment Ad Tech, Ad Fraud, Search Events, Executive Producer George Slefo Tina Marchisello Tech, Social Garett Sloane Associate Director, Conference It’s a snap (not) Reddit is ready for its close-up Agencies, PR Lindsay Stein & Events Nicole Nelson TV networks learn the hard way The site plans a cleanup and has a Global Editor Laurel Wentz Senior Editor, Events Food Jessica Wohl Anna Sekula how to adapt to Snapchat new video push. Event Content Manager Creative Services Rocquan Lucas Creative Director Events Producer Danielle Deluca Opinion 95 Erik Basil Spooner Director of Video Terry Moseley Advertising Production Can these brands be saved? Political divide Senior Art Directors Prepress/Production Director Simon Dumenco has ideas for Strategists debate how to fix the Jennifer Chiu, Tam Nguyen Simone Pryce Video Producer David Hall reviving a trio of losers Democratic and Republican parties Digital Content Producer Chen Wu Classic ad review How Listerine built an empire Crain Communications Inc on fears of spinsterhood Chairman Keith E. Crain Founder Vice Chairman Mary Kay Crain G.D. Crain Jr. (1885-1973) President KC Crain Chairman Senior Executive Vice President Mrs. G.D. Crain Jr. (1911-1996) Chris Crain Secretary Lexie Crain Armstrong Editor-in-Chief Emeritus Rance Crain Subscriber services: 877-320-1721, fax 212-210-0465, Chief Financial Officer outside U.S.: 313-446-0450, email: [email protected] Printed in the U.S.A. Robert Recchia

2 Ad Age September 25, 2017

P002_AA_20170925.indd 2 9/15/17 9:58 PM Follow the eyeballs.

AA013826.indd 1 9/12/17 2:18 PM Behind the Headlines

Hello. Welcome to the new Ad Age. we’re here. To defi ne the disruption, better access to and understanding For the past 12 months, while we’ve and guide you through it. of the advertising landscape than INSIDE been diligently putting out our fort- For the new look, we sent out an anyone. Period. But it’s time to widen nightly (yes, that’s a word) magazine, RFP to 10 design agencies. The brief the aperture. Everything is a brand. THE NEW we’ve been also been hard at work was to bring us into 2017 in a way Everything is an ad for itself. So our in secret, building something new. that accurately refl ects the goals coverage needs to refl ect the broad- For you! and ambitions of Ad Age as a media er culture beyond the weeds of our AD AGE Ad Age has been around since brand—not just a trade rag. Not that industry. We’ll still get into those 1930. It has a storied and infl uential there’s anything wrong with trade weeds, but we’ll also explore the A year in the making heritage. An early tagline, reclaimed rags. We ended up going with the fl owers. And we’ll do it with a tone and decades in coming in this reboot, was “Important to Original Champions of Design—or that’s inviting, accessible, wry, witty important people.” Since you, dear OCD, which is a perfect name—for its and sharp. By Brian Braiker reader, are important, please know impeccable taste, love of print and Finally, yes, we’re o cially “Ad we did not take lightly the decision to strategic understanding of what it is Age” now. A minor adjustment, rebrand. But the fact is, while our re- to build a multiplatform system. Ach, maybe, but it refl ects a shift that goes porters, editors, designers, publisher buzzwords again, sorry. Translation: deeper. When was the last time you and sales people have remained at the They’re making us look good—wher- called us “Advertising Age,” anyway? cutting edge of marketing, branding ever you fi nd us. For more on our new logo, and messaging trends, the visual And that’s the point. Ad Age is the driver of this new design sys- expression of the Ad Age brand had not just a magazine. It’s not just a tem, check out page 32. Our own become a bit … fusty. website. We’re an idea—whether it’s Ann-Christine Diaz dissects Ad Age Let’s play some buzzword bingo! on a podcast, a video, an Alexa skill, logos past and present, as well as It was time to pivot. This space was in an Instagram Story or whatever the other recent rebrands—some more need of disruption. next vital platform is. Except maybe successful than others. Brian Braiker is the Speaking of disruption, our indus- Snapchat. Should we join Snapchat? The theme of this rebrand issue, editor of Ad Age. Isn’t try is in the throes of a massive one. Ugh, Snapchat. is, fi ttingly enough, reinvention. And that fancy? Follow him on Twitter at And it’s nearly impossible to see dis- About that idea. We’re remaining this shines through each of our three @slarkpope ruption as it’s happening. That’s why true to our core DNA. Ad Age has di erent cover stories (collect them all!). Ann-Christine profi les Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, the pro-wrestler turned megastar who is no stranger to reinvention and brand building. We sent Garett Sloane to Menlo Park to profi le Sheryl Sandberg and her team as Facebook attempts to redefi ne the social network as TV’s next frontier. And speaking of TV, Jeanine Poggi interviews Megyn Kelly, who is repo- sitioning herself as a morning-show host. New recurring features include an entire Creativity section, city spot- lights, a regular Q&AA (see what we did there?), throwbacks to vintage ads and data. Lots of data. This isn’t merely a new look. This isn’t window dressing. This is a new Ad Age for a new advertising age. Things are moving faster every day. Which means they’ll never be this slow again. Photograph by David Hall David by Photograph

4 Ad Age September 25, 2017 MASTER Stop thumbs.

AA013827.indd 1 9/12/17 2:18 PM Behind the Headlines Whoops!

How four brands reacted to recent DISASTER AREA calamity—and what worked Illustration by Ryan Snook

Brand disasters follow no script: Nose Volkswagen: Diesel Duplicity have put the worst of the scandal in involves selling more family friend- goo on pizza (Domino’s). Poison in a By E.J. Schultz the rearview mirror, based on its sales ly SUVs and electric vehicles, and pill (Tylenol). An oil spill that kills 11 and profits, even as it shells out bil- promoting high-tech features such and wrecks the basin of an ocean (BP). Volkswagen went from Fahrvergnü- lions of dollars to settle legal claims. as driver-assistance systems. In May, They can pop out of nowhere and from gen to Farfrumlegal in the wake Globally, the Volkswagen Group VW turned to a grandma for help, put- anywhere, even, say, the mouth of a of its 2015 emissions scandal. And reported second-quarter operating ting a 78-year-old Irish immigrant in a stalwart star news anchor who lies once-proud owners who drove diesel profit that more than doubled. In the series of ads for the new Atlas SUV in about an attack he was never part of VW vehicles for their environmental U.S., unit sales of VW branded vehi- a campaign by Deutsch L.A. (we’re looking at you, Brian Williams). appeal were not shy about expressing cles jumped 6.4 percent in the first That was followed by a cute ad They can reflect something endemic their outrage over the company cheat- eight months of 2017, according to calling the Volkswagen Tiguan the to a corporate culture or an anomaly ing on emissions tests. One ad agency data compiled by Automotive News. “new king of the concrete jungle” as that nonetheless pulverizes all the even sold magnets at VWsham.com Sales at VW Group of America, which the vehicle is shown passing a giant good that came before it. meant to be displayed on VWs with includes Audi, were up 5.5 percent. inflatable King Kong outside a dealer- But in the end, the reasons don’t slogans such as “Future former VW Volkswagen Group’s stock has ship. In late August, VW got good buzz matter. The mess needs cleaning up— owner,” “VW. German for FU” and, not fully recovered, however. Volk- when it confirmed it was bringing the job of marketers and agencies and yes, “Farfrumlegal.” swagen’s common shares traded for back its iconic hippie-era Microbus, crisis management teams that will “We had a surge of interest,” says 136.30 euros on Sept. 8, compared this time as an electric vehicle called (hopefully) ensure that in the coming Nat Gutwirth, a partner at Philadel- with 165.40 euros on the same date in the I.D. Buzz, slated to arrive in 2022. months or years, few will remember phia-based agency Lefthand Cre- 2015, days before the scandal broke. In the coming years, VW will have the nightmare, and fewer still will care. ative, which created the magnets in In the midst of the scandal, VW re- Tesla in its sights as it plans to intro- We profile four recent brand crises, partnership with Jonathan Perloe, a sisted the temptation to run a big-bud- duce electric versions of all 300 vehicle taking a look at their fails and the ways communication strategist. “People get apology campaign that might have models in its lineup by 2030 as part they attacked them. Some, it seems, who were driving these cars were only brought more attention to the of a new $24 billion program called are recovering better than others. embarrassed for having been bam- issue. Efforts have been more tactical, “Roadmap E.” CEO Matthias Mueller boozled, so we wanted to give them an like buying newspaper ads in late predicts that “the transformation in emblem of their outrage to share their 2015 that declared, “We’re working to our industry is unstoppable. And we discontent. We’re still getting orders make things right,” while plugging a will lead that transformation.” here and there.” customer goodwill program. But two years later, VW appears to In the U.S., the comeback strategy

6 Ad Age September 25, 2017

P006_P008_AA_20170925.indd 6 9/15/17 1:46 PM Win hearts and minds.

There’s a new playbook for building brands in a mobile world. How ready are you to embrace it? fb.me/advertisingweek

AA013828.indd 1 9/12/17 2:34 PM Behind the Headlines Whoops!

Chipotle: Botched Burritos he was convicted on charges of brib- So much for the friendly skies. By Jessica Wohl ery and embezzlement, and sentenced “Years of brand building have to five years in prison. been lost, and won’t be recovered Free chips and guacamole. Buy one If the bizarre onslaught hurt the anytime soon,” says Gene Grabowski, burrito, get one free. Online games. company’s fortunes, however, it partner at PR firm Kglobal. And he New ads. None of it could save Chipot- seems like it’s going to pull through cautions not to be misled by United’s le after its food made some customers pretty well. Operating profit in the last quarterly report, which showed sick. Now the “Food With Integrity” second quarter hit $12.7 billion, a consolidated traffic (revenue pas- chain is pinning its hopes on a new new high for the company, and its senger miles) increased 3.9 percent, hero: queso. mobile division fell but remained in and consolidated capacity (available “You shouldn’t underestimate how the black. Earlier this year, Samsung seat miles) jumped 4.6 percent in much potential it has,” Chief Market- also snagged three top honors at the July, year-over-year. It represents, ing and Development Officer Mark Cannes Lions International Festival Grabowski says, “short-term success.” Crumpacker told Chipotle investors of Creativity for a Galaxy smartphone The airline, of course, is trying to get in July, ahead of the fast-casual food ad about an ostrich learning to fly by back into consumers’ good graces. chain’s national queso debut. using VR. It has made a number of changes It’s been about two years since Experts say Samsung was able since April, such as adding new flight E. coli-induced restaurant closures, to survive its crises by halting all routes, eliminating red tape by adopt- norovirus and salmonella outbreaks Samsung: Blowing Up the Bad Way marketing for a time, save for an ing a “no questions asked” policy on first put Chipotle on the defensive, By George Slefo apology ad, and being open with lost luggage and increasing customer and it has yet to find firm footing. consumers, regulators and the media. compensation incentives—up to Early apologies to the public fell flat. In less than a year, Samsung dealt Last November, it addressed the Note $10,000—for voluntary rebooking. It Its stock price plunged. And a mix of with bad press on more separate 7 debacle with a full-page mea culpa also created the new role of senior vp fixes, including the implementation of fronts at one time than probably any in publications including The Wall of customer solutions and recovery, new cooking procedures and staffing marketer you can think of. Yet despite Street Journal, The New York Times tasked to step in when a customer’s protocols, led by James Marsden, the the onslaught of PR disasters— and The Washington Post, which not- trip goes off course. newly hired executive director of food phones that caught fire, washing ed that “we are truly sorry.” safety (think: more hand washing and machines reported to injure their During the Oscars telecast in staying home when sick), didn’t help owners and entanglement in a scandal February, Samsung ran several com- its bottom line. that toppled the president of South mercials that focused on its rigorous “Years of brand Last year was bleak: Comparable Korea—Samsung somehow managed product testing. But it also began to sales plunged 20.4 percent, transac- to generate record-breaking profits pivot back to other messages: You- building have tions declined 14.4 percent, and total and win back consumers. Tube personality Casey Neistat ap- been lost, and revenue fell 13.3 percent to $3.9 billion. The most notable fiasco followed peared in another spot, representing And Chipotle had other issues to con- the August 2016 debut of Samsung’s and courting the sort of creative types won’t be recovered tend with, such as Crumpacker’s arrest much-anticipated Galaxy Note 7 who shoot and produce everything anytime soon.” on cocaine charges, an activist investor smartphone, the battery of which had with their phones. Gene Grabowski, Kglobal buying shares, shuttering its small a tendency to catch fire. By October, And Samsung significantly raised ShopHouse Asian chain and board the U.S. Department of Transpor- the ante when in March it introduced shakeups including the departure of tation had banned the phone from its Galaxy S8 phone, delivering a “We recognize that we’re on a the co-CEO, Monty Moran. commercial airplanes. curved screen, better colors, facial journey to earn back customer trust,” And just as things were improv- After a recall, an internal inves- recognition and a slew of other writes Maggie Schmerin, director of ing—Chipotle’s same-store sales rose tigation, a resumption of sales with upgrades. This month, it released the brand PR for United Airlines, in an in the first two quarters of 2017—bad a “safe” battery and the subsequent Galaxy Note 8, the successor to the email. “And we’ll continue to work news reared its head. A malware evacuation of a Southwest Airlines explosion-prone version. harder than ever to put our customers attack hit card transactions in March flight when a Note 7 started emit- at the center of all we do.” and April. A fresh norovirus outbreak ting smoke, Samsung gave up on the The airline’s united front would at a Virginia location in July was be- model. There were also lawsuits and United Airlines: Air Rage be more effective if mishaps were lieved to stem from someone working memes—lots of memes. By Lindsay Stein avoided. But April was followed by new while sick, proving that issuing pro- A month later, another product turbulence in July, when United gave tocols doesn’t mean everyone follows line added fuel to the, uh, fire. In The scene was a shocker: David Dao, a toddler’s paid-for seat to a standby them. And, oh yeah, rodents fell from conjunction with the U.S. Consumer a doctor who refused to give up his customer, forcing the mother to hold the ceiling of a Texas location, an Product Safety Commission, Samsung paid-for seat to a United Airlines the baby the entire flight. incident captured on video. Though it recalled 34 models of its top-loading employee in April, was forcibly pulled At month’s end, Comic-Con passen- may have had more to do with a struc- washing machines “due to risk of out of it, screaming, and then dragged gers were banned from packing comic tural issue in the building than store impact injuries” from excessive vibra- down the aisle by aviation security books in their checked luggage in what cleanliness, the video went viral and tions or lids coming loose. There were officers. Upset passengers, some up was likely a misinterpretation of an old viewers were plainly disturbed. nine reports of wounded consumers, in arms, shot the scene on phones, Transportation Security Administra- Chipotle is forging ahead, hoping “including a broken jaw, injured and videos—one of which shows the tion blog post. some of its latest efforts will kick- shoulder, and other impact or fall-re- doctor’s bloodied face and pleas “to The brand is trying “to paint a rosy start a rebound: app updates, playing lated injuries,” said the commission. go home”—that quickly went viral. picture while it continues tripping up its clean-label ingredient lineup in As its products evoked Ste- Hard to imagine things could get over itself in customer relations,” says new ads and service tweaks. It’s also phen King’s 1986 movie “Maximum worse. But later that month, a giant Hennes Communications VP How- continuing to open hundreds of loca- Overdrive,” in which machines turn show rabbit died during a United ard Fencl. “To repair its reputation, tions each year, with plans for its first against humans, Samsung’s de facto flight and then was cremated by the United needs to upend its corporate drive-thru. After all, some patrons CEO, Lee Jae-yong, found himself in airline before the cause of death was culture and back up its promises with need more than queso to convince the middle of a far-reaching political determined, leading its owners to cry

concrete action.” Snook Ryan by Illustration them to give Chipotle another shot. scandal in South Korea. Last month, cover-up.

8 Ad Age September 25, 2017

P006_P008_AA_20170925.indd 8 9/15/17 1:19 PM Enterprise software for an un-enterprise world.™

AA013859.indd 1 9/13/17 1:13 PM Behind the Headlines Here to help

With the exception of Russian bots, arguably no one has been more loyal to Twitter— more devoted to it, more addicted to it, #FIX IT! more dependent on it—than media and marketing people. We’ll just come out and say it: We love you, Twitter (or love-hate you, depending on the moment—or Moment). And we’re sorry you’ve been going through a rough patch (declining U.S. user base, shaky revenue, @realDonaldTrump). We really, really want you to thrive. And so 140 media and marketing people have come together to give you some advice on how Twitter can save itself—in 140 characters or less.

Embrace your to bring him back to turn to when Twitter Stop yourself from Twitter needs to find a Use the Open Brand Twitteryness oversee revenue AND hatred brings us down. becoming a propagan- mass audience: building Safety effort to define Reject the trolls product. @jasonsperling da machine, we’ve got features and marketing hate and fake news sites, Reward Engagement @MikeDuda Jason Sperling, executive enough of those. itself to become as sticky then extend the mute op- #TwitterOptimist Michael Duda, managing creative director, RPA @RobWeatherhead with the rest of the tion to block such sites if @thinktradigital partner, Bullish Inc. Rob Weatherhead, founder world as it is with media the user so chooses. Liz Taylor, CCO, FCB Chicago Enact a rule that for of Bidex, the London-based obsessives like myself. @craignewmark conference about biddable That’s easy: Lifetime, every mean, troll-like media @thejongardner Craig Newmark, founder, non-reversible ban for tweet someone sends, Jonathan Gardner, director Craigslist It’s too easy to experi- @realDonaldTrump. they have to send five of marketing at image ence Twitter in other Buck the trend. Embrace performance platform ShareIQ @sethmnookin nice ones. Twitter needs to nail the media. No #fomo for the “filter bubble” by Seth Mnookin, director of @kelseyjoynelson problem of meaningful not being on it. Make recommending more In a growing sea of noise, MIT’s graduate program Kelsey Nelson, director of connections. content that makes in science writing, and targeted, personalized Twitter must be able to social influence at Greenville, #StopTheFireHose Twitter a destination. contributing editor, Vanity Fair SC marketing agency content—and less of identify what its niche @bamonaghan #exclusive FerebeeLane everything else. communities want and Beth Monaghan, CEO and @sfheat Since Twitter is a great @JesKirkwood need. Become a trusted co-founder of Boston-based John Elder, CEO of San forum for news as it You teach the world Jes Kirkwood, content and ally in their quest. InkHouse Media & Marketing Francisco-based agency Heat happens it should create to write. community marketing @Dylan_Mac95 manager at San Francisco a “BS index” for any ver- @winstonbinch visual marketing software Dylan Macdonald, marketing Take. His. Phone. Three unfunny tweets ified user. #unfakethe- Winston Binch, chief digital company Autopilot and communications manager #MAGA officer, Deutsch North America at Glasgow digital pharmacy and you’re kicked off. news #bullshittometer startup Organised Health @DocMastracchio One intolerant tweet @davidlbaldwin Impose a get-your- Technologies Karla Mastracchio, Tampa- and you’re killed. David Baldwin, founder of Monetize the stream head-out-your-ass rule: based media analyst @McCann_WW Baldwin&, “a hybrid branding with ad-supported 10-follow limit on people Find a business model digital advertising mobile Susan Young, executive social media brewery thingy personalized engaging in your own industry. that accepts the Actively work to stop creative director, McCann in Raleigh, NC” (per its Twitter content/products to Five for media people. reality that everyone #fakenews New York bio) watch, read, browse @kenwheaton who wants to use covefefe. and buy. Ken Wheaton, novelist and Twitter uses Twitter. @acasale If I were Twitter, I would Create Critter, a feed of @yankeejoe former editor of (Good luck!) Andrew Casale, president-CEO go to @adambain’s Ad Age cute and friendly wood- Joe Hyrkin, CEO of digital @pkafka of adtech firm Index Exchange house, back up a dump land creatures we can publishing platform Issuu Peter Kafka, senior editor, truck full of cash media, Recode

10 Ad Age September 25, 2017

P010_P011_AA_20170925.indd 10 9/14/17 3:46 PM @twitter should modify Keep pursuing sponsor- Tweets, but editable Bring back Vine. Find The massive amount of O er a paid subscription @WesternUnion’s #tele- ship opportunities that @reckless a way to monetize the real-time conversations option that’s spam- and gram model & charge actually provide value. Nilay Patel, editor-in-chief, platform and let me could unlock massive Trump-free. per character after 5 Promoted Tweets are The Verge enjoy stupid, six-second- targeting opportunities @McCann_WW free tweets a month. too easy to scroll past. videos again. for programmatic video Daniela Vojta, executive Also, use telegrams’ Find bigger fi sh to fry. I wish #BlackTwitter @willyfrederick advertising. creative director, McCann New York retro design. @eleanordowling would buy shares of Will Jarvis, University of @fsinton @Matthaber Eleanor Dowling Semeraro, $TWTR and proxy vote. Missouri journalism student Frank Sinton, founder-CEO (‘18) and recovering Ad Age Change from social Matt Haber, Bay Area media consultant and former Twitter needs public of mobile video platform Twitterite intern Beachfront Media platform to destination journalist governance. @Jack is for breaking news. Most failing us. Exclude everyone but Embrace the fact that news hits Twitter before Twitter should help There are only two - @jmgrygiel Trump from engaging all we need from it is other media, often from publishers guarantee tiny - factors holding @ Jennifer Grygiel, Asst. with Twitter. If a tree comedy and memes. the horse’s mouth! reach to its followers Twitter back: Scale & a Professor of Communications, real value proposition Syracuse University’s S.I. falls in a forest and no #justsaying @MrBuchuk without gatekeeping Newhouse School of Public one is around to hear it, @HayetRida Daniel Buchuk, director of them. Also if it created for advertisers. Like I Communications does it make a sound? Hayet Rida, senior strategic communications at customer- a nity groups, we’d be said, tiny, right? (1/3) logistics startup Bringg and @aaronhicklin planner, FCB Chicago able to leverage it in so All seriousness, @Twit- Knock it o with the former social media manager Aaron Hicklin, founder and at the BBC many ways. ter should take a page algorithmic stu and editorial director at Grand It can’t survive on ads @HIGH_TIMES_Mag out of the @Foursquare growth-hacking. You’ll Editorial, editor-in-chief, Out magazine alone. It needs subscrip- Focus resources on build- Adam Levine, CEO, High Times playbook - engage- never be Facebook but at tions products. ing a time machine to go ment+content+data - least you can be good. @MichaelWol NYC back to 2010 and accept or, maybe, merge the @je ercovici Take better advantage @Twitter said 2016 a Michael Wol , contributing Google’s o er. two. (2/3) Je Bercovici, San Francisco of real-time insights. #transformationyear editor, The Hollywood #NeverGoingToFixIt P.S. – All of this comes bureau chief, Inc. @tcammett Reporter, and founder, Newser but every hour, day, #IMissMySpace from a HUGE @twitter, Tarah Cammett, VP-marketing year has to relentlessly @GilEyal @jack fanboy. (3/3) Demonstrate that no at database software transform and be company VoltDB Gil Eyal, CEO of infl uencer @rmguest00 one is above the Terms user focused = social analytics platform HYPR Rich Guest, CEO, Tribal of Service and suspend good4advertisers Worldwide North America POTUS. @lindsaypattison @espiers Lindsay Pattison, chief For more tweets, go to transformation o cer, Elizabeth Spiers, founder of AdAge.com/140 xes GroupM and CEO, Maxus media lab The Insurrection and Worldwide founding editor, Gawker

Important to Important People 11

P010_P011_AA_20170925.indd 11 9/15/17 6:32 PM Behind the Headlines The transformers

AGENCY HACKS THAT TOOK 1 2 3 4 5 GOOD TO GREAT 6 7 8 9 10 Change is hard. But there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a spectacular reinvention

By Lindsay Stein

11 12 13 14 15 Images courtesy of the subjects the of courtesy Images

Business never stays the same, and and prioritize assembling a team toughest, happiest fi rst weeks after deeply internal way as a team—a shift, neither should your agency. Here, of millennials to rely on for their birth is the greatest education of why a a knowingness in what we’re striving industry leaders describe the best unique insights and contributions mother’s journey back to work is very for. It’s motivated us in ways that changes they’ve made along the way— (and we are no di erent). However, di erent than a father’s. revenue and renown never could. moves that run the gamut from cos- we realized that we were missing Susie Nam, chief operating o cer, Droga5 Steve Stoute, CEO and founder, Translation metic to existential. Their shops broke the perspective of seasoned, veteran down walls, literally and fi guratively, executives. The three 50-plus veteran 8 A weekly open-review session 12 In 2009, our management team to reinvent themselves. Maybe they ad and communications executives we where any project team can present retreated to Soho House for a brain- can inspire you to do the same. added have had the immediate impact work in progress for feedback. We storming session. We were meditating Below, their favorite changes, of contributing to our perspective as invite people from all disciplines. It’s on what the soul of Grey was and lightly edited: an agency, and infl uenced a more em- reinforced the centrality of our client someone (no one knows quite who) pathetic touch to the way we manage work ... and it o ers everyone the op- put forth “famously e ective.” The 1 Opening a second o ce across our clients, projects, vendors, media, portunity to take responsibility—and light bulb went o . It was an embrace town to make commuting easier for sta and marketing philosophies. receive acknowledgement—for their of the past but equally future-facing. team members who don’t live near our Shanté Bacon, CEO and founder, contributions. Michael Houston, global president, Grey downtown Los Angeles headquarters. 135th Street Agency Bruce Henderson, chief creative o cer, Jack Morton Worldwide It’s allowed us to take the sting out of 13 Moving the company from the L.A.’s horrendous tra c and make a 5 Moving to our current space. We woods of northern Massachusetts, really meaningful di erence in every- had really cool o ces in 4,000 square 9 We are seriously engaged in data where the agency lived for 39 years, to one’s overall quality of life. feet, but it still felt like a startup. and other sciences to make us smart- the heart of Boston in 2009. The world Josh Beane, founder and CEO, Idea Farmer When two fl oors became available in er, allow us to measure e ectiveness had evolved and so many of the brilliant San Francisco’s fi nancial district, it and review the dynamics of measur- young minds weren’t willing to reverse 2 Our commitment to the idea that was a chance to put our own stamp on able advances. We speak with neuro- commute into the woods, so we moved “Everyone is a creative.” Ari Halper, a space and signal to potential clients scientists and connect with people to the agency to where the labor was. FCB New York’s chief creative o cer, that we were all-in. resonate in consumers’ lives. In order Alex Leikikh, global CEO, MullenLowe Group coined the phrase, and we’ve come John Matejczyk, executive creative director, to communicate to individuals, you co-founder, Muhtayzik Ho er to embrace it wholeheartedly. Great have to stand in their shoes. 14 Opening an architecture practice ideas can come from anywhere. Now Carol H. Williams, president, CEO and chief in 2009. It’s the very special link that everyone has skin in the game when it 6 The creation of the Last Silo. We creative o cer, Carol H. Williams Advertising makes our business model unique. comes to the products we deliver. put a goal on the table to make every- Bertrand Cesvet, CEO, Sid Lee Karyn Rockwell, CEO, FCB New York one capable of working at the inter- 10 The introduction of our Mediaco section of multicultural thinking and content-creation unit as a branded 15 One improvement we made came 3 The decision to focus on culture hyper-cultural execution. I was moved specialty unit allowed PR to step out from us focusing on the DNA that built and to defi ne our culture by a set of to action after our president decided of its swim lane, proving that PR has this place, when Mike Shine and John core values. We ask everyone to oper- to attack Mexicans. We couldn’t just the creative and strategic chops to not Butler were out shooting spec spots. ate around these values, and to believe sit back and do nothing. only participate on integrated market- The culture was to make things on your in them. They are: Be one, do great Jason DeLand, founding partner, Anomaly ing teams, but to lead them. own—prototype ideas and use those work, have fun, give back and grow. Andy Polansky, CEO, Weber Shandwick prototypes to learn what to do and what Chris Weil, chairman and CEO, 7 Extending our paternity leave and not to do. Sometimes the best change is Momentum Worldwide supporting fathers as well as mothers 11 It’s somewhat intangible. More just reminding yourself of who you are. has given us incredibly positive than ever, I feel we are driven by Keith Cartwright, executive creative director, 4 Expanding our age demographic. momentum as we work toward more purpose. Not in the marketing way Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners Many marketers and agency own- gender parity. For new fathers to be of telling the world why we exist and ers crave the millennial perspective home during the most emotional, what we uniquely o er. Rather, in a

12 Ad Age September 25, 2017

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© 2017 A&E Television Networks, LLC. All rights reserved. 0248 Behind the Headlines Questions & Ad Age Q&AA: ARTHUR SADOUN Publicis Groupe CEO dishes on rivals, his breakneck first 100 days, his raison d’être for the next 100 and—mais oui—Marcel

By Brian Braiker Illustration by John Jay Cabuay

Arthur Sadoun’s public coming out What do you argue about? as president and CEO of Publicis I would say 90 percent of what we dis- Groupe was in June at Cannes. There cuss is client, and on client we never the industry did a collective rosé-spit disagree. Where we could disagree is take over his pronouncement that on people. I can find that somebody is the world’s third-largest advertising great and he may think the opposite. holding company would take a year off from all awards programs to shift What is the raison d’être for Publicis its spend toward a new AI-powered in 2017? professional assistant platform called This is where I have been working a Marcel. Slim and dashing, Sadoun, lot in the last three months: It was 46, is now repositioning the holding incredibly important to redefine what company as a “platform” with a flat we brought to the market. leadership team and a client-centric orientation that has more in common How do you do that? with consultancies than traditional If we want to continue to be a valued agencies. Sadoun walked Ad Age partner for our clients, we have to through his first 100 days—and next be able to face their challenges with 20 years, “If I’m lucky.” Our conversa- them. And their challenges are very tion has been edited. easy: First, low growth. Second, a huge need for efficiencies and cutting You’re the group’s third CEO in 91 costs. Third, brand trust and the diffi- years. What burden does that come culty for the brand to be trusted. with? What people do not see is that when Has adjusting to allow for more trans- you look at the history of Publicis, it parency in the wake of the rebate has always been in tandem—two peo- stuff last year put downward pres- ple. It was Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet sure on revenue? and Maurice Lévy for decades. Then No. Transparency is great news for the it was Maurice Lévy and Élisabeth industry because there is no way we Badinter. And you should not underes- will continue to have valued relation- timate the role of Élisabeth Badinter ships with our clients if we don’t bring as chairman of the board. And now it’s back trust. If we are not able to be an proven to be working as a new team, indispensable partner for our client which is Maurice Lévy and myself. in their transformation, we will lose our raison d’être. If we do—bringing So he’s still very much involved? in the right level of alchemy between He’s still very much involved and the technology and creativity—then the roles are very clear: As the chairman future looks bright. of the board, he is in charge of the strategy. And as the CEO, I am in Is this where we get to Marcel— the charge of the execution. We have a alchemy of technology and creativity? long history of working together, of Happy to talk about Marcel, but we arguing together, of deciding together. need to put it into perspective. There

14 Ad Age September 25, 2017 Ads

AA013861.indd 1 9/14/17 5:34 PM Behind the Headlines Questions & Ad Age

“What is different from me and the other holding company CEOs is I am the only one who has been in the creative business. ... And I value, first of all, creativity and the ability of creativity to deliver the value our client needs.”

is for me absolutely no doubt that we You have to connect the consumer Do you find that historically, senior ex- Has Cannes gotten too big? need to transform. So the first thing part with the enterprise part. ecutives have not protected creative It has lost its focus. The focus should we did is make sure we define well our departments or creative capabilities? be creativity. And I think it’s a mistake model. Our model is based on two pil- Talk about the internal cultural chal- You’ve had increasing workloads and to say it has been too much driven lars, which is: Marketing transforma- lenge of this repositioning. decreasing fees for years. by the tech companies. Yes it has, it’s tion—how do you improve, change, re- It is a huge challenge. How do you I don’t know. The great thing is that true. But that’s not the issue. I have invent the consumer journey through bring people together? It’s fun to see creativity is not only coming from been to Cannes for 20 years. You were media, creative and digital—which that in the same week we win against advertising. It’s in media, it’s in tech. there to see what is the best of the you can find in some of my competi- Anomaly the Diesel business globally, It’s everywhere. This is why I love my best and the leading edge of creativity tors. But it’s based on the premise that and we win against all those system job, by the way. The reason why we and of our industry. And you would you can’t do that properly if you don’t integrators for the experience of will succeed is that we will, most of leave the place with a clear vision. transform from within the business McDonald’s with [global consulting all, put creativity at the center of ev- model of our clients. And this is where and technology services company] erything. You can go to a consultant. This was my first Cannes and that’s we have a unique place. Capgemini. The same company is What makes a difference in a good not what I left with. doing both. Why is that important? relationship is the product you bring. That’s my point. You can’t afford to You’re reinventing the business At the end of the day, it is an integrat- We are here to deliver an idea that will bring all those people on the Croisette models of your clients? ed team. change the future of a company. if it’s not to get that. And Cannes has You can’t say to a client that “we’re to be an agent for us to understand the going to reinvent your omnichannel You’ve said you want Publicis to be a You’re casting this as your differen- change we need to bring on board. strategy, and we’re going to build a platform. What does that mean? tiator. consumer-based approach,” if you Platform is a French word, so I can Maybe what is different from me and As media becomes more automated, don’t work with them in reinventing give my own definition! First, a plat- the other holding company CEOs is I what does the role of the media agen- their own model. form is a flat organization. What we am the only one who has been in the cy become? have done is put together a manage- creative business. I come from the cre- The great news about that is, yes, In other words, acting more like a ment committee that is running 100 ative business. And I value, first of all, media is getting automated, but the consultant. percent of the P&L and is taking all the creativity and the ability of creativity role of media in this complex world is Exactly. And so the question is how decisions. And this is a big difference to deliver the value our client needs. more important than ever. You can’t can we continue to be their trusted with the other holding companies: I make a difference today between the partner in what is our raison d’être: am not making the decisions alone. Are you saying that because you want brand and the experience. Media is creativity, putting data at the core your creatives to know that’s what playing a key role. Because through and transforming their marketing One of my reporters says he heard you value, even though you’re not the right management of data, you model while enabling them to do that that the idea for Marcel came to you going to be submitting for awards? can actually be much more efficient fast in an efficient way and for the when you visited Sapient in India. Is I think it has been overblown. Not in what you do. We can be much more long term by partnering in reinvent- that fair? going to Cannes one year does not daring in the work we sell. ing their business model. We work No, it’s where I made sure it could mean we are changing our strategy. I with the CMO on the creative and work. [Laughs.] We want to be the one heard from some that I am not stand- Thoughts on the Facebook/Google marketing part. And we work with who will reinvent this category. ing for creativity. But I’m not going to duopoly? Friends or foes? the CIO on how we can link one with CES either, so I am not standing for They are great partners. When they the other to be more efficient. This is Why? And how? technology? [Laughs.] It exploded in a go for our talent—and when they go a unique model. No one else can do it Because we have never been more way that is interesting: If, for an entire directly to our clients—it’s creating a for the unique reason no one can be needed than today. We did Marcel week, people have nothing else to talk competitive environment that I hope credible on both sides. You have WPP, for our people. The new generation about other than Publicis not going to we can resolve because we have more Omnicom, IPG, that could work on wants a very simple thing: They want Cannes, it means that our industry is to win together than to try to fight the marketing side. Sometimes we’re to be able to do things, to produce. having a problem that is much bigger. against each other, knowing at the end better, sometimes not. You have the They want to be able to have access I didn’t respond to any of the attacks, of the day we don’t bring the same Accentures of the world working on to more things and influence more but I was laughing. kind of service. We don’t bring the the digital business transformation things. They want to be recognized. same product. part. But none can link both. We are bringing to life a platform What about internal pushback? that will give the new generation an You won’t find one big creative that Or the same scale. And you don’t think the consultancies opportunity to do more. We believe said something against Marcel. Was It’s true they are a bit bigger. I will pose a threat when they start acquir- Marcel has a role to play as a disrupter the way we did it perfect? Of course have to agree on this point. [Laughs.] ing agencies? of the category. It’s easier to wait for not. And by the way, I was sad it They are not credible to talk to CMOs If you look at what Accenture is doing some things to change than to change became a debate about Cannes or and CIOs together in the way we do. and the price they are paying for some yourself. The problem is if change not-Cannes, where the debate should They are bringing part of the answer creative agencies, you understand happens faster than you, then you get be on where [we] are leading our on the marketing side. But just part of why this is the future of our industry: destroyed. industry. the answer.

16 Ad Age September 25, 2017 AA013802.indd 1 8/3/17 2:52 PM AA013851.indd 1 9/12/17 2:57 PM Typographer, designer and award- winning creative Juan Carlos Pagan was selected by Ad Age Creativity to design this cover image inaugurating its regular return to print within the pages of Ad Age. See Pagan’s work for Pinterest on p. 33. MASTER Creativity Next steps MARK FITZLOFF GETS OPINIONATED The former Wieden & Kennedy creative leader opens the doors to his own Portland shop

By Ann-Christine Diaz Illustration by John Jay Cabuay

In late December 2016, Portland, Oregon, assembled a hybrid team of seasoned vets, endured one of its biggest snowstorms in a along with senior freelance specialists in cre- decade. Mark Fitzloff thought all he’d have to ative, production, account service and more. worry about that day was his commute home, Portland made sense, says Fitzloff, be- but he ended up contemplating something cause “while it under-indexes in clients, it much bigger. over-indexes in talent [from] my former em- Before clocking out, he learned he’d no ployer, Nike and the burgeoning Silicon For- longer be commuting to Wieden & Kennedy, est tech startup industry.” His shop operates his employer of nearly two decades. There, from a shared workspace and gives freelanc- he had risen from copywriter to partner and ers guaranteed work, health insurance and an executive creative director, helping to steer office they can use for other gigs. the company’s landmark successes for the For GoFundMe, Fitzloff and his team are likes of Old Spice, Coca-Cola and Procter & helping the brand define how it should evolve. Gamble. Publicly, the agency said he was For Bob’s, they’ll be running new campaign leaving to pursue other opportunities. Fitzloff work in early fall as the chain expands beyond still refrains from comment. its East Coast base. Opinionated aims to ad- “My car spun out. I got stuck,” he says. dress client needs in a personal way. It forced him to trudge the final mile home, Its own marketing playfully offers a literal where he saw his two kids’ faces pressed “menu” of client services with house specials. against the window of his house. He walked For example, there’s an offering for “Stranger through the door, raised his arms and roared in a Strange Land”—an experienced CMO triumphantly. “I wanted to demonstrate for who lands at a tech startup that’s founder-led my kids that change, while scary, is some- and engineer-focused—or “The Shit Show,” thing to be embraced in life,” he says. for a marketing executive who needs to help

MASTER Now, Fitzloff has officially opened his team figure out what the hell its brand the doors of his own independent, Port- stands for. land-based agency, Opinionated, starting The agency name is a nod to “the dueling with clients including crowdfunding platform opinions about where [advertising is] head- GoFundMe and Bob’s Discount Furniture. ed—is it dying, evolving, alive and well?” says He sees his company serving the role of Fitzloff. “What still remains at the core is you a “CMO-whisperer” rather than a typical ad have a big, brand [or] client organization that vendor, bringing clients the direct expertise needs fresh outside perspective about who of experienced agency executives while exe- they are. That’s the opinion they come to the cuting ideas with boutique nimbleness. He’s agency for.”

P020_AA_20170925.indd 20 9/14/17 9:02 PM AA013841.indd 1 Own moments of discovery. Engage users 30 million times a day with the new Shazam Brand Takeover

High Impact • Seamless Experience • 100% Unskippable 9/13/17 11:34 AM Email us at [email protected] or visit Shazam.com/brands. Creativity Rock on a roll

Dwayne Johnson has reinvented himself several times over. One thing has remained constant: his rock, Dany Garcia

By Ann-Christine Diaz Photography by Robert Ascroft

P022_P028_AA_20170925.indd 22 9/15/17 10:02 PM Makeup for Mr. Johnson and Ms. Garcia by Merc Arceneaux; Grooming for Mr. Johnson by Rachel Solow; Wardrobe for Ms. Garcia by Robert Mata; Mata; Robert by Garcia Ms. for Wardrobe Solow; Rachel by Johnson Mr. for Grooming Arceneaux; Merc by Garcia Ms. and Johnson Mr. for Makeup Delahanty Grace assistant Wardrobe Gangoso; Andrea by Garcia Ms. for Hair Royer; David by Garcia Ms. for Styling

23 Ad Age September 25, 2017

P022_P028_AA_20170925.inddBALLERS 23 9/15/17 10:14 PM It’s a 77-and-sunny Sunday in Vancouver, and boy who saved his little brother from drown- and Seven Bucks are the products of business Dwayne Johnson, the mega-celebrity other- ing using CPR techniques he saw in Johnson’s “The men in my life all had a acumen and a generous helping of risk-taking. wise known as The Rock, is here to shoot “Sky- film “San Andreas.” He also revealed on In- deep-down belief that you can Johnson’s “core” has always been “these scraper,” an action thriller in which he plays a stagram that he’s not above peeing in a water two hands that I have,” he says. Born in war-vet-turned-security professional framed bottle to stay in the zone at the gym. change your destiny and your Hayward, California, in 1972 to a Samoan for setting on fire a building he was meant to “At my heart, I’m a gut and instincts guy,” path with the amount of hard mother and black Canadian father, his family protect. This, his 32nd feature, is the latest he explains. “So much of what happens social- went through tough times, living paycheck to project out of Seven Bucks Productions, the ly is in the moment.” work you put in.” paycheck and even being evicted as they lived company he founded in 2012 with Dany Garcia, It’s this instinctual of-the-people approach in different parts of the world. his business partner, manager and ex-wife. that drives not just his interaction with fans, “The men in my life all had a deep-down It’s a far cry from one memorable 1995 day but also the expansion of Seven Bucks, from belief that you can change your destiny and in this same city when the Canadian Football making films and TV to digital content and your path with the amount of hard work you League’s Calgary Stampeders cut Johnson now, advertising. put in,” he says. “I had my first game in this from the team. On his ride home afterward, That’s right. The Rock is opening an town, and a couple days later I got cut and he opened his wallet to find that he had $7 to ad agency. told, ‘You’re not good enough.’ But the will- his name. “We’re taking our tools and point of view, ingness to put in the work was still there.” From that sum, he and Garcia have grown our relationship with the audience, our cre- Along with those “two hands,” there’s one of the hottest global celebrity brands, ative skills, to help clients translate what they Garcia, the business brains behind Seven along with an expanding stable of creative have and connect to their audience,” says Bucks, and her talent management and hold- firms under the Seven Bucks banner, which Garcia. And this will be the case whether or ing company, The Garcia Companies, through last year added digital content company not Johnson appears on camera. which she manages the recently signed “Man Seven Bucks Digital Studios. Now it’s opening of Steel” star, Henry Cavill, among others—all Seven Bucks Creative, an advertising agency. Fast and famous while making time to train and compete as a Our meeting and photo shoot take place By the end of 2016, Johnson was the reigning professional bodybuilder. at a former machine shop on the waterfront king of pop culture, having been dubbed both Johnson and Garcia met as “kids” at the downtown that has, over time, been trans- Hollywood’s highest-paid actor, with earn- University of Miami. She was 21, and he was formed into everything from a 1920s Parisian ings of $64.5 million (a distinction he ceded 18. Both were athletes—Garcia rowed crew nightclub for the TV show “Timeless” to the to Mark Wahlberg this year), and People’s while Johnson, the first in his family to attend steamy bedrooms of “50 Shades of Grey.” Sexiest Man Alive. He speaks to dudes, dads, college, studied on a football scholarship. When Johnson strides into the room—6- women, kids. He can deliver badass, as in the “When I first saw him, I went, ‘Wow, he is foot-5, 258 pounds and wearing an impec- “Fast and Furious” franchise and his own something,’” says Garcia. “I knew inside of cably fitted suit—he seems smaller than his HBO show “Ballers,” or funny (“Central Intel- him was something special.’” massive on-camera persona, even to this ligence”) or even family-friendly (“Moana”). She’s been the co-architect in every step writer, who stands shy of five feet tall. Per- This year, “Baywatch” bombed with crit- of the Dwayne Johnson brand evolution, de- haps it’s because he makes himself accessible ics and U.S. moviegoers, but went on to rake spite the hurdles. The pair were married for a to everyone in the room. He obliges the pho- in $178 million worldwide, and “Fate of the decade, then divorced, and remained business tographer with alternately serious and goofy Furious” became only the sixth film in history partners throughout. shots, confers with Garcia and his social-me- to earn more than $1 billion globally. Later dia team, and steps in to give his take on a this year, we’ll see him in “Jumanji: Welcome ‘I just gotta entertain’ shot of his business partner. to the Jungle”; spring will bring “Rampage,” “What Dany brought was instilling the confi- He bends down to make sure he hears my based on the classic ’80s video game. dence,” Johnson reflects. “Oftentimes, when name correctly. And then there are the brand partner- we look inward, we look with a filter. There “And what’s your last name?” ships: Project Rock, the co-branded Under are insecurities, all this crazy shit we deal “Diaz,” I say. Armour lifestyle line he developed with with, so a lot of times it’s easier for other peo- “Ann Diaz,” he repeats, locking eyes with Droga5 and WME; his work for Ford as the ple to assess and say, ‘No, this is really good.’ me and still holding my hand. brand’s “Ambassador of Service”; and his Her astute business background and acumen Part of what defines Johnson’s brand is recent campaign for Apple, which parodied helped tremendously, too.” this A-lister-next-door intimacy he has with his polymathy in an ad that depicted him It didn’t hurt that by the time she met his audience—his ability to make himself seem (with the help of Siri) touching up the Sistine Johnson, Garcia was already an entrepre- just a text message, tweet or emoji away. Chapel, presenting his fashion line in Tokyo neur-in-the-making. The daughter of Cuban It’s what you’ll find in every photo, mes- and creating a culinary masterpiece with a immigrants, she began honing her business sage and video he sends to his 166 million fol- celebrity chef—all while filming his latest skills as a child in her native New Jersey. lowers across Instagram, Facebook, Twitter action flick. When she was 12, she “ran a barn,” she says, and YouTube. Within the past month, he has None of this was built on Johnson’s looks doing everything, including cleaning stalls, taken the time to meet a 10-year-old Michigan and charm alone. The Dwayne Johnson brand hauling manure and even driving a tractor

P022_P028_AA_20170925.indd 24 9/15/17 10:02 PM 25 Ad Age September 25, 2017

P022_P028_AA_20170925.indd 25 9/15/17 10:02 PM (which, she laughs, might have brushed up against gevity and diversity, I’m going to have to commit,” child-labor laws). That was all so she could keep the he says. That meant heeding the advice of his man- horse, Bucky Dent, that her parents, not well off, agers at the time, who, he recalls, told him: “You managed to buy for a couple hundred bucks. During can’t be as big as you are, we’re going to switch high school, at the age of 15, she sold men’s suits your name to Dwayne Johnson, no more eyebrow, in her hometown, and when she met Johnson, she no more wrestling references.” So he tried to slim was a business student, working for the dean of the down his muscular frame to fit the current leading business school. man mold (think Clooney, Cruise, Smith) and said “My father had to leave high school to get here goodbye to wrestling. from Cuba and worked at an autobody shop since “You buy into it because you think this is all he was 16,” she says. “In my head, I was always like, proven on the biggest stars in the world, moving ‘If I could be a millionaire, I could just take care of the bottom line for the studios. But with every pho- my family.’ But as I got older, I realized I just love to shoot, every junket and every movie around that building business and enterprise.” time, it started to feel more sour and rotten,” he After college, Garcia went to work at Merrill says. “I just wasn’t myself. Something just felt off.” Lynch, ultimately rising to VP, while Johnson pur- That sourness was a signal for Johnson and sued his football career. When that didn’t pan out, Garcia to make a change. She became his official he made that fateful turn toward wrestling. manager, and they switched agents from the Cre- Both Johnson’s father and maternal grandfa- ative Artists Agency to William Morris Endeavor. ther had been wrestling pros. Still, he started at the The goal was to give Johnson room to be himself, bottom, with stints making just $40 at flea market and Garcia the freedom to build an enterprise matches and then maybe a few bucks more, selling around him. Polaroids of himself afterward. He eventually “I love to entertain, on a multitude of levels,” worked his way up to join World Wrestling Enter- says Johnson. “I feel that deep in my bones, wheth- tainment (then called the World Wrestling Feder- er it’s at a grassroots level, in the WWE, on a TV ation), where he carved out the persona of “The show, or in singing a song, there’s always going to Rock,” the lovable villain with that wiggly eyebrow. be that element. I just gotta entertain.” In wrestling, he laid the groundwork for his everyman popularity. “Wrestling was exploding, A return to the ring the WWF just went public, and people were asking, Garcia just had to build. She had wanted to create what’s this company that’s pulling ‘Monday Night a business around Johnson—one inspired by what Football’ ratings away?” he says. “It was perfect she saw in professional wrestling. timing to ride the crest of a wave.” In 2000 he did “They have such an incredible business model his first of what’s now five “Saturday Night Live” around the talent—different verticals, merchan- appearances, and then Hollywood came knocking. dise, etc. I started to wonder, ‘What would a model That led to Johnson’s first film, an appearance look like if all this infrastructure was placed around in “The Mummy Returns” (albeit mostly in CGI), an individual?’” followed by “The Scorpion King,” “Walking Tall,” Their new agency gave them the chance—and and “The Rundown.” support—to test that out. “We sat with [WME Co- With these successes, Johnson decided to put CEO] Ari Emanuel and presented what we needed: his focus on movies—and in the process learned a marketing, finance, business development, and lot about the perils of rebranding. they gave that to me,” says Garcia. “If I’m going to have a career in film with lon- “They came over with huge ideas, none of them

“We had a lane that no one else traveled, and we just started making it larger and larger,” says Garcia. “He didn’t become Tom Cruise. He’s not Will Smith.”

26 Ad Age September 25, 2017

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THE WORLD is still full of things you can’t see from the back of an Uber. Come drive, race, cruise, explore and wrench with us. Come experience Car Culture. 9/14/17 11:40 AM “I love to entertain, on a multitude of levels. I feel that deep in my bones.”

“Dwayne and Dany’s approach to story- telling is one where they are always living the moment and relaying his everyday activities as if you were right by his side,” says Todd Mon- tesano, Under Armour senior VP for strategic partnerships and entertainment. “This is an approach that has made its way into the walls of Under Armour and influenced our marketing as well. We can clearly credit them for that.” Advertising likely will not be the duo’s last had been tapped into,” recalls Brad Slater, a a lane that no one else traveled and we just through the ad agency Seven Bucks Creative. stop, though. Last year, the media went wild WME partner in talent development. “They started making it larger and larger, but staying The creative company will be led by Chief after the Washington Post’s Alyssa Rosen- wanted to do a little bit of everything, but in this very grounded, rooted space. He didn’t Marketing Officer Chet Gulland, a former berg penned an opinion piece suggesting that never had been presented the opportunity to become Tom Cruise, he’s not Will Smith. He head of strategy at Droga5. The move was if Donald Trump could be president, well, do the creative things they wanted to do.” lives and breathes with the people. That con- inspired by what Seven Bucks had been doing Dwayne Johnson could too. The move to WME also made safe a return nectivity is a platform of all our companies.” with its own productions, other films Johnson Johnson then took to social media and to the WWE, which Garcia and Johnson say In creating Seven Bucks, Garcia explains, had been involved in and previous partner- fessed to the likes of Vanity Fair and GQ that was a pivotal moment in his career. “It grass- “It was a natural space for us to put this ships with marketers. he wouldn’t rule out a POTUS bid. Even today, rooted me again,” says Johnson. It solidified positioning of ‘audience first’”—whether “When we were working on major proj- he sticks to his guns, citing his loyalty to the “the anchoring ideology of always remaining that’s by entertaining with films or TV shows, ects, we were taking steps that producers people. “It’s on the board, it has to be,” he says. connected to the people. It was so interesting via Seven Bucks Productions; digital content don't usually take,” says Garcia. “We had tak- “When there’s that many people saying, ‘I that the idea of me going back to wrestling, at through Seven Bucks Digital Studios, whose en an approach to eventize and start the mar- want you to consider it,’ then you consider it.” another company, was a step backward.” productions so far have included “Millenni- keting process so early.” With Gulland at the Garcia demurs. “I haven’t really wrapped “Strategically, it was one of our most als: The Musical” with Lin-Manuel Miranda; helm, SB Creative aims to provide structure my head around it just yet,” she says. “When important moves,” adds Garcia. “Now, we had and now, connecting brands with consumers and professionalism around that process. the time comes, if that comes, I’ll get ready.”

28 Ad Age September 25, 2017

P022_P028_AA_20170925.indd 28 9/15/17 10:03 PM NOW MORE THAN EVER CONTEXT IS EVERYTHING.

AA013838.indd 1 9/11/17 10:41 AM Creativity So many credits

MASTER Jan Jacobs, Matthew Edwards, Sam McCallum, group Dana May, head of Adriana Mariella, Mark Aaronson, Iwan Zwarts, VFX chief creative officer, creative director, account director, integrated production, account executive, head of strategy, supervisor/2D lead artist, TAKING CREDIT Johannes Leonardo Johannes Leonardo Johannes Leonardo Johannes Leonardo Johannes Leonardo Johannes Leonardo Blacksmith Made a space where Responsible for Led a team of Helped a team of In charge of com- Was paid to be the Broke footage. creativity was king. having a vision. And incredibly unruly freelance editors pay munication between brains behind the Maimed classical (AND CREDIT Then made space on driving his producers people. (Then their rent for months client and agency, operation. paintings. Defaced the agency’s awards insane with it. became unruly to come. agency and each oth- iconic artwork. Was shelf. himself at the wrap er, and herself and Richard De Jager, applauded by all. AND CREDIT) stylist, RSA Films Wesley Phelan, party.) Maria Perez, the growing number Leo Premutico, creative director, executive producer, Made everyone in Oliver Hadlee Pearch, Johannes Leonardo Johannes Leonardo of voices in her head. How many people chief creative officer, Justin Townsend, senior front of the camera photographer Johannes Leonardo Responsible for also shoot and production Produced this mas- Miné Cakmak, strategist, look spectacular Captured legendary does it really take to manager, Adidas Originals Fostered trust having a vision. And sive body of work, all Johannes Leonardo and gave everyone photography for an make an ad, and what between the agency giving his accounts Kept everyone on while staying calm, Planned. Schemed. behind it a serious outdoor campaign­— exactly do they do? and Adidas Originals. team PTSD with it. time, on schedule cool and collected— Connived. And had inferiority complex. and being from West Also, helped Jan with and off their sleep and giving you a look the creative team London, possibly that shelf. Terence Neale, cycles. that said you’d better We’re glad you asked director, RSA Films thank her for it. Julie Sawyer, people’s purses, too. do the same. producer, RSA Films Ferdinando Verderi, Did things with a Alegra O’Hare, global vp By Ann-Christine Diaz Marta Stajek, director of Tom Poole, colorist, creative director, of brand communications, Sat with the cre- camera that made Adam Gong, business affairs, Company: 3 founding partner, Adidas Originals print producer, Johannes atives—even when Johannes Leonardo Edwards, Phelan Johannes Leonardo Leonardo they were being a bit Did what he always Adidas Originals reached a creative Responsible for and Verderi squeal United literally five Watched the ad more Wrestled the sun for hard to stand. does: Made it high with its “Original Is Never Fin- having a vision. And embarrassingly from continents and 149 than anyone else did daylight. Beat the impossible for ished” campaign from Johannes making everyone rise video village. countries under one so that, eventually, brand campaign. clock to within an Rozanne Rocha-Gray, anyone to peel their Leonardo, which earlier this year earned to it. everyone else could. producer, RSA Films inch of its life. Didn’t eyes from the film. the Cannes Lions Entertainment for Jenny Pham, global Cats only wish they Stine Moisen, communications director, were so difficult to lose his hair in the Ann Marie Turbitt, senior Walked the length of Music Grand Prix for a spot featuring Adidas Originals Morgan Visconti, creative senior producer, herd. process. business affairs manager, the Andes Mountains a reworked version of Frank Sinatra’s lead/music director, Johannes Leonardo Responsible for Johannes Leonardo in two days to ensure “My Way.” The latest installment of the Human Found the time and being the most cou- Edi Borrelli, senior Alexandra Olivo, Dealt with the everyone got what TV and online effort features celebrities manager communications, associate producer, Suffered emotional money for every- rageous and trusting lawyers. Was later they wanted. such as Kendall Jenner, NBA star James Adidas Originals Johannes Leonardo trauma after a year thing. Except a one of everyone. And christened Saint Ann Harden, and rappers Playboi Carti, 21 Completely Discovered that of covering “My reasonable amount genuinely making it Marie Turbitt by the Colin Howard, Savage and Young Thug. In it, they look embraced the vision. the “City of Broken executive producer, Way” in too many of sleep. all happen. agency. defiantly at the camera in gritty modern Went to the desert. Dreams” is also Cape Town Egg Films ways. interpretations of iconic works of art Tina Diep, senior producer, Jeph Burton, Had another vision, the “City of Broken Alexis Zabe, director of Shot an award- like Boticelli’s “Venus” and Leonardo Johannes Leonardo senior copywriter, as is the case with Sleep Cycles,” after photography, RSA Films winning piece earlier Steve Rosen, sound da Vinci’s “Vitruvian Man.” The credits Johannes Leonardo most people who go managing products, in the year. Was a engineer/sound design, Made the impossible Served as DoP for the Sonic Union were many. We thought this would be a possible. Including Wrote more words to deserts. timelines and film. Was stalked by masochist to do so Exhausted bank good case study for answering the ques- call times that for this page you are everything but her nearly every other again. tion: What the heck did all those folks reading than he did John van Tuyl, senior nervous tics. after bank of “glitch” no one thought were director, global brand director thereafter. Robert Lopuski, for the ad, which effects. Possibly do? Here, the agency explains in its own human. marketing operations and editor, Exile playful style. is entirely a song. creative shoot production, Dominique Dalton, Gabby De Gersigny, resorted to making account director, stylist, RSA Films Gulru Soylu, Adidas Originals Put the film together, Suffered crushing Johannes Leonardo some with his mouth. account supervisor, even though it caused existential doubt for Whose job it was to Whose eye for fash- Johannes Leonardo Championed the him to fall apart. months to come. be nearly omniscient, ion and trends was Paul Kawasaki, executive Maintained every- creative from start to only surpassed by producer, RSA Films and who was fright- Christopher Fetsch, one’s composure on Hunter Hampton, finish. Then champi- eningly good at it. her other eye. editor, Exile Ensured everyone set, before she lost all senior art director, oned a well-deserved got what their hearts composure off of it. Johannes Leonardo glass of Champagne Jules Daly, executive Edited. Then re-edit- Kat Pryor, account producer, RSA Films desired. Or, at least, Moved everything supervisor, at the end of it all. ed then re-reedited. their budgets. three pixels to the Johannes Leonardo Ensured everything Until the agency was right. Then two to Organized chaos. went to plan. Even exiled from Exile. the left. And then when said plan just one more. changed 6,000 times.

31 Ad Age September 25, 2017 MASTER Creativity By design

Using logos as visual As Ad Age changes its look, we recall the good, shorthand dates back at least as far the bad and the ugly of recent logo redesigns as the Lascaux cave MAKING A MARK By Ann-Christine Diaz paintings. These days, of course, there are myriad ways for brands to get their messages out—so it’s all the more remark- able that a single image remains the most e cient means of communicating. 1930s 1950s 1970s 1980s 1990s Imagine a McDon- ald’s campaign with- out the golden arches.

When we reimagined Ad Age, we started with our logo. To em- brace the strength of our heritage, the new nameplate evokes Ad Age’s founding as a broadsheet in Chicago in 1930, with a sans serif word- 2017 mark that spelled out “Advertising Age” in the Kabel typeface, a design created by founder G.D. Crain Jr.

That nameplate evolved over the years, including the customized drawing featuring Moderno created by Roger Black in the ’90s, lat- er updated by James 2013 2014 2015 2016 Montalbano in 2015. When Airbnb dropped its script-based logo for the draw—something that transcended language,” In May 2016, Instagram streamlined its old-school in a New York Times piece, “The Great Instagram But it was starting to singular “Bélo” symbol in 2014, there was a frenzy DesignStudio explains on its site. The logo is also camera symbol to a simpler graphic representation. Logo Freakout of 2016.” The design change didn’t feel stodgy. over its resemblance to, well, lady parts or, depending meant to convey four concepts: people, places, love The new rounded square, circle and dot set against deter user growth, however. By December 2016 the on your perspective, a butt. Or both! Three years later, and the Airbnb brand. a multicolored gradient of hues aimed to represent platform hit 600 million users, and as of April 2017 it the logo remains. What’s not around? The v-jokes. the diversity of Instagram users. “The old camera jumped to 700 million. Working with The brand worked with London-based DesignStudio icon told you what Instagram was and what it did: It design fi rm OCD on the marque to illustrate “Belong Anywhere.” The took pictures and had fi lters you could use to make and typographer goal was to create something that “anyone could the pictures look old-fashioned,” wrote Liam Stack Tobias Frere-Jones,

P032_P033_AA_20170925.indd 32 9/14/17 5:56 PM we conceived a new, abbreviated logo- type that embraces the sensibility of Crain’s original while springing it forward. The descending “g” serves as a focal point that acts as a purposeful, consis- tent clip, and can be 2013 2014 1975 1992 a xed to whatever deserves your atten- Cadillac dropped a chunk of old-fashioned iconography a younger demo. The modernization may be working: Though the space theme is once again omnipresent administrator Dan Goldin felt a return to the meatball from its logo by losing the long-familiar wreath in According to the company’s most recent reporting in marketing, NASA remains the icon of aeronautics. would help “invoke memories of the one-giant-leap- tion—from headlines January 2014. Created in-house by Nathan Korkus at at the beginning of August, global sales were up 23.1 Its logo, in place since 1992, features a sphere that for-mankind glory days of Apollo and show that ‘the to images to critical the company’s Brand Identity and Badging Studio, the percent year-to-date. stands in for a planet, stars representing space, an magic is back,’” historian Steve Garber writes on the data—while serving revamped emblem includes a stretched-out version of orbiting spaceship and more. It’s a ri on the original organization’s site. The classic vibe feels very today, the brand’s coat of arms. The symbol aims to convey a 1959 version, a ectionately known in aeronautics given consumers’ infatuation with all things retro, as a building block sleeker, less fl ashy profi le as part of an e ort to attract design circles as “the meatball.” In 1975, NASA and you’ll fi nd the meatball on T-shirts sold at big of the entire brand- switched to a simpler and more era-appropriate retailers including Target, Old Navy and H&M. ing system. “worm” wordmark, but in the early ’90s then-NASA

To mark our logo re- design, we look back on other notable overhauls, includ- ing some brilliant successes and some epic fails.

2012 2013 2010 2010 Sometimes it’s woe to the marketer that messes with into the 21st century, the logo was changed to “jcp” in JCPenney’s doomed logo lasted an eternity compared retailer pulled it within a week, going back to the blue a classic logo. JCPenney learned this in 2011 when it a blue box at the top left corner of a red-framed white to this disaster. In October 2010, the Gap replaced box with its white uppercase letters. If you blinked, changed its straightforward JCPenney nameplate to square, suggesting an American fl ag. But Johnson’s its simple, non-o ensive name-in-a-blue-box for you would have missed it. all lowercase in sans serif type, with the fi rst three tenure proved catastrophic, and the patriotic symbol a symbol that looked like the result of an extreme letters enclosed in a red box. The retailer called it had a short shelf life. In 2013, the logo returned to the exercise in blandifi cation: the Gap name, in Helvetica, the “most meaningful update to the company’s logo original, pre-2011 wordmark. randomly adorned with a blue square gradient over in 40 years.” Not meaningful enough. In 2012, after the “p.” It was slaughtered on social media and the then-CEO Ron Johnson was hired to bring the retailer

2010 2017 1999 2000 Designers Mike Deal and Juan Carlos Pagan created Vit described in his blog Under Consideration, “It’s In June 2000, Amazon.com tapped design agency in the original logo to an upward curving smile-like the original classic script Pinterest logo in 2010. In like a 1960s corporate identity got dropped ... next to Turner Duckworth to convey founder Je Bezos’ arrow that travels from the letters “A” to “Z” to 2011, while wanting to avoid something explicitly this friendly ‘P’ mark and the two look like a hippie mission to make the company “the most consumer- connote that it sells, well, a lot of di erent stu . thumbtack-y, they settled on a pin concept, evident and a business executive in line at the grocery store, centric brand in the world,” Turner Duckworth in the brand’s badge with a single “P” and a new brought together by circumstance more than mutual explains on its website. The fi rm reshaped the wordmark. This year, while retaining the badge, agreement.” downward-sloping yellow line under Amazon’s name Pinterest dropped the wordmark for one with a plain sans serif font. As designer and critic Armin

33 Ad Age September 25, 2017 MASTER

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Next House Ad 3_0925.indd 34 AA013863.indd 9/13/17 4:29 PM City Spotlight Shanghai City Spotlight

SHANGHAI Everything you need to know about China’s ad capital— plus the Avocado Lady

By Angela Doland Illustrations by Hyesu Lee

Ask people to describe Shanghai’s agency scene and the word “dynamic” comes up a lot. A megacity where charming ramshackle streets meet futuristic skyscrapers, Shanghai is China’s hub for multi- national companies and ad agencies. It’s the place where the industry fi gures out where the country’s 1.4 billion consumers are heading next. “You learn on the go with advertising here in Shanghai,” says Alvina Seah, Shanghai-based general manager of Energy BBDO. That’s because China’s digital-savvy consumers embrace change with gusto. When Starbucks start- ed accepting digital payment service WeChat Pay this year, it represented nearly a third of transac- tions that same quarter. E-commerce is a way of life in China, with its 751 million internet users, 96 per- cent of whom go online with a mobile phone. (China has more than twice as many mobile internet users as the U.S. has people.) About 57 percent of China’s ad spending is expected to go to the internet this year, compared to less than 20 percent fi ve years ago, according to WPP’s GroupM. Agencies have had to quickly ramp up their e-commerce and digital capabilities through hiring and acquisitions. “In China you can book a manicure or a mas- seuse in your home—you can get anything brought to your home with a click of a button,” says Seah. “E-commerce and m-commerce are part of every- thing we do now; you can’t go in with a campaign or plan that doesn’t contain them. It’s because of the way consumers live their lives.”

Things getting tougher Most of the major international agencies have a pres- ence in Shanghai, which has a population of about 24 million, equivalent to all of Australia. WPP has long been the powerhouse among them, with sleek o ces spread across 20 fl oors of a skyscraper. WPP’s Ogilvy & Mather was an early entrant to the market—it has Illustration by Hyesu Lee, Photograph by Jon Arnold/Getty Jon by Lee, Photograph Hyesu by Illustration

Important to Important People 35 City Spotlight Shanghai

26 years of history in mainland China, which didn’t adopt market-opening reforms until about four decades ago. Interpublic Group of Companies’ R/GA and MDC Partners’ KBS are relative Shanghai new- comers. Another MDC Partners shop, CP&B, opened last year in Beijing, which is China’s capital but a smaller agency town. China is the world’s second-biggest ad market after the U.S. Foreign agencies don’t face the heavy restrictions some other industries face in China, where Silicon Valley internet giants Google, Face- book and Twitter are censored for the masses, and where foreign automakers are required to have joint ventures with local partners. Still, things have become a lot tougher. First, the economy has slowed. After almost three decades of 10 percent average annual economic growth, GDP growth has been slowing since 2010, sliding to 6.7 percent in 2016, according to o cial government statistics. There’s this too: Multinational brands, mainstay clients for foreign agencies, are having a harder time in China as local brands make more interesting products and try edgier marketing. Local brands gained market share over foreign ones last year in 18 out of 26 fast-moving consumer goods catego- ries, from candy to diapers to makeup, according to a study by Bain & Co. and Kantar Worldpanel; foreign brands made gains in just four categories. Overall, local brand sales grew 8.4 percent, while for In Shanghai’s Yu Gardens, foreign players that fi gure was just 1.5 percent, the chefs prepare hundreds of the study said. Procter & Gamble, long the top ad spend- city’s famous ‘xiao long bao’ er in China, is among the multinational players that soup dumplings. has struggled to fi nd its footing. Most big foreign agencies are no longer expand- Los Angeles and just had an initial public o ering on better projects and initiatives to attract local talent, ing the way they did when China was still experi- the Shanghai Stock Exchange. and I’m unsure whether that’s a priority for them.” encing double-digit growth in the ’80s, ’90s and the Small Shanghai creative shops are getting atten- fi rst decade of the 2000s. tion too. An agency called Civilization has made suc- Work-life balance Ellen Hou, CEO of Dentsu’s Carat China, says cessive hit viral videos for Pepsi, and another shop Shanghai is surprisingly livable. Air pollution is well-established multinational shops have hit a called W helped make Timberland cool in China. an issue, but it’s better than it is in Beijing. Some “bottleneck” stage. agency sta ers cycle to work using one of the bike “Agencies need to look into themselves to think Not easy fi nding talent services that have become ubiquitous as China’s about how to disrupt the past and explore some Starting salaries in the ad scene in Shanghai are sharing economy went into overdrive. Or they com- new ways of doing business,” says Hou, a Shanghai low, around $675 to $900 a month. But at the top, mute on the Metro, which will have 17 lines by year’s native whose fi rst ad job was at TBWA in 1998. She salaries are on par with those in the U.S. Finding end. Twenty years ago, there was only one line. says multinational agencies can no longer take the talent is the big challenge—agencies need people Shanghai is cosmopolitan, an easy place to fi nd stance that “‘we have the advantage, and everyone with digital and e-commerce skills, and they’re a niche, and many of its residents aren’t natives of needs to copy us.’ Megagroups need to be more competing with China’s three internet giants. Aliba- the city. “It’s easy to get connected to other peo- humble, and learn from local partners and local ba Group, for example, hired WPP’s VML China CEO ple—there’s a friendliness, an openness,” says Carat culture.” Chris Tung to be its chief marketing o cer. China’s Hou. The adventurous might spend the Multinational agencies once had an edge partly There are foreigners in Shanghai’s ad scene, but weekend snacking on Mexican fi sh tacos or Turkish because China had less experience with the art of agencies increasingly need people with deep China cacik yogurt dip, taking a Zumba class or attending branding. Product advertising all but disappeared insight. That’s because shops see increasing oppor- an English-language performance of the immersive in the Mao Zedong era and re-emerged in the late tunity in Chinese brands that are going internation- play “Sleep No More.” ’70s and ’80s. Now strong local agencies have al, like smartphone powerhouses Huawei, Oppo and Shanghai consumers crave novelty, and brands developed, many catering to China’s unique digital Vivo—especially now that some mainstay multina- test new concepts here, which makes it a fun place landscape, where the big players are Baidu, Alibaba tional clients are having a harder time in China. “It’s to work in advertising. There’s a KFC sta ed by and Tencent, not Google and Facebook. very, very hard now to come into Shanghai with- robots, and supermarket chain Aldi live-streamed a One local powerhouse, the Leo Digital Network out at least Chinese-language capabilities,” says fashion show where the clothing was made of food. (no relation to Leo Burnett), was formed when Jean-Michel Wu, the Asia Pacifi c CEO of executive But there’s also tradition and history in Shanghai. a Chinese pump manufacturer purchased some search agency Grace Blue Worldwide, who previous- Shops including BBH, Anomaly, Wieden and McCann of China’s best local digital agencies. Today, the ly spent 10 years in Shanghai at Ogilvy and WPP. Worldgroup are headquartered in the former French network’s clients include Coca-Cola, Sony, Siemens Local Chinese employees, Wu says, see the most Concession, with art deco architecture, charming and Johnson & Johnson. China’s BlueFocus Commu- attractive employers as the Chinese internet giants, cafes, shady plane trees and street food from every nication Group had more global revenue last year followed by consultancies, brands and then agencies. corner of China. Advertising sta ers love to hang out than MDC Partners or Edelman’s parent company, Since there’s such sti competition, he says, “the there, because in a fast-paced megacity, it still feels DJE Holdings, according to Ad Age’s DataCenter. future of advertising in China will be pretty bleak like a neighborhood, and it’s a lovely place to wind

Chinese digital agency Hylink opened an o ce in for international agencies if they don’t come up with down from the stresses of agency life. Rowat/Getty Andrew by Lee, Photograph Hyesu by Illustration

36 Ad Age September 25, 2017

City Spotlight Shanghai

WPP: 399 Heng Feng Rd. Most WPP agencies occupy 20 floors in a new skyscraper. But some staffers grumbled when they had to move there two years ago, trading in the tony former French Conces- sion locale for a neighborhood near a train station.

Omnicom Media Group: 15F, Eco City, 1788 West Nanjing Rd. OMG is located next to Jing’an Temple. The Chinese name means “Temple of Peace and Tranquility,” but the surrounding streets are a mess thanks to a massive construction project.

Wieden & Kennedy: 1035 Changle Rd. W&K is located in Shanghai’s former French Concession, which, with its art deco architecture, charming cafes and streets shaded by plane trees is the place to hang out. Other agencies have offices in the area as well, including Anomaly, BBH and IPG.

BBDO: 1 Hongqiao Rd., XuJiaHui, Xuhui BBDO’s office tower is in a neighborhood filled with malls—and a very grand, 100-year-old Roman Catholic cathedral. It was a backdrop for Steven Spielberg’s Shang- hai wartime epic, “Empire of the Sun.”

Fred & Farid: 200 Huangpu Rd. (Hongkou District) Independent shop Fred & Farid probably has the best view in town. Its office is in a converted warehouse on the Huangpu River.

Leo Digital Network: 3300 N. Zhongshan Rd. The Leo Digital Network has offices at Global Harbor, a super-intense megamall. The mall architecture is what you’d get if Caesars Palace had a baby with the Mall of America. The Economist once pointed out that it has as much floorspace as nearly 70 soccer fields.

Dentsu Aegis Network: 16/F, 5 Corporate Ave., 150 Hubin Rd. (Huangpu District) The network moved into a modern tower in an area that was filled with charming but run-down homes. The area has developed rapidly, with buildings razed and longtime residents forced to move. “dancing aunties,” who blast and Huaihai Middle Rd. People’s Park’s marriage Yangcheng Lake for hairy Hakkasan: The PuLi Hotel and Spa: music as they line-dance. In the park across from IPG’s market: Huangpu District, crabs: 45 miles east of the city 18 Zhongshan Dong Yi Rd. 1 ChangDe Rd. (JingAn District) offices, there’s a sign illus- south of Nanjing Road, a major in Jiangsu Province If you have to impress The PuLi Hotel and Spa is Avocado lady: trated with cute cartoon dogs shopping street Shanghai is famous for hairy someone, go for drinks and where agency bigwigs stay 274 Wulumuqi Rd. and a caption in English: “No On Saturdays, parents hang crabs, a delicacy consumed in Cantonese food at Hakkasan when they visit. It’s an urban If you get a craving for im- dog shitting here, please.” out in People’s Park and hold autumn. (They’re not actually on the Bund. oasis; the airy lobby bar ported foods like Hershey’s up signs advertising their hairy, though their claws blends minimalism and Asian syrup or Ocean Spray cran- Interpublic Group: single adult kids as good are fuzzy.) Yangcheng Lake Robot-run KFC: antiques. berry juice, the Avocado Lady 1045 Middle Huaihai Rd. marriage material. supplies them. 333 Songze Ave. will have it in her crowded, IPG’s offices are next to one of In this futuristic KFC concept Xujiahui Park’s dancing chaotic shop in the former the toniest malls in Shang- Fake Pentagon mall: In & Out: 150 Hubin Rd. store, cute robots take your aunties: 889 Zhaojiabang Rd., French Concession. hai where a Prada, Gucci southeastern Nanhui District Not to be confused with the order. Xujiahui, Xuhui and Dolce & Gabbana have Shanghai built a mall in the California burger chain, this Chinese parks and squares No-shit signpost: replaced market stalls with shape of the Pentagon, and is a trendy spot for spicy cui-

are filled with crowds of Intersection of Donghu Road counterfeit goods. nobody came. sine from Yunnan province. Lee Hyesu by Illustration

38 Ad Age September 25, 2017 AND CHECKING THEM TWICE

AA013857.indd 1 9/13/17 11:13 AM 40 Ad Age September 25, 2017 Its ambitions are ‘TV-like,’ but Facebook’s video play needs to be so much more if the social network is to battle with the likes of YouTube, Netflix and Hulu. But to hear Sheryl Sandberg and her team tell it, such big bets are business as usual

By Garett Sloane Photography by Kwaku Alston

Sheryl Sandberg doesn’t want to be the star, but it is her show. mined strength, built an ad business with obsessive focus and is The moment the Facebook COO arrives at a photo shoot at about to spend at least a billion dollars challenging a new target, the company’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California, the room Hollywood and TV. In the year ahead, Facebook will make one of its is hers. Her top lieutenants appear instantly energized by her biggest investments in video yet, pursuing perhaps the company’s entrance; the volume in the open space ticks up, and it feels like most aggressive transformation since it turned fully mobile-fo- old friends getting together. cused in 2012, the year it went public. Since then, Facebook turned Today, she’s wearing that familiar Facebook-blue dress. Her a mobile weakness into an unparalleled business built around its team converges like some social-media Justice League, with Caro- app, which had once only been an afterthought. Now, it has just lyn Everson in solid orange, Nada Stirratt in all white, David Fischer deployed a video destination called Watch with a slate of digital in dark blue blazer and jeans and Instagram COO Marne Levine in shows. The success of the program depends on Facebook’s ability to burgundy. They assemble for the shoot in front of the dripping-ne- turn consumers of its social media feed into viewers of video. on mural by Maya Hayuk in the lobby at Facebook’s offices. This will not be easy. There is no proof yet that people in a Sandberg takes command of the shoot. She doesn’t want this to social mood are looking to sit back and watch longer videos. Face- be about her, she says. She wants “this” to be about her team, some book has plenty of video in its main feed already, but advertisers of whom go way back with her. She’s known Fischer, VP of business are lucky to get anybody there to watch for even two seconds, the and marketing partnerships, and Levine since their time together industry standard for what constitutes a view. at the U.S. Treasury Department during the Clinton administration. The Watch section, which rolled out widely in the U.S. this Stirratt is the newcomer, the VP of marketing solutions in North month, will rely on Facebook’s ability to negotiate rights to America since May. Everson, who spends 80 percent of her time premium entertainment properties from TV networks and sports traveling as Facebook’s diplomat to the brand world, has been VP of leagues. It will put Facebook in closer competition with YouTube, global marketing solutions since 2011. Netflix, Hulu and the rest of the connected TV market. These are the people at the top of Facebook and Instagram’s Watch delivers a TV-like ad model that’s new to Facebook: sales chain, even if they shun the word “sales.” Everson insists, commercial breaks in videos designed to be played with the sound “Our job is not to sell Facebook and Instagram. That’s [a] word on. The content and format encourage viewers to sit through I ban. You’re not a bunch of salespeople.” (She prefers “consul- until the end, unlike the News Feed, where the autoplay, sound- tants” and “strategists.”) off presentation can be scrolled past as quickly as you can twitch Sandberg continues to direct the shoot. She wants to show your thumb. their fun side. Any ideas the photographers had are now the “We will be experimenting,” Sandberg says. “We don’t know MySpace of plans. exactly what will work. It seems like it will be pretty TV-like in You get the feeling that’s the way it often is with Sandberg and its experience, but I never judge in advance what consumers will Facebook, a company that has handled the tech world with deter- want and what will really work for consumers.” FACEBOOK LEANS INTO VIDEO Important to Important People 41 Video killed the radio Moving targets bought Instagram for $1 billion and once offered Snapchat $3 bil- star. Will it define the Netflix is the North Star for any digital video startup, a model to lion—and when Snapchat wunderkind Evan Spiegel rebuffed the reigning social king? Left to right: Everson, envy for how thoroughly it reoriented the entertainment industry. advance, Facebook quickly and ruthlessly copied its most innova- Fischer, Stirratt, Levine Facebook sees a chance to have a similar impact with its ad-sup- tive features. Sandberg sits in a central location in this wide-open and Sandberg ported Watch, but it has plenty of competitors with the same goal office across from CEO Mark Zuckerberg, where their desks hardly and same desire to gobble up video. stand out from anyone else’s. Today is the day after Sandberg’s This summer, Disney decided to end its relationship with birthday, though, so it’s filled with flowers. Netflix so it could build its own digital property to stream “Star She is now in more comfortable clothes, a white knit tunic Wars” and other mega-franchises, looking for a more direct line sweater and jeans, but she’s still uncomfortable with being the fo- to its vast fan base. Netflix plans to spend $7 billion next year cus of attention. She protests the idea that any story should focus continuing to build its homegrown library, which includes hits on her, and not the rest of the Facebook organization. like “House of Cards” and “Stranger Things.” Then she launches into what sounds like a well-practiced “The consumer is moving so quickly that we have to continue product pitch for video on Facebook. “We think that video on evolving, and this is yet another massive shift in consumer behav- Facebook for consumers, both sharing their own videos but also ior,” Everson said a couple weeks earlier in New York City, on the taking in other people’s videos, everything from premium content rooftop at Facebook’s 15-story downtown offices. to the most user-generated content, is a really big opportunity,” Facebook is going to dangle its pool of 2 billion users in front Sandberg says. “Where that crosses with ads is that advertis- of content creators and television networks and studios to attract ers have always loved video. It’s a great way—the sight, sound, them to Watch. It initially rolled out with shows from media part- motion, the creative canvas of being able to tell a story and really ners including Business Insider, The Atlantic, Hearst and Condé make a brand, product or service come alive.” Nast. These publishers already work closely with Facebook, trying Video has become one of the main formats on Facebook and to make money from content on the platform’s Instant Articles Instagram to tell those stories, with the autoplay News Feed vid- format, and they are eager to turn video there into a profit center. eos, Instagram Stories with vertical video breaks, and now Watch They have also been the most affected by the rise of Facebook and offering a commercial break in a setting where the sound is typi- its shake-up of the media landscape. Getting NBC, CBS, Fox and cally on and consumers are more inclined to view until the end. other traditional TV and movie players to join Watch has been “That will give us more traditional ad inventory with ad trickier. Industry insiders familiar with lengthy negotiations say breaks,” Sandberg says. “That’s not why we’re doing it, that’s how studios and networks are playing hardball before agreeing to we will monetize it, but I think those things come together.” empower Facebook in video. Facebook is in the middle of an unprecedented online advertis- They feel burned by how things went down with Netflix, which ing run, having made that successful transition to mobile. Nearly achieved market dominance thanks to the devil’s bargain they 90 percent of revenue comes from ads on mobile devices. How- made, turning over top-quality content in exchange for cash. ever, Facebook is not without headwinds: It has told investors “The early checks everybody got from Netflix, that was fantastic,” and industry watchers that its meteoric growth rate would meet says a top ad exec at one of Facebook’s video rivals, speaking on condi- resistance when it runs out of space in its main News Feed to keep tion of anonymity. “Now they’re asking how did they let that happen, turning up the ad frequency. creating a sizable competitor taking the attention of our audiences.” In the News Feed, several brand executives say they average 1.7 seconds of view time on posts, a number Facebook has said is Face-off standard in mobile. The company adds that when viewers get at Many conference rooms around Facebook’s 430,000-square-foot least to the 3-second mark, videos average 5.7 seconds a view. Building 20 have Hollywood names—25 of them are Nicolas Cage Facebook started testing ad breaks earlier this year in live references such as “Leaving Las Vegas” and “The Rock.” One video, and says they have a 70 percent completion rate. room’s name is a play on the Indiana Jones franchise: “Corporate With the benefits of digital data, most parts of a consumer’s Raiders (Of The Lost Ark).” All joking aside, this is a company that path to purchase are theoretically calculable online, setting up

42 Ad Age September 25, 2017 mobile for a different standard than TV, where advertisers could never get as complete an accounting of what worked. But the suc- cess of campaigns relies on Facebook’s ability to show advertisers data, the kind only it could possibly know about how many people viewed the ads and their impact. And Facebook this past year found itself in trouble with advertisers for misreporting certain video view stats and metrics important to them. Since then, Facebook has been opening the platform to indepen- dent measurement firms. It also wants to prove to advertisers that the ads are contributing to their bottom-line goals, whether that’s sales, subscriptions, e-mail signups or other concrete actions. “There is a lot of concern around the industry about how long an ad is watched,” Sandberg says. “But really it’s traditionally been a proxy for sales, because they couldn’t measure sales.”

Friends with benefits “Facebook is a big part of that new modern brand building,” says Eric Reynolds, chief marketing officer at The Clorox Company. The company is increasing its spending with Facebook at a time when “We don’t know exactly other packaged-goods companies like Procter & Gamble have what will work,” Sandberg raised alarms about the entire digital ecosystem. This year, Clorox is entering a new level of relationship with says. “It seems like it will be Facebook, and is now inside an unofficial benefits program Face- pretty TV-like in its experi- book calls the “partnership circle.” The increased partnership provides better data services, with Facebook helping target ads ence, but I never judge in to special audiences, and creative services that help brands craft advance what consumers winning messages in video and other formats. Reynolds wouldn’t say how much money a brand must spend will want.” with Facebook to be a part of the circle, but it’s tens of millions of dollars, according to advertising insiders familiar with Facebook’s levels of brand services. “As their data got bigger and better, and their analytics got better,” Reynolds says, “we’re feeling more confident in the plat- form. That’s a place we can put significant time.” Though advertisers have said the price of entry to play in Facebook’s premium business class is becoming ever more expen- sive, Facebook says the advertisers-with-benefits program is not a formal designation, and doesn’t rely on spending commitments. It was reluctant to discuss all the perks. Facebook puts in significant time with Clorox, too. The Face- book rep has a badge to Clorox’s Oakland, California, offices. To Everson this is the ultimate sign that her team is doing its job. The Facebook team is organized by industry in the U.S., not

Important to Important People 43 region, and it is trying to apply that model globally. “We have tions around guaranteed audiences for programs, according to experts in each field,” Everson says. “You are there to advise your media executives speaking on condition of anonymity. client. We don’t take a position like ‘Don’t run on TV, give us all “That’s where the tension comes in,” says a media exec, who your TV money.’ We would never do that because maybe that’s works closely with Facebook on partnership negotiations. “Does what they do need.” Facebook run into conflict when it promotes its own videos, and Clorox, which has run video campaigns for Liquid-Plumr and does its algorithm favor that?” Brita, will put more than half its media budget into digital this year Certain major marketers have been slow to try out the ad for the first time, Reynolds says. Of that, Facebook represents a big breaks program since tests in live video became available earlier portion, but Reynolds would not specify how much. He did say that this year. Reasons for the reluctance include a lack of real control 60 percent of the Facebook budget would go to video. over where ads run. Brands click the “ad breaks” option—and “We’re internally learning how to create and reinvent sto- their spots run where Facebook drops them. rytelling for this form,” Reynolds says, “because we have to tell “Facebook is going to control the sale,” says a media executive stories for three and six seconds, and that’s a new kind of skill.” who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Facebook is saying I have to Across the industry, digital surpassed TV for the first time in go to them and can’t buy it directly through the content provider.” money spent in the U.S. last year, with both representing about Brand safety is a top concern for advertisers like JPMorgan $72 billion. This year, digital spending is expected to be $10 billion Chase, one of the brands that is still avoiding YouTube after an more than TV in the U.S., according to eMarketer. eruption of press reports about ads running in front of terror- Meanwhile, digital video will grow 23 percent this year in the ist-themed videos and content from political hate groups. It U.S. to $13.2 billion, according to eMarketer. Facebook does not wasn’t among the marketers caught unintentionally supporting break out video ad sales from the rest of its nearly $40 billion in objectionable YouTube videos, but it took a zero-tolerance ap- yearly revenue. proach against unsafe content, fake news and any risqué material. In addition to professional video production companies, Watch It’s complicated will be open to almost any creator who meets community guide- Still, even Facebook has its limits. The company’s headquarters lines, which raises more uncertainty for advertisers. Even if their lie across from protected salt flats, a natural barrier to where the ads don’t run in a specific video, many brands are wary of appear- company can physically grow. Beyond that, there is no guarantee ing in videos adjacent to objectionable content, a possibility that it can become a part of people’s daily viewing habits. “We can’t is hard to rule out entirely. Facebook Live’s mostly tame videos, for swim upstream against consumer behavior,” says Mark Rabkin, example, have included live streams of violence and mayhem. More VP of ads and business platforms at Facebook. “The cell phone has than one death has been live-streamed. tons of awesome content, a lot from Facebook and a lot from other “Every brand will decide brand safety differently,” says Kristin apps. Everyone has this infinite choice of how to spend their time, Lemkau, the chief marketing officer at JPMorgan Chase. “For us, I and people have very high expectations and a lot less patience to don’t think we will ever trust an algorithm.” sit through something they don’t want to sit through.” JPMorgan Chase has decided not to try out mid-roll video ads To seed Watch with content, Facebook had to acquire new on Facebook—yet. “We hold Facebook to the same standards we skills, like video production. It developed some of the early pro- hold Google and YouTube,” Lemkau says. grams itself, including a show called “Returning the Favor,” host- Still, the company is a big spender on Facebook, even without ed by handyman Mike Rowe, featuring everyday people’s stories mid-roll video ads. of personal sacrifice. “We’ve got a lot invested on Facebook that’s working [so] we Facebook helped some media partners develop programs, don’t need to necessarily go there yet,” Lemkau says of the Watch paying hundreds of thousands an episode and covering costs for program. them. It will also share ad revenue with media companies that Facebook has an opportunity to pay closer attention to what post clips to Watch, like many do on YouTube, with Facebook content makes the Watch hub from the outset, and try to avoid the taking 45 percent of the revenue. The social network could also trouble YouTube has encountered with unsavory video creators license content. There’s a Watch channel for pro surfing. And who scare off brands. Facebook hired 3,000 reviewers to manually Facebook has clear ambitions for more sports programming. It police its platform for bad actors. It’s a topic that Sandberg and Eyes up here: With recently made a failed run at the digital rights to the professional Everson and the rest of the team clearly want to handle correctly. digital spending Indian cricket league, offering $600 million. It does have rights to By the nature of the medium, all of that online toxicity projected to be $10 select Major League Baseball games. threatens to pollute Facebook’s new video property. But Facebook billion more than TV in the U.S. this year, Some media partners are concerned by the dynamics of the moves fast, iterating on products quickly even if it makes a mess Facebook has plenty to platform, unwilling to contribute their content without assur- as it goes. That’s how it went for its mobile rebirth in 2012, says gain from its big bet. ances from Facebook that it will get equal treatment from the Sandberg. “We had to essentially change the tires while the car To sweeten the pot, Facebook is dangling its algorithm that decides what people see which video programs. was in motion.” With video, the car is still in motion and the tires 2 billion users in front Facebook’s talks with major networks like NBC include negotia- are changed. But now Facebook is driving while watching. of content creators.

“You are there to advise your client,” says Everson. “We don’t take a position like ‘Don’t run on TV, give us all your TV money.’ We would never do that because maybe that’s what they do need.”

44 Ad Age September 25, 2017 Important to Important People 45 AA013854.indd 2 9/13/17 10:38 AM AA013854.indd 3 9/13/17 10:38 AM 48 Ad Age September 25, 2017

P048_P054_AA_20170925.indd 48 9/15/17 12:29 PM Annie Get Your Gun

Important to Important People 49

P048_P054_AA_20170925.indd 49 9/15/17 12:29 PM For most of her life, Carrie Lightfoot had no use for Clinton win—were forced to give discounts to pare In the Trump era, firearms. “Guns were just not a part of our world down elevated inventories, according to analysts. women take on a new at all,” says the mother of four, who was born in “Coming out of the election we saw a lot of invento- New York and raised her family in Arizona. “There ry,” Chris Killoy, CEO of gun manufacturer Sturm, role in gun sales weren’t guns in the house. I didn’t even let my boys Ruger & Co., told investors in May. “So we had to be play with squirt guns.” aggressive on our promotions.” By E.J. Shultz She had a change of heart a few years ago, after Going forward, women buyers could be one way Illustration by Zigor Samaniego leaving a violent relationship with a boyfriend and for gun brands to emerge from the so-called Trump catching a TV news story about a man who mur- slump. “With the overall decrease in demand for dered his ex-wife. “I remember thinking, ‘Oh my guns, the increasing prevalence of female consum- gosh, that could be me.’ ” So in 2010 she bought a ers is more important to gun manufacturers than gun for protection, thinking, “ ‘I’m never going to be ever before,” says Kevin Cassidy, who covers the a victim again.’ ” industry for Moody’s. Lightfoot has since become a leading pro-gun evangelist, founding a group called The Well Armed The NRA’s fiery female ambassador Woman, the aim of which is to educate, empower In the U.S., 48 percent of white men say they own and equip women who want to buy guns. She’s part a gun, while 24 percent of nonwhite men say they of a growing movement of women and women-led own one, according to a Pew Research Center report organizations giving the gun industry new energy— published in June. The ownership rate for women is and leading to new female-friendly product lines 24 percent for whites and 16 percent for nonwhites. and gun accessories—that are narrowing the gender But the potential female market is much larger, ac- gap in the traditionally male-dominated $13 billion cording to gun industry research. Southwick Associ- guns and ammunition business. ates, a market research firm specializing in hunting, Industry efforts to target women are not entirely shooting and sportfishing, found that women ac- new. But they are more meaningful now as gun mak- count for 46.8 percent of the 24 million Americans ers deal with a post-Obama political dynamic that who have yet to purchase a firearm but are interest- has led to a softening of overall demand. ed, according to a study the group conducted for the When President Obama was in office, anti-gun National Shooting Sports Foundation. advocates counted on him to push for stronger gun “More women are working, more women are control—but accompanying fears of new regula- single, more women are in their own homes and they tions also spurred gun sales, fattening gun makers’ have a very unique interest in self-protection that bottom lines. Firearm sales soared last year, as they never had before,” says Deb Ferns, co-founder of buyers stocked up in anticipation that Hillary Clin- Babes with Bullets, which runs a traveling firearms ton would win the presidency and follow Obama’s academy geared to female first-time gun buyers. lead. The number of U.S. federal background checks, A forthcoming study by Northeastern and Har- widely considered the best proxy for gun sales, vard universities also paints a tightening gender reached a record 27.5 million, according to the FBI. gap, albeit a lower percentage of female owners. But Trump’s surprise win eased those fears, Gun ownership among American men dropped eliciting a slowdown that took a toll on the market from 42 percent in 1994 to 32 percent in 2015 while in the first half of 2017. Through July, 14.3 million female ownership increased from 9 percent to 12 background checks were performed, down from 16 percent, according to the Guardian, which got an million in the same period last year but still ahead early look at the data last year. The typical female of 2015’s pace. But to boost sales, gun makers and gun owner favors a handgun, not a rifle, and keeps retailers—which stocked up in anticipation of a one for protection purposes. She is also more likely FEMALE

FIREPOWER50 Ad Age September 25, 2017

P048_P054_AA_20170925.indd 50 9/15/17 12:34 PM Important to Important People 51

P048_P054_AA_20170925.indd 51 9/15/17 12:34 PM than a male gun owner to live in an urban area, firearm from the victim and use it against them,” ‘Pretty-looking’ guns and less likely to have grown up in a gun-friendly she says. But as pro-gun groups push their agenda they will household, according to the report on the survey by The California measure, called Prop. 63, requires be met by an equally ardent group of gun control the Guardian. This is why the gun industry views background checks for bullet purchases and pro- proponents, including one female-led organiza- females as a growth opportunity. hibits possession of large-capacity ammunition tion called Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in Consider the National Rifle Association, which magazines. It passed despite the ad. But the Califor- America. “The NRA has figured out … they have to is aggressively pushing the narrative that women nia Rifle & Pistol Association downplayed the loss, create a culture war now to sell guns. They don’t need guns to protect themselves from rapists and suggesting in a post-election statement that the have a bogeyman in the White House to use in their domestic abusers. The NRA’s most visible female measure had become redundant because the state marketing campaign, so they have to make Ameri- supporter is conservative talk show host Dana legislature had already passed duplicate gun control cans afraid of one another,” says Shannon Watts, a Loesch, who last year was named the group’s special laws. “With our victory in the presidential election, mother of five who founded the group in the wake of adviser on women’s policy issues. She has appeared successful legal challenges will now be filed against the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. in a series of videos hosted on the group’s NRATV all these new ill-conceived and unconstitutional (See sidebar, p. 54.) online network that promote female gun ownership laws, and those cases will be heard by a new Supreme Moms Demand Action celebrated numerous while taking on Second Amendment critics. In one Court that will see these laws as the Second Amend- legislative victories in a report it issued earlier this video that drew national headlines, and backlash, ment violations that they are,” the group stated. year, including defeating proposals for permitless she targeted The New York Times, calling it “an old carry—which allows the carrying of concealed guns gray hag,” while saying, “We are coming for you.” in public without a permit—in 20 of 22 states. In another video, she directly addresses rapists But pro-gun groups are winning battles in other and domestic abusers. “Your life expectancy just The Best Defense? parts of the country, including North Dakota, which got shorter, because there’s a very good chance Women are more likely than men as of Aug. 1 became the 12th state to allow per- to say protection is the only reason your next target will be armed, trained and ready to they own a gun. mitless carry. In Missouri, a new permitless carry exercise her right to choose her life over yours,” she law that took effect Jan. 1 has spurred female gun says. “This is what real empowerment looks like.” demand, according to one store owner. “We are get- % of gun owners saying... The NRA also runs a Women’s Leadership ting a big influx of ladies,” says Dave Hart, owner of Women Men Forum that includes women-only shooting events Kirkwood Outfitters, a store that sells guns and gear and hunting excursions. While the group has been on the outskirts of St. Louis. 92% around for more than a decade, it is now “one of the 91% He suggests female demand is coming from peo- largest and most influential philanthropic groups ple concerned about crime in St. Louis. In response, within the NRA, gaining momentum with each pass- the store has stocked up on what he referred to as ing day,” according to its website. “pretty-looking” guns in colors such as pink and Last year, an NRA-backed group called the Coa- purple that are easy to find in a purse. “Those are the lition for Civil Liberties, which opposed a California ones that the females are buying mostly,” he says. ballot measure to toughen the state’s gun control Two years ago the store might lure one female laws, ran an ad showing a woman shooting an 27% shopper a day accompanied by a husband or boy- attacker in a parking garage. A second ad featured friend, he says. But now an average of five women a transgender victim. The tagline for both: “Take come into the store daily, he estimates, including away our rights, take away our life.” 8% many single women who visit by themselves or with Cameka Crawford, chief communications officer Protection is a reason they Protection is the only reason girlfriends, moms or sisters. of the National Domestic Violence Hotline, calls such own a gun they own a gun That’s a good sign for gun makers trying to get messaging “misguided.” The hotline has “heard sales back on track after the sluggish start to 2017. SOURCE: Survey of U.S. adults conducted March 13 to 27, 2017, and many stories from survivors that make it clear how April 4 to 18, 2017. In the first half of the year, Sturm, Ruger & Co.’s net

easy it is for an enraged abusive partner to take a PEW RESEARCH CENTER sales fell to $299.2 million from $341.1 million in the Bullets Babes with by Photograph

P048_P054_AA_20170925.indd 52 9/15/17 12:35 PM PROGRAMMATIC ALSO PROGRAMMATIC

All channels, all devices, all audiences. When it comes to programmatic advertising, we’ve got you covered. LET’S CONNECT.

theexchangelab.com

AA013849.indd 1 9/12/17 2:49 PM The Mother The National Rifle Asso- When Sandy Hook “Groceries Not Guns” says Watts, who now Movement ciation has a new adver- happened, “it really by Grey Canada that resides in Boulder, sar—a foe armed with spoke to me as a mom,” pressured Kroger and Colorado. “For decades By E.J. Schultz infants and diapers. says Watts, a former other retailers to ban the NRA has been able Moms Demand corporate communica- open carry of guns to generate emails Action for Gun Sense tions executive who at in stores. and calls and industry in America, founded the time was a stay-at- The group says meetings and out- in 2012, pushes its home mom in Indiana. it supports the Sec- rage with the flip of a gun-control agen- She looked to join an ond Amendment, but switch, and we needed da with a variety of organization like Moth- wants “common-sense that kind of power on tactics, including an ers Against Drunk Driv- solutions” to help our side. And we have attention-grabbing one ing, but for gun safety, “decrease the escalat- that now.” called “stroller jams.” and couldn’t find one. ing epidemic of gun These involve crowd- So she started a Face- violence that kills too ing statehouse halls book page that evolved many of our children with babies and moms into an organization and loved ones every armed with infant created to demand day,” according to its gear like diaper bags, action from legislators, website. making it “impossible companies and educa- “There’s never been for lawmakers to get by tional institutions to a grassroots move- without answering our establish gun reforms. ment in gun violence questions,” says the Last year, the prevention. It’s really Maria Pike cries as she holds organization’s founder, group won the North been male-run think a picture of her son, Ricky Pike,who was fatally shot in Shannon Watts. American Grand Effie tanks mainly to shape 2012 at the age of 24. for a campaign called federal legislation,”

first half of 2016. But Killoy, the CEO, points to its short, women are teaching other women about guns. Ferns, 63, of Arizona, didn’t shoot her first gun more diverse consumer base, including “a lot more Lightfoot’s The Well Armed Woman sports the until her 45th birthday. As a corporate meeting women shooters,” as reason for optimism. tagline, “Where the Feminine and Firearms Meet.” planner, she was always on the road shuttling American Outdoor Brands, whose brands include It oversees an online discussion forum and a non- among Tucson, Phoenix, San Diego and Palm Smith & Wesson, reported a 4 percent increase in profit organization that helps gather local groups of Springs. At one point she decided, “I want to take revenue to $229.2 million for its quarter ending April women around the country that “meet monthly to my personal protection a little bit more seriously,” 30. But that trails the 40 percent growth in its first practice, learn and grow as shooters,” according to she says, and soon began spreading the message to quarter and 63 percent uptick in its second quarter, its website. As of early August, the group oversaw other women after co-founding Babes with Bullets which was followed by “flattish” growth in the third 357 chapters in 49 states, with the 50th state, South in 2004. About 85 percent of the attendees of the quarter, as noted by investment analyst firm Wed- Dakota, expected to be represented soon. Babes with Bullets camps have never touched a bush Securities. Across the industry, market research Lightfoot started the group after finding gun gun before they arrive at the multiday sleepover group IBISWorld projects that gun and ammunition makers were unaware of the needs of women and camps, she says. “It’s women teaching women,” she industry revenue—including consumer and military relied on outdated marketing. “If you look at any explains. Much of the new gun demand, she notes, purchases—will grow annually by 3.5 percent from gun magazine, it’s a lot of metal and a lot of black comes from women who travel long distances for $13.3 billion in 2017 to $15.8 billion in 2022. and a lot of grey. And up until recently, if there was work during off hours and in crime-ridden neigh- Amid this year’s slowdown, American Outdoor a woman represented in that magazine it was in borhoods, including female veterinarians, nurses Brands kept accelerating its advertising, which a sexual expression,” she says. “It was either the and real estate agents. mostly includes TV and magazine ads, as well as babes in bikinis holding a gun … or ‘Here, little lady, Women gun owners appear to be more accept- printed materials. Spending increased to $22.3 let me tell you what you need.’ ” ing of at least some restrictive gun policies. Of million in the year ending April 30 from $21.8 mil- Gun makers have taken notice. National spon- gun-owning Republican women, 60 percent favor lion the year prior, including selling and marketing sors of The Well Armed Woman meetings include banning assault weapons and 57 percent support expenses, according to its annual report. Sturm, Ruger & Co. and Glock, according to Light- creation of a federal gun-sales tracking database, In magazines and online ads, gun and firearm foot. Ruger also sponsors “The Women’s Gun according to a recent Pew survey. That compares gear manufacturers are making direct appeals to Show,” a weekly podcast co-hosted by Lightfoot and with 28 percent and 35 percent, respectively, for women. “Confident Women Carry the Cross” states Barbara Baird, publisher of Women’s Outdoor News. Republican men gun owners. (Pew did not include a a banner ad for gun holster brand CrossBreed that The Well Armed Woman also provides regular similar statistic for Democrats.) recently ran on Women’s Outdoor News. A Smith & feedback to gun makers about female-friendly gun Both Ferns and Lightfoot say their groups avoid Wesson ad shows a woman grasping a handgun with designs. Some 200 members of the group actively getting overtly political. “It’s just women who want the copy, “Where protection meets performance.” participated in the design of a new lightweight rifle to protect themselves,” Ferns says. “We have a large The website for Miss Concealed includes a variety by gun maker LWRC that is specially designed for number of gun-owning, more liberal women … that of female gear, such as a stylish “concealed carry women, Lightfoot says. are maybe more liberal-thinking on the social issues purse.” Boise, Idaho, resident Lorelei Fay founded the Ferns’ Babes with Bullets has backing from Smith but believe firmly in the Second Amendment and retailer in 2014 after noticing “there is nothing out & Wesson, which sponsors the 11 female training their right to own a gun.” there that’s even remotely feminine,” she says. camps it’s running this year, from California to New Hampshire. Smith & Wesson furnished the camps Female training camps with loaner guns, holsters and other financial sup- Grassroots female-led gun training groups—not port, such as gun-range fees, Ferns says. (Women political advocacy or fancy ads and retailing—might cannot buy guns at the camp.) American Outdoor be providing the biggest boost to the female market. In Brands did not respond to a request for comment. Photograph by Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post via Getty Images Post Washington L. Voisin/The Sarah by Photograph

54 Ad Age September 25, 2017

P048_P054_AA_20170925.indd 54 9/15/17 12:35 PM For 58 Years, Clio has been reflecting, reimagining and relentlessly pursuing the art of creative excellence.

The Clios Ads of the World The Muse We celebrate creative A platform rich with work curated Introducing The Muse, a digital home for genius in all its forms and sourced from around the creative and inspirational content filtered across Sports, Music, world, with devoted space for through Clio’s unique point of view where Fashion & Beauty, creatives to explore, discover contributors, partners, and innovative minds Awards | Community | Content Entertainment and Health. and learn from their peers. from around the world come together. clios.com adsoftheworld.com 56 Ad Age September 25, 2017

P056_P060_AA_20150925.indd 56 9/15/17 1:24 PM The former Fox News favorite starts a new day, every day, as she joins NBC’s morning lineup. But will viewers tune in?

By Jeanine Poggi Photography by Stephanie Diani

MEGYN KELLY’S WAKE-UP CALL

Important to Important People 57

P056_P060_AA_20150925.indd 57 9/15/17 1:24 PM In the year since battling with then-presidential candidate Don- What’s your mind frame in the weeks leading up to the show? ald Trump, who attacked her over the questions she asked during It’s exactly the kind of storytelling I want to be doing—taking a Republican debate hosted by Fox News, Megyn Kelly’s work life viewers on an emotional journey I know they’re going to love. The has become far sunnier. stories that I have in the bank right now are just so uplifting and She threw the first pitch at a Durham Bulls game, sang John empowering and amazing. Denver during a family camping trip and danced with Derek Hough of “Dancing With the Stars” fame, all for lighthearted What do you think you’re bringing to morning TV that’s missing? pieces on NBC’s “Today,” where her new 9 a.m. hosting gig starts It’s not so much that there’s a void that needs filling. I’m trying to Sept. 25. It wasn’t the Kelly viewers know from Fox News, but she create a place that rejects the constant outrage and hostility. Our says politics was never her obsession. mission is not far from my life motto, which is to settle for more joy, “My separation from it, I think, worked professionally,” she more love, more human connection. There’s an increased desire to says. “It’s also the thing that made it unsustainable for me, be- feel connected to your fellow human beings in what is increasingly cause you have to have deep passion.” a disconnected country and world. You won’t get punched in the Kelly’s first outing with NBC this year, the news magazine face, metaphorically. “Sunday Night With Megyn Kelly,” suffered some rough patches. The most public was when parents of children killed at Sandy So is this a departure from politics and hard news? Hook Elementary School asked the network to spike a segment Well, a departure from politics. There will be hard news, but featuring Alex Jones, a conspiracy peddler who has called the I don’t want to be covering politics every morning. If it’s big massacre a fake. Kelly argued that Jones’ influence with Trump enough that it crosses over into my world, I’ll do it. But our was reason enough to cover him, and earned good reviews for the mission is in no way political. piece once it aired. Ratings for the show’s eight episodes averaged below the repeats of “60 Minutes” and “America’s Funniest Home Will you be talking about President Trump? Videos” airing opposite, but NBC says it’s not trying to topple “60 Let me see how I want to phrase that. The bar will have to be high for Minutes” out of the gate. “It’s not going to be perfect on Day One, any news from inside the Beltway. Now having said that, there’s a dif- and we’re not going to be in first place on Day Two,” NBC News ferent way of getting at some of these stories without going political. Chairman Andrew Lack said in comments reported by Variety be- fore the show began, and recently confirmed to Ad Age. The show If the show had been on during the incident in Charlottesville, returns in the spring. where white nationalists clashed with counter-protesters, how Meanwhile, after two months of traveling nationwide to would you have handled it? promote her new morning show, Kelly landed back in New York at Would we have been debating what President Trump said? No, we the end of August. She discussed her plan to inject some positivity would not. That’s cable. Would I put on a bunch of skinheads? No. into the news, her “year of Trump” and how “Megyn Kelly Today” We’re not trying to go to the darkness. There are smart, uplifting will handle the president. Our conversation has been edited. ways of getting at these stories that will help people learn how other people feel in a way that can be cathartic and not offensive. I’m not interested in doing, with all due respect because Geraldo Rivera is a friend of mine, the show with a bunch of skinheads where chairs get thrown. I’m trying to help people think through issues, improve their lives, get their arms around things that may have been daunt- ing to them or even scary to them, and grow. I want to grow.

So this is an opportunity to counter-balance the negativity preva- lent since the election. Yes, this is that opportunity. It’s been crafted by design. That’s not the stew in which I want to immerse myself. There are people who love it.

You don’t get excited by any part of it? Well, I like politics. Don’t get me wrong, I do. You have to love it to do it 24/7, and to stand in the midst of all that nastiness, day after day after day after day, and continue to love it. When I got into cable news, it was not all politics. I covered the Supreme Court my first three years at Fox. That was fun. I had been a lawyer. I did “America’s Newsroom,” which was a 9 a.m. show with Bill Hemmer. That wasn’t all politics. It wasn’t until I got to cable-news prime- time that it became mostly politics, but not even in the beginning.

When did it change? “I looked In the era of Trump. It’s sort of how you boil the frog: You put him around and in the water when it’s cold and then you turn it up. That’s kind of what happened to me. Then I looked around and said, “Oh, wait. said, ‘Oh, I’m not enjoying this anymore. This is not exactly what I thought wait. I’m not I was signing up for. I wanted to cover the news. I wanted to be in storytelling. I never wanted to be a political animal.” One of the enjoying ironies is, one of the things that made “The Kelly File” so success- this anymore.’ ful was that I was not on either side. I would call B.S. on anyone. ... I never Because I really didn’t have a horse in the race. wanted to Do you feel like, at some point, you would have needed to pick a side? be a political No, I never have. I think there was pressure from certain people animal.” out in the ether.

58 Ad Age September 25, 2017

P056_P060_AA_20150925.indd 58 9/15/17 2:39 PM Important to Important People 59

P056_P060_AA_20150925.indd 59 9/15/17 1:25 PM From your viewers? “I generally feel What do you make of criticisms about your Sunday news magazine? No, but I think in 2017 America there’s almost an expectation that that the critics, if I generally feel that the critics, if they say something negative a journalist is going to do that. I never had an affinity for either they say something about me or my show, I’m sure I probably deserved it. I believe side, ever, Republicans or Democrats. I can see both sides of every negative about in karma so, even if I don’t deserve that particular criticism that issue. I’ve voted for both sides. I’m a registered independent. I me or my show, day, I’m sure I’ve done something that warrants their ire. I try to think it’s not right to expect that of a journalist. I’m sure I probably just accept that and work on being better and doing better, and deserved it. I believe putting better karma out in the world. It’s not pleasant for me. It’s What did you learn during the election, especially the encounters in karma.” not that I want to sit down and have cocktails with people who with President Trump? write unkind things about me, but I generally am forgiving about I had many takeaways. I do believe it reminded me that adversity where that comes from. I find it more helpful to just work harder is an opportunity. It’s not fun to go through. I emerged from that and try to do better. whole nonsense stronger and knowing myself better, and closer to my most intimate people, from my husband and my children You’ve had a daytime show on cable, so moving into morning to my friends. I also learned that the negative buzz out there, the is not completely new for you. But do you think there’s an negative people, whether it’s direct attacks from certain websites element of reinvention that you have to go through to start to more indirect criticism you might get from media critics or “Megyn Kelly Today”? what have you, not to listen to it. Because if those types of attacks For me, it’s not a reinvention because this is who I am. It’s not that could kill me, I would have been dead long ago. All that matters, in I wasn’t my authentic self in “The Kelly File.” That was authen- terms of your professional success, is your relationship directly tically me, there’s no question. My friends all say, “Oh, so this is with your viewers. going to be you. Like the you we know?” Because when I was with I was well aware that a lot of my audience was Republican, and my friends, or I was with my family, I wasn’t acting like you’d see a lot of my audience loved Donald Trump. I was well aware that me on “The Kelly File,” except for the humor. People who didn’t it would not serve me well to go out there and bash Trump every watch “The Kelly File” think I’ve never shown my humorous side. night, and I didn’t. But when Trump did something controversial People who watch every day are like, “Yeah, of course. We know, and deserved calling out, like ripping on Judge Curiel in very she’s like a 9-year-old boy.” xenophobic terms, or ripping on a Gold Star family, I called him out on it. Is this what you saw yourself doing when you quit law? One-hundred percent yes. I saw myself covering the news and Do you think you should have been harder on President Trump? telling people stories, telling the stories of our time. Never once Me? No. I think I nailed it. One of the things I’m most proud of did I think about being a political animal, or telling political is how my team at “The Kelly File” held steady at the helm and stories at all. It’s just that’s what cable news has become. I would under immense pressure. submit to you, when I joined it back in 2004, it was not that way.

You talk about your audience staying loyal. Who do you think It wasn’t always so serious. your audience is for the morning show? Do you have a natural At all! At all. We did fun legal debates about guys who would go to constituency following you? strip clubs and get a stiletto in the eye, and then sue. I certainly hope that some of the Fox viewers will come over and sample. I hope that the “Today” show viewers who are watching Is it harder for women in the news now? from 7 to 9 will give us a try and check it out. One of the things There’s no question. There’s so much misogyny, online in partic- I’ve noticed in the media, in the build-up to my daytime show, is it ular. I don’t think it does us a lot of good to complain about it. I seems like some of these critics expect Moses to come down with haven’t figured out how to solve it without discussing it. the tablets. Will your show be a forum for topics like that? Do you feel pressure? There’s been a lot of hype. I don’t want to lecture to anybody, because I find there’s no better I realize some people want to make it into something with much way to shut down their listening skills than to start lecturing them. higher stakes than really exist. I don’t feel that. The only time I I’m that way personally. But it’s absolutely going to be a place start to feel stress is when the vitriol in my life crosses over into where women will feel empowered and they will feel supported. my family. The threats to my family’s security. If we’re dealing with rampant misogyny, in any given instance, then we ought to identify that instead of pretending it’s better I would imagine that’s incredibly scary. than we think it is. Then, talk honestly about how we can get past That is by far the darkest thing I’ve dealt with since I became a it. I don’t think it’s helpful to whine. journalist. I was grateful that during the whole Trump nonsense, they were too young to really get it. Some of the things seeped What do you watch when you’re not making the news? down, but my husband and I never discuss politics or President “Game of Thrones.” “This Is Us.” Trump in front of our kids. No good can come of that. They’ll even come home and say, “I heard President Trump is bad, President How much do you use social media? Any favorite platforms? Trump is terrible.” Even with them, I’m saying, “Try to keep an I don’t. If I want to post something on Facebook or Twitter, I email open mind. Like anybody, he’s not all bad. He’s not all good. It’s it to my staff. They post it. I’ve removed those from my phone. I’m more complicated than that.” They’re 7 and 6. My 4-year-old is a much happier person for it. They’re just negative places. There’s not yet there. They have enough to deal with. They don’t need the too much anonymity. It brings out people’s worst demons instead stress of worrying about our president. of their best angels. My own experiment has proven that just living one’s life in the actual world instead of the virtual one leads to far greater happiness and wellness.

Do you think that there’s a need now to hear these kinds of things in TV and in the news? The country is going through something right now, something... significant. I hear it from both sides. There’s no good, and there’s no respect for someone’s desire to go through one’s day with joy. It’s not that people want to live as Pollyanna, but I think they want to consume the news without being smacked in the face with constant awfulness.

60 Ad Age September 25, 2017

P056_P060_AA_20150925.indd 60 9/15/17 2:40 PM Learn more about The Science Behind What’s NextTM at nielsen.com. Copyright © 2017 The Nielsen Company (US), LLC. All Rights Reserved. WE INTERRUPT THIS INTERRUPTION FOR AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE

BY MICHAEL STROBER EVP OF CLIENT STRATEGY AND AD INNOVATION AT TURNER AND CO-HEAD OF TURNER IGNITE

There’s no shortage of haranguing pundits predicting the end of advertising. Yet worldwide ad spend is set to top $580 billion this year, according to eMarketer, and a large portion of that will be spent with television networks. ¶ The reason? At the end of the day, TV ads put butts in seats and push steel off dealer lots. In fact, a recent study published by Neustar found that for a $1 million investment, TV’s lift is consistently seven times better than paid search and ve times better than online display advertising. ¶ TV ads work. But, can they be better? Absolutely!

62 Ad Age September 25, 2017.

TURNER 20170925_spread.indd 62 AA013842.indd 9/11/17 5:14 PM Publishing Partner

The value exchange between consumers Give Consumers Control … Really and brands has been upended given all the Television’s mass reach is unparalleled, tools consumers can use to avoid ads and but punctuating content experiences with the options they now have for on-demand just “we’ll be back after this commercial and streaming programming. We need to break!” misses out on marketing opportuni- rede ne this relationship that has been ties that allow consumers to take part and predicated on interruption, particularly lean in. About the Author among plurals (13- to 21-year-olds) who People don’t want to just be talked at, As EVP of client consider advertising the Brussels sprouts of and they appreciate when they are given strategy and ad inno- their media diet. options and tools to personalize their ad vation for Turner and We live in a world straight out of sci- experience in a meaningful way. Hulu’s Ad co-head of Turner ence- ction novels—there are driverless Selector format is a great example, allowing Ignite, Michael Strober cars on U.S. streets, we’re knee-deep in users to choose what ads and advertisers is charged with both planning a manned mission to Mars, and they’d rather see. The creative community capturing client insights our phones can virtually transport us half- is certainly up to the task of developing new, and developing next way around the world in a matter of a few highly engaging experiences that take advan- generation ad capabil- taps. tage of the various television-viewing envi- ities, notably around So it doesn’t seem all that far-fetched ronments; it’s a matter of empowering them audience targeting and that the time is here to reinvent a 50-plus- further, pushing our imagination to what new advanced TV solu- year-old ad model, starting with these ad formats and experiences can be. tions. In January 2016, considerations: Strober came together Cast Aside Organizational Inertia with Turner’s head of Better Big Data Every year, we as an industry churn out content partnerships, Data is everywhere in the ad industry, and a ton of ads. We have some of the most Dan Riess, to launch increasingly being used as a tool for tele- brilliant creative minds in our world work- Turner Ignite, the vision. We don’t have a data problem—we ing on ads that invade the user experiences company’s insights- have a problem with harnessing the right of sites, airwaves and apps like uninvited driven content and data pools of data, and creating audience-tar- houseguests. And, while it’s nice to pick up solutions unit designed geting models that are accurate and pre- our awards at Cannes Lions every year, we to power the next gen- dictive. This will only become more imper- have to think differently if we are going to eration of advertising ative when TV inevitably becomes fully continue to connect with customers. capabilities. IP-delivered. There have been some nominal attempts Turner’s Ignite team has been at the at industry-wide initiatives to do so, such forefront of these advanced TV models for as the ill-fated Coalition for Better Ads. But nearly four years, and there is momentum there has been a resurgence that has led within agencies and brand advertisers to to much more positive results, particularly adopt them more widely. Not only do these around reduced TV commercial loads and audience-driven solutions produce better increased adoption of ad targeting. results for advertisers through increased But we must forge a path forward in ROI, they also deliver a better ad experi- a more dramatic and bold fashion, cast- ence to viewers with more relevant ads. ing aside the notions of TV advertising we grew up on and still put into service today. Connect the Technology People who watch TV today do not do so About Turner Ignite Today, people are accessing video on a the same way as people did 50 years ago; Turner Ignite is focused myriad of platforms and devices, but the and in 10 years, how we watch TV today on reimagining adver- ad tech enablement on each of those end- will seem just as antiquated. tising. Powered by unri- points—everything from ad serving to valed branded content measurement—is still not there and causes This week’s issue of Ad Age marks a new services, data-rich ad some pretty awkward situations. Seriously, chapter, and by extension, for the ad indus- targeting capabilities, nobody needs to see the same deodorant ad try which it chronicles. We ought to take a rst-of-its kind social 17 times, trust me! page out of Ad Age’s book and rethink the optimization tools and Marketers are left guessing how effective “look and feel” of how we approach our global distribution, their dollars really are as they try to make consumers, understanding that we have a Turner Ignite empowers sense of the chaotic chasm separating digi- shared imperative to move faster than we brands to build more tal and TV, all while struggling to coordinate ever have before. meaningful connections messaging across these channels. We have the opportunity to coordinate with consumers and We must move beyond just paying lip around bigger ideas today, and to take drive return on invest- service to the power of cross-platform and on and invest further in our own moon- ment at scale. The actually connect all of these consumer shot-type projects that will transform our business unit is backed touchpoints, inclusive of the TV environ- industry. We just have to have the courage by Turner’s wide-scale ment, creating a fully addressable envi- to interrupt our own regularly scheduled audience of diverse ronment powered by a robust and uni ed programming to meet the demands of this fans of its portfolio device graph. inevitable future. properties.

Sponsor Content 63

TURNER 20170925_spread.indd 63 AA013842.indd 9/11/17 5:14 PM It’s a stereotype as pernicious as it is tired. who support such shows to consider what their Just as disturbing, some seemed to find some of the It’s so pervasive that political opponents of first brand dollars help to disseminate. imagery aspirational. “Our findings were alarming,” lady Michelle Obama used it as a shorthand for why “We’re not asleep. We’re very much aware and says Wright. “Our girls were being enticed by these voters shouldn’t trust her. It’s a taunt that’s been awake,” says Sandra Sims-Williams, chief diversity harmful images of African-American women, some used in recent months to taint women from Rep. officer, Publicis, who’s part of the group. “And other seeing reality TV and ‘social media celebrity’ as their Maxine Waters to Serena Williams to ESPN’s Jemele women need to wake up.” chance for success over their education.” Hill. The angry black woman. She is unreasonable, The survey, coordinated by the American and that gives us permission to dismiss her state- Advertising Federation’s Mosaic Center for Multi- Waking up ments and her concerns. Perhaps not surprisingly, culturalism and the historic black sorority Zeta Phi Discussions about the topic first began at the the label is most often used to undercut the suc- Beta, should help. Being released this week at the Mosaic Center’s council after the fatal shooting of cessful professional woman—a code for saying she 47th annual Legislative Conference of the Congres- unarmed teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mis- succeeds by being aggressive and rude. sional Black Caucus and at Advertising Week, it has souri, in August 2014 and the rise of the Black Lives This trope, plus other negative imagery, shows two sections: The first was sent to 500 (in total) Matter movement that followed. up in both TV news programs and reality shows, African-American and Caucasian women ages 18 to “When the Ferguson riots broke out, a lot of the such as VH1’s “Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta” and Bravo’s 24, and a follow-up was sent to a broader sample of images being shown repeatedly on the news were “The Real Housewives of Atlanta.” The latter had an 500 women of all races. Some of the more startling really shocking,” says Kendra King, VP of marketing entire storyline that revolved around cast member statistics from the former: When asked how best to and consumer strategy at SapientRazorfish, who Porsha Williams’ “anger management.” describe how African-American women were por- at the time was chair of the Mosaic Council. “[The A growing group of 15 (and counting) ad agency trayed in the media, the adjectives most cited were images] being rebroadcast and repurposed were executives and educators has had enough. “argumentative” (60 percent), “lazy” (46 percent) the riots, even though there were peaceful protests The informal consortium, which includes and “corrupt” (45 percent). happening too. And we were afraid ... viewers would women from Publicis Groupe, SapientRazorfish and “Only 12 percent of African-American and Cau- think, ‘Maybe these people deserve this if they are Howard University, is overseeing an initiative to casian women believe there are positive images of acting this way.’ ... We wanted to start a dialogue. quantify the impact of such imagery on all Ameri- African-American women in the media,” says Mary We thought, ‘How can we use our talents we’ve cans, raise awareness of the issue and recommend Breaux Wright, international president, Zeta Phi Beta. earned in the marketing, advertising and entertain- countermeasures. This includes asking marketers “Something has to be done.” ment world to do that?’ ”

“We thought, “Producers, you ‘How can we use our know what? Get real. talents we’ve earned in the Middle-class black marketing, advertising families exist.” and entertainment world Sandra Sims-Williams, chief diversity officer, Publicis Groupe [to start a dialogue]?” Kendra King, VP of marketing and consumer strategy, SapientRazorfish

THE ‘ANGRY BLACK WOMAN’ MAKES REAL WOMEN ANGRY 64 Ad Age September 25, 2017

P064_P068_AA_20170925.indd 64 9/15/17 7:47 PM The group grew, and began its work in earnest in cations at Syracuse University, another member of personas, culled from outside academic research, 2015 with TV reality show “watch parties” on col- the coalition. Viewers “can be led to think that what include the “hood rat,” the “Bible thumper” and the lege campuses, and in the offices of ad agencies in is on reality TV is how people really behave.” “angry black woman.” (See sidebar, p. 68.) 10 cities, including Chicago, Detroit, New York and In February 2016, the watch parties led to a “Producers, you know what? Get real. Mid- Philadelphia. They were co-hosted by the AAF and white paper, “Reality TV: Entertaining … but No dle-class black families exist,” says Publicis Zeta Phi Beta, and more than 400 people attended, Laughing Matter.” It noted that as of 2016, most Groupe’s Williams. “I don’t know if enough white including educators, college students and advertis- Americans were living “strikingly separate racial people know that there is a black middle class.” ing and entertainment executives. lives.” And it found that “for an astonishing number Williams points to ABC’s “Blackish” as “a good thing One reason the watch parties were so important, of people, their only exposure to people of color because it’s a program that’s a real reflection of the group says, is that African-Americans watch is through their television or computer screen.” black middle-class life and the issues facing them.” many more hours of TV than other demographic (An average white American’s social circle is groups. According to Nielsen, African-American TV typically 91 percent Caucasian, according to U.S. Cottage cheese vs. ice cream viewers watch roughly 57 hours more than white Census data and research from the Public Religion Many watch-party participants admitted the viewers, an average of 213 hours per month. Afri- Research Institute.) shows were spectacles, but also entertaining and can-American women watch 14 more hours of TV a The behavior of reality TV cast members char- a guilty pleasure. week than any other ethnic group, and they acterized by aggressiveness, excessive materialism “It’s like having no-fat, no-fruit yogurt or cot- are 59 percent more likely to watch reality TV and hypersexuality, it also found, influences the way tage cheese when you want ice cream. It’s not what programming. African-American women are viewed both in the you want when you want to be entertained,” says At these events, seven clips from shows were workplace and in social situations. And because of Syracuse’s Ford. “If we boycott it, they’ll stop mak- shown (see sidebar, p. 66) and then discussions the ubiquity of these shows, reality TV cast members ing it, but as an educated person, I can look and say, followed, including on how race and power were often become role models for African-American ‘But it’s funny; it’s entertaining.’ I recognize that’s central to story arcs, and what negative feelings teens and young adults as they absorb attitudes to- part of the problem.” surfaced in viewers as they watched. ward money, sex and possessions, and adopt similar Lena Waithe, screenwriter for Netflix’s “Master “We wanted to find out what people were think- speech patterns and fashion choices, the paper notes. of None” and producer of the upcoming Showtime ing,” says Rochelle Ford, professor and chair, public The paper also examined how frequently these series “The Chi,” notes that those negative tropes relations, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communi- shows use African-American stereotypes. These are often employed because they draw in audiences.

“Our findings were alarming. ... “The images people see Our girls were being on TV or in [other media] enticed by these harmful have a tremendous images of African- editorial power.” Renetta McCann, American women.” chief talent officer, Leo Burnett Mary Breaux Wright, international president, Zeta Phi Beta

TV has a long way to go in presenting positive images of African-American women, but a THE ‘ANGRY BLACK WOMAN’ consortium of female executives is now doing something about it MAKES REAL WOMEN ANGRY By Ann Marie Kerwin Important to Important People 65

P064_P068_AA_20170925.indd 65 9/15/17 7:48 PM “It’s not just some sort of evil plan by the people do to reflect experiences meaningful to it. Reality Bites in charge,” she says. “We sometimes feed into it. “I’m always striving for authenticity,” says Du- Problematic Some of these shows are run by African-American Vernay, director, screenwriter, documentarian and scenes from three producers. The majority of the audience for these founder of Array, a grassroots collective dedicated to different “watch shows are African American, and they’re enter- promoting films by women and people of color. “The party” shows tained by it. ... As long as there’s a market for it, visibility and representation are so scarce that there

people are going to want to be in that market and is a real necessity for authenticity, that you feel these “Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta” play up those stereotypes.” characters are multidimensional, full-bodied people. (2012), VH1 Therein lies the rub, the paper notes: High So often the representation of people of color is very Chrissy explains that her fiancé, Jim Jones, ratings signal to network executives that there’s no one-dimensional.” can cheat; just do it problem with the content, and high ratings lead to respectfully. advertising dollars rewarding that content. Pervasive negativity “Real Housewives of Atlanta” “From a marketing standpoint, it’s not just the Next, the group fielded the survey, “From Bad (2008), Bravo message we have to get right, it’s also about the Girls to Housewives: Portrayals of African-Amer- Phaedra confronts medium and where we’re showing our support with ican Women in Media,” to see if the watch-party Kendra about her spreading rumors that our dollars,” says King. observations were shared by a more representative she is having an affair. Erik Logan, president of OWN, says its execu- sample. In addition to the stats mentioned earlier, tives are very sensitive to avoiding one-dimensional the section that surveyed African-American and “The Apprentice” (2004), NBC or stereotypical characters. “We have a very clear Caucasion women shows that when it comes to Omarosa has a fight with mission, and it’s one that our programming team which media best portray African-American wom- her teammates. and our acquisition team are locked in with,” he en’s lives, unscripted TV/reality ranks the lowest, Source: American says. Network practice, he adds, with all storytell- at 18 percent; movies/films rank the highest at 35 Advertising Federation and Zeta Phi Beta ers—from Will Packer, producer of “Girls Trip” and percent; social media comes in at 27 percent and head of a new production venture with OWN, to Ava advertisements/commercials 22 percent. DuVernay, producer of “Queen Sugar,” to Mara Brock Unscripted/reality TV was associated with the Akil, showrunner on “Love Is”—is to educate them most negative perceptions. Of the survey’s respon- on who OWN’s audience is, and what the stories can dents, 45 percent say that black women are por-

The It’s not just producers not part of a multicul- creative performed “The responsibility Beyonce´ and writers who are tural campaign. She’s best across all ethnic we have as marketers is Effect becoming more aware the national campaign groups,” says Williams. to be authentic and find of how they portray spokesperson, which “We like to refer to that a respectful way to tell By Ann Marie Kerwin African-American wom- Lizette Williams, as the Beyoncé effect. our story, in a way that en. A handful of adver- multicultural market- Everyone loves her, and authentically portrays tisers are starting to get ing leader for North she is unapologetically her experience,” she real, too. America at K-C, says is an African-American continues. “We’re not Kimberly-Clark, by design. woman. And in music, in the business of being for example, recently “When we looked in pop culture, that exploitive, nor should named Jessamyn Stan- at [creative executions message and pride is we be. We can have a ley as a new national for a recent campaign], driving so much influ- hand in shaping how the brand ambassador for and we looked at what ence. By engaging all rest of the world sees Kotex. Stanley is plus- language and what im- demographic groups, diverse communities.” size, African American ages performed best, we can really move the

and, more important, the African-American needle on the business. Images Sullivan/Getty Justin

66 Ad Age September 25, 2017

P064_P068_AA_20170925.indd 66 9/15/17 7:33 PM

White Paper Black Stereotypes

According to the white paper “Reality TV ... Entertaining but No Laughing Matter” from the American Advertis- ing Federation and Zeta Phi Beta, a historically black so- rority, these are the most fre- quently cited African-Amer- ican female stereotypes and their definitions. These are the tropes the group hopes to banish:

“The Hood Rat” Usually loud and boisterous, depicted as crazy and irratio- nal. She’s consistently shown screaming, cursing in public and instigating fights.

“The Bitch” Combination “hyper-inde- pendent black woman” and “angry black woman.” Seen as an emasculating woman who speaks to (or about) peo- ple with little tact or regard Porsha Williams in for their feelings. an episode of ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta.’ “The Jezebel” A promiscuous, emotion- ally damaged, hypersexual predator.

“The Desperate Single” Combination “hyper- independent black wom- trayed as “argumentative” in unscripted/reality TV Hope online an,” “tragic mulatto” and programs; 37 percent say they’re shown as “lazy”; Thanks to the proliferation of platforms and distribu- “Jezebel.” Often portrayed as unlovable and in need of 34 percent “fake”; and 32 percent “corrupt.” Addi- tion channels, more people of color have found outlets a man, thus she settles for tionally, African-American women are 56 percent for their own stories, and the more stories that are out mediocre men to compensate more likely than Caucasian women to believe these there, the better the balance becomes. for loneliness and lack of self-confidence. portrayals are unfairly negative. “What we see happening in the digital space is very exciting. Creators of color who may not have had “The Bible-Thumper” Circle of influence an opportunity to get into writers’ rooms have created A woman who quotes the Bi- ble, assesses and then judges The third peg of the group’s initiative consists their own lane and blown up,” says Dana Gills, Lions- people, often hypocritically, of countermeasures to help broaden the types of gate creative director, motion picture group, who’s for their “ungodly” behavior. characters seen on TV, and to make sure those im- affiliated with the consortium. “Where you come from ages, both positive and negative, are understood in influences the types of stories we tell. Authenticity “The Angry Black Woman” An upset, irate, aggressive, context. To further that goal, a roundtable is being travels across color and across economic lines.” loud and rude woman, whose organized on the West Coast to raise awareness Gills points to “Insecure” star Issa Rae, who damaged self-concept makes among those who create programming. came to prominence with her YouTube series her lash out at others (verbal- ly, nonverbally, physically “The images people see on TV or in [other me- “Awkward Black Girl.” “She found her own path and and psychologically) to cover dia] have a tremendous editorial power,” says Ren- authenticity of voice, and that went well beyond her her own pain. etta McCann, chief talent officer at Leo Burnett, and social circle,” says Gills. “I’m a firm believer that “The Tragic Mulatto” another member of the group. “They frame one’s authenticity is what allows these stories to go broad A usually light-skinned perception of that event or a type of person.” and to appeal to a wide audience.” African-American woman The group has begun to advocate for media litera- But change takes time, and the women backing depicted as one destined to have tragedies befall her. cy education, as well as to push to revive a 2010 House this initiative are also ready to commit to its prog- of Representatives bill, Support the Healthy Media ress long-term. “The Mammy” for Youth Act, which would provide grants for media “It takes a village to ensure that the depic- Has her roots in slavery, when she was caricatured as literacy programs. tions of a community are realistic and reflect true content, even happy, to be a “Media literacy will help people to better see experiences,” says E.T. Franklin, exec VP-managing slave or in an undesirable sit- the realism of these characters in shows, in ads and director, Spark Foundry, a watch-party host. “On uation. Her wide grin, hearty laughter and loyal servitude reported by the news,” says AAF COO Connie Frazier, the ad and marketing side, it takes a village to watch are presented as evidence who has been with the group since the start. “We how dollars are spent and how allocations are made of her humanity despite also want to have more conversations with people in and what recommendations filter up to clients. It Jim Crow, discrimination, segregation or otherwise de- decision-making positions so it becomes part of their takes cooperation on the media side from folks who plorable system under which thought process.” are producing and green-lighting shows and writing she lives. “We want to work our circle of influence to and developing storylines and character arcs. And reach those in media production and the other pool it also takes the audience to be responsive in a of people who have the ability to write scripts, to measurable and vocal way as to what is working and green-light something, so we can get a whole lot of what is wanted. It will take all sides.” other images out there to counteract the negative ones and create balance,” adds Syracuse’s Ford. “Real Housewives of Atlanta” via YouTube Atlanta” of “Real Housewives

68 Ad Age September 25, 2017

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AA013846.indd 1 9/12/17 12:28 PM The Ad Age issue that you are hold- archives and see how our design and ing in your hands represents our big- our stories have led Ad Age to where AD AGE gest change in the last two decades. we are today—still important to COMES OF AGE Don’t believe us? Take a dive into our important people.­ By Judann Pollack

Jan. 11, 1930 Jan. 4, 1943 Advertising Age prints its Ad Age’s contribution to the first issue early in the Great war effort is a V for victory Depression. The mission of symbol flanking our logo. The the “National Newspaper of bulletin in the top corner also Advertising” is to “present hints at the coming collapse the news of advertising, of the 15 percent commission a business of widespread that was to come, with a interests and ramifications, story in which Foote, Cone & involving expenditures of Belding founder Fairfax Cone $2 billion a year.” Our first denounces reports that client cover features a woman, with American Tobacco is paying a story on a federal expert below the going rate. advising food advertisers to “get a housewife’s view.”

April 22, 1985 April 28, 1986 Coca-Cola introduces New The combination of Doyle Coke, perhaps the biggest Dane Bernbach, Needham marketing whoops of all time. Harper & Steers and Batten Our cover story is one of the Barton Durstine & Osborn into first to break the news. Just Omnicom reshapes the ad three months later, we report agency world forever, in what that Coke is retrenching and becomes known as “The Big introducing Coke Classic. Bang.” Ad Age had the story first, but in those analog days we could not publish until Monday. Word leaked that we had the scoop, forcing the agencies involved to hold a press conference over the weekend confirming it.

Feb. 15, 1993 Oct. 17, 1994 As the ad world becomes more As ad scandals go, this is one global, Ad Age begins a new of the biggest. Campbell Soup publication, Advertising Age wants to make an ad showing International, which reports how good its soup looks, so on events like this issue’s in 1968 it put marbles in the cover story on marketers bottom of the bowl to lift up targeting Vietnam. Eventually, the “particulates”—noodles a separate magazine no longer and stuff. That landed the makes sense, and AAI folds company in the soup with the into Ad Age in the late 1990s. FTC. This Advertising Age cover story, which we publish more than two decades later, offers the inside scoop from a BBDO creative director who was then on the account.

71

P071_P074_AA_20170925.indd 71 9/14/17 5:32 PM Oct. 15, 1945 Jan. 4, 1954 A printer’s strike paralyzes The ad times are clearly Chicago—but not Ad Age. changing. The industry gears Unable to print the Oct. 8 up for the advent of color paper, Ad Age instead hand- television. And those warnings types an eight-page “pony that cigarettes may cause issue,” the smallest in our cancer? They might just be true, history. The following week, which could wreak havoc on Oct. 15, we get back up on the one of advertising’s mainstay horse with a 32-page issue, categories. Even then, Ad Age also typed and replicated by was highlighting important “photo-lithography.” people who make news. One pick is Henry Ford II, who spent an astounding $2 million on advertising. Readers get a lot for the 15-cent cover price.

Aug. 8, 1987 Feb. 19, 1990 Ad Age documents a terrible The Berlin Wall falls and once tragedy—the death of five again Jim Brady is on the spot, prominent ad executives in a giving readers a look at East river rafting trip on the Chilko Germany in its wake and the River in British Columbia, business potential of this new Canada, including then-Procter market. The headline reads in & Gamble VP of Advertising part, “Euphoria Fading, Now the Robert Goldstein. Columnist Labor Pains of Change Begin.” Jim Brady’s dispatch is titled “A Long Way Away to Die.”

April 24, 1995 1999 This cover is a watershed in Does that design sensibility Ad Age history. Our turn into look familiar? It should. popular culture goes way too For our special issue looking far when we try to make some back at the ad century, sense of Timothy McVeigh’s we entice “The Simpsons” attack on Oklahoma City’s creator Matt Groening to federal building. The result: do this incredible cover. A Time magazine-style package opining that it’s the end of innocence for a country heretofore untouched by terrorism (complete with the lyrics of the title song “Oklahoma” interspersed throughout the story) is roundly booed by readers. They want us to stick to what we do best—report on advertising—and we resume doing just that.

P071_P074_AA_20170925.indd 72 9/14/17 4:13 PM Nov. 28, 1965 Dec. 11, 1972 Ad Age produces its first issue Color also seeps into the Ad with color—at least 16 pages out Age logo and, by 1972, we of 109. Our story reads, “A tinted adopt the signature blue that tide of revenue is rising, and it remains our hallmark through may become a flood.” today’s relaunch. This issue also marks the (first) death of Life magazine.

March 26, 1990 May 21, 1990 Nov. 12, 1990 The Ad Age logo morphs “Murdoch Shops TV Guide.” Talk about an epic split. Volvo yet again, with a new Our lead story rattles the fakes an ad in which a monster chunky style. So cyber! publication’s then-owner truck runs over one of the And speaking of change, Rupert Murdoch so much that company’s models and does those guys on the cover? he bets Rance Crain, then not crush the car, but crumples Yes, that’s the almost Ad Age editor-in-chief, rivals. It was later discovered unrecognizable team of Jeff $1 million that it was incorrect. the Volvos were reinforced to Goodby and Rich Silverstein We’re still waiting for Rupert withstand the pressure while with then-partner Andy to pay up. the others were structurally Berlin, who later struck out altered to make them collapse, on his own. triggering a Federal Trade Commission investigation and a legendary ad scandal. The automaker and its agency each end up paying a $150,000 fine.

March 28, 2005 April 5, 2010 For our 75th anniversary, we After a quarter-century of revisit some of our greatest infuriating some creatives (or, hits in the “75 Years of Ideas” as he was fond of calling them, issue. Where else on one the black shirts) and delighting cover can you see former Y&R others with his barbed Chairman Ed Ney, WPP CEO and trenchant humor, Ad Age’s Martin Sorrell, soap star Susan longtime ad reviewer Lucci, Joe Camel, Rosie the Bob Garfield hangs up his whip. Riveter, MTV’s Moonman and the Pets.com sock puppet?

P071_P074_AA_20170925.indd 73 9/14/17 4:18 PM Jan. 16, 1984 Jan. 31, 1985 It seems Apple is going to Can’t get enough Ad Age? We introduce a computer called a publish twice a week in 1985, Macintosh with some futuristic on Monday and Thursday. This ad called “1984,” according to issue talks about the addition our cover story. Little did we of new features to Thursday, know it would become one of with its scripted logo, which the most famous commercials began life nine months earlier. of all time. Ad Age Thursday is later retired, though the date of its folding appears to be lost in our archives.

Nov. 12, 1990 Jan. 14, 1991 Jan. 13, 1992 Talk about an epic split. Volvo No one is right 100 percent In this historic editorial, Ad fakes an ad in which a monster of the time, and we are really Age takes a stand in a heated truck runs over one of the wrong with our assessment debate by demanding that company’s models and does that the “Gulf War Could then-R.J. Reynolds Tobacco’s not crush the car, but crumples Delay Super Bowl.” We’re still popular brand mascot, Joe rivals. It was later discovered cringing from that one. Camel, be permanently the Volvos were reinforced to marched out into the desert. withstand the pressure while Our assertion that Old Joe the others were structurally does tempt kids into smoking altered to make them collapse, makes us very unpopular with triggering a Federal Trade tobacco marketers and the Commission investigation and agencies that subsist on their a legendary ad scandal. The business. And that was before automaker and its agency each weed marketing. end up paying a $150,000 fine.

Sept. 10, 2012 May 12, 2014 Ad Age’s last major redesign Touted as the merger that will shrinks its size from tabloid reshape the ad world forever, format and shows that we the pending marriage of are on top of the trends: Publicis and Omnicom screams We run a story on media from business publication rebates four years before headlines and dominates the issue becomes a huge industry conversations for bone of contention between weeks. And then it fails to the Association of National happen. We struggle to come Advertisers and the 4A’s that up with the perfect headline. still sticks in the industry’s We nail it. craw today.

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AA013848.indd 1 9/12/17 12:27 PM As many retailers hurtle toward disaster, Walmart seems to have corrected course. Instead of swerving between its base and more-affluent consumers—or between bricks and clicks—it’s investing in a balanced business model. (Just don’t call it ‘reinvention’)

By Jack Neff Illustrations by Doug Chayka

This is not a story about rebranding. of its signature low-price proposition—it’s simply Walmart U.S. Chief Marketing Officer Tony honed it into a more resonant pitch: We don’t just Rogers is clear about that. Although the country’s save you money, we allow you to live better. largest retailer has evolved its marketing, product It’s a message that fits the more balanced course mix, private-label offerings, agency and vendor it found during the past three years under CEO relationships, strategy and more, Rogers is adamant Doug McMillon, after more than a decade lurch- that there’s no fundamental change in how Walmart ing between trying to win upscale customers and operates. “As business and technology advance and hunkering down on its low-income base. But what customer habits continue to change, it requires any might most separate it from Sears is that Walmart brand to pause and refresh or redefine as neces- knows change is expensive, and sometimes you have sary,” he says. to lose money to make it. That adaptability has helped Walmart reverse Walmart won’t be the next Kmart because it’s the streak of same-store sales declines that marked more willing to take some short-term financial hits 2013 and 2014. Today it boasts 12 straight quarters for long-term results, says Brandon Fletcher, an of same-store sales growth at gradually accelerat- analyst with Bernstein Research and a former VP of ing rates. global business process at Walmart. To survive the retail carnage that pushed Sears “Walmart management recognizes that the big and Kmart toward irrelevance and dragged down retailers of the past made decisions to preserve the success stories like Target and Kroger, the $485 models they created,” says Fletcher. “Walmart has billion behemoth remade itself as a unified online- decided it wants to be a retailer for the long haul, offline proposition. It has rolled out drive-thru pick- even if that means being a little suboptimal in its up of grocery orders to 1,000 of its more than 4,000 returns. Walmart is [also] willing to invest in a new U.S. stores and has installed automated kiosks at business model, even one that it’s kind of bad at and about 100 stores where people can collect orders in- will take them a while to get good at.” side. It’s using technology more smartly to maximize checkout orders at Walmart.com. The price/convenience equation For customers who shop in person, the chain Walmart’s vaunted lower prices have made life has improved its quality with revamped produce harder for such rivals as Target, Kroger and Dollar sections and higher-end exclusive or private-label General, even if the primary intended targets were apparel, food and nonfood items. Plus, it’s sprucing Amazon and hard discounters like Aldi and Lidl. In up the appearance of its stores. a presentation to corporate officers in May, Rogers But through all of this, Walmart hasn’t lost sight outlined Walmart’s marketing strategy, but empha- A PENNY SAVED Important to Important People 77 Illustration by Doug Chayka Doug by Illustration

78 Ad Age September 25, 2017 sized this point: “None of this matters unless we done away with them entirely. Most shoppers give be breaking through in making “bricks and clicks” have price leadership. We’re always maniacal about Walmart credit for having the lowest prices most of work together in a way that meaningfully affects not letting people get distracted from price.” the time, Stuart says—or at least being close enough online sales growth. Free two-day delivery on mil- But price is a game no retailer wins all the time. that it’s not worth the effort to shop around. lions of items without an Amazon Prime-like annual Avoiding the fate of failed retailers rests at least as Walmart U.S. CEO Greg Foran, an Australian who fee was one key to sparking a surge in e-commerce heavily on delivering the second half of Walmart’s joined McMillon’s team early on, was accustomed sales, up 63 percent in the first quarter and 60 per- slogan, “Save Money. Live Better,” with a bigger to operating in a duopoly market down under, with cent in the second quarter, according to Walmart’s focus on convenience and quality. less price competition and more significance to the second-quarter earnings announcement Aug. 17. “I don’t know that they have a solid response yet store experience, says Fletcher, of Bernstein Re- (Amazon’s e-commerce growth, meanwhile, hov- to Lidl and Aldi,” says Leon Nicholas, senior VP for search. So Foran is focused on making sure checkout ered in the 20 percent range.) Discounts for store retail insights at Kantar Retail. lines aren’t longer than three deep and generally delivery on nearly a million items are also helping, keeping the store experience “clean, fast and friend- Walmart said on its earnings call. And the chain put ’Clean, fast and friendly’ ly.” Walmart has improved customer satisfaction as advertising weight usually reserved for the brick- Rogers’ biggest surprise when he came back to a result, according to its own measures and external and-mortar stores behind the efforts, according the U.S. last year from a two-year stint as CMO for sources such as the American Customer Satisfac- to Rogers. Walmart in China was “how much convenience had tion Index, which tracked a major lift this year. It wasn’t easy to convince executives to put the been elevated as a driver for consumer behavior,” he Add to clean-fast-friendly the three-legged stool bulk of Walmart’s advertising this winter behind a says. That’s partially based on expectations raised by of price-convenience-quality. Winning on those last dot-com initiative, but it happened in part because online shopping and other digital services. But Rog- three is key for Walmart to succeed across the big- of an effort to unify Walmart’s e-commerce and ers says the demand for more shopping convenience gest customer base in America, as Rogers sees it. general marketing teams last year. In a similar vein, also stems from sobering factors specific to the U.S.: Just based on trading area, Walmart skews a lot Walmart is uniting tech teams in its Bentonville, both parents working in 60 percent of two-parent more Middle American or red state than its more Arkansas, headquarters; San Bruno, California; households, people working an average of five hours coastal, blue state competitors Amazon and Costco. Hoboken, New Jersey; and India under the longer a month than a few years ago, and people But Rogers is convinced that Walmart’s demos look @WalmartLabs banner and expanding staffing not tethered to work via smartphones, which put them pretty much the same as America’s. He identifies just in Silicon Valley but also in lower-cost outposts. in contact with their jobs on average 13.5 hours a day, three very different groups of shoppers who are Walmart is also using tech to tweak its pricing or, as Rogers puts it, “nearly all their waking hours.” particularly interested in Walmart’s defining prop- strategy. Under Walmart e-commerce chief Marc Walmart reaches every demographic in the osition of saving money: people living paycheck to Lore, who was CEO of Jet.com before Walmart U.S., says Rogers, but to win on convenience, the paycheck, others scrimping on basics to pay for high- acquired it in September 2016, the retailer is retailer is focusing more on a segment it calls “busy end purchases such as iPhones and well-off consum- experimenting with bringing Jet’s more complex families.” They’re “the most intense combination of ers who got that way in part by frugality. pricing model, which bestows steeper discounts on being busy and money-challenged,” he says. “They larger orders. Shoppers might get a lower price on have the highest bar in terms of delivering on price, Linking online and offline Walmart.com, for example, by adding baby wipes to quality and convenience. If you can deliver on this Though Amazon is on track to pass Walmart as a basket that includes diapers. subset, you can probably deliver on everybody.” the biggest U.S. retailer sometime in the next The whole variety of inducements looks to be This group is “a little higher-income than we’ve decade, Walmart’s e-commerce growth rate is working. TABS Analytics, which calculates mar- defined our customer in the past,” Rogers adds. outpacing Amazon’s. Walmart also recently inked a ket share based upon online tracking surveys of But that doesn’t mean Walmart is going upscale as deal with Google to provide products for its online 2,000 consumers, suggests Walmart has doubled much as it’s targeting a segment that’s more subur- shopping mall Google Express, escalating its its online share of vitamins to 9.1 percent between ban and multicultural than its prior core. Amazon counterattack. April 2016 and April 2017. And it gained ground in “They’ve found the right balance between pro- Winning in e-commerce is crucial for all seg- baby care, where it has been weak relative to its motion and everyday low price,” says Don Stuart, ments of shoppers, who all want convenience. To market share in other categories, says TABS CEO managing partner of Cadent Consulting Group. The try to buttress an online presence still dwarfed by Kurt Jetta. Walmart’s online market share in the company has removed some of the clutter of bar- Amazon, Walmart has enlisted its huge portfolio of diaper category rose 0.9 percentage points to 5.1 gain-bin store-floor displays, for example, but hasn’t stores. As of this year, Walmart finally appears to percent, for example. Amazon’s share fell 0.1 point

Walmart is doubling down on “busy families,” says Chief Marketing Officer Tony Rogers. “If you can deliver on this subset, you can probably deliver on everybody.” Illustration by Doug Chayka Doug by Illustration

Important to Important People 79 to 7.1 percent. Target also did well, up 1.1 points to time in a long time we have a style and approach to 4.3 percent. However, Walmart also gained in offline advertising we think can belong to us,” he says. diaper share, rising 0.5 points to 18.1 percent, while In one recent example, Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Target fell 1.1 points offline to 11.9 percent, giving up Again” pulses over a back-to-school spot in which its online gains. kids imagine themselves as superheroes on their Kantar’s Nicholas says Lore’s impact since first day of school. Walmart acquired his Jet.com operation for a steep In what appears to be a first for the retail indus- $3.3 billion last year is impressive. However, he try, Walmart also recently conducted a review to says it has come at a cost that includes Lore making streamline the army of third-party field merchan- 10 times more than McMillon last year (thanks to disers that help place displays and products in its a restricted-stock payout). “It would have been stores, culling the firms involved to five from more cheaper,” says Nicholas, to get more aggressive on than 30. It was an audacious move because outside e-commerce five years earlier. marketers, such as P&G and Unilever, pay the firms for their efforts, not Walmart. But Walmart was able Mixing up the product mix to engineer a roster that made the process more effi- With rivals like Aldi, Lidl and Costco competing cient in its stores, a spokesman says. It also ensured largely based on their private-label programs, that each supplier had an in-store marketing force Walmart is putting more resources into its own dedicated specifically to the chain. The expectation brands, too, and not just the lowest-cost tiers but is that the resulting supply-chain savings get passed also higher-end products. In June media presenta- back to Walmart. tions, executives from Chief Merchandising Officer But it also meant forcing big suppliers like Steve Bratspies on down went to great lengths to Unilever to switch vendors. “Right now they’re in a highlight Walmart’s increased emphasis on quality, fairly enviable position in that they’re indispensable including extensive testing that goes into its bar- for shoppers and suppliers,” says Cadent’s Stuart. gain-priced sportswear and towels. “Suppliers may not be happy with how they do busi- Latriece Watkins, senior VP of consumables ness in every case, but they can’t walk away. ” and over-the-counter, showcased private-la- Bratspies has acknowledged that Walmart’s bel products aimed not just at the biggest mass efforts to get more efficient may mean some added brands, but also emerging players such as L’Oréal tension with suppliers. Then again, suppliers have USA’s Matrix salon brand. “Aspirational products at plenty of grumbles about other retailers. disruptive prices” was how Scott McCall, senior VP of home and seasonal, described Walmart’s product Walmart as startup development effort. This includes some Walmart Even as Walmart wields its bigness in new ways, it’s “exclusives,” such as a Keurig K-Cup coffee mak- playing with small flanker brands in e-commerce. er hitting stores now priced at $59—$30 or more Counting Jet.com, it has acquired six small e-com- below prices elsewhere—and Yankee Candles priced merce players whose customers often weren’t big around $10 less than they sell for elsewhere. on Walmart, including Hayneedle, Shoebuy, Mod- Walmart has significantly staffed up develop- Cloth, Moosejaw and Bonobos. ment for its own baby-care brands in the past 18 Perhaps one true sign of a shift is that Walmart months, executives said, focusing on everything says it’s not imposing itself on these brands. Rogers from pouch meals to baby wipes and strollers, with describes Walmart’s approach to the newly ac- products priced 25 percent to 50 percent below quired online retailers this way: “Imagine if you get branded rivals. Winning in packaged goods is key purchased by the world’s largest company and you to winning online and offline with those “busy fam- have access to those resources, and yet they aren’t ilies,” says Rogers. And families with newborns are really going to change you. All they want is for you among the most prized, not to mention the busiest. to be better versions of yourselves.” They eat at home more and buy more of just about Walmart has learned from startups that Wall everything as they establish households. Street will let you be “suboptimal” on profit as long “Walmart.com was built on big-ticket purchases as you grow. Righting the ship on store operations like TVs,” says Rogers. “What’s happening now is a has also bought Walmart permission to make big much more balanced approach where consumables and so far money-losing bets on e-commerce, where play a much bigger role in customer acquisition.” even Amazon is at best thinly profitable. Amazon eked out a 2.3 percent operating margin Everyday low agency pricing? in North America in the first half. But take away While Walmart has seldom hesitated to throw its cloud computing and Amazon remains a roughly weight around to get better prices, it’s starting to $150 billion-a-year startup losing money quarter use its power in new ways. One example was consol- after quarter. Walmart remains more than three idating most of its creative advertising account in times Amazon’s size by global sales. And Walmart’s July 2016 with Publicis Groupe via a new entity, De- $13.6 billion in after-tax profit last year stacks up partment W. Saatchi & Saatchi is the central agency, nicely against Amazon’s $1 billion in pre-tax profit but 14 agencies participate, including three that on retail. worked on Walmart’s holiday advertising last year. Whatever you call it—reinvention or something “Our mindset was all those advertising agen- else—Walmart is “not going down the path of gen- cies are owned by these holding companies,” says erational decline like Sears and Kmart,” Nicholas Rogers. “There should be some benefit to us in the says. But he still isn’t convinced that Walmart has holding-company model. I want to have access to all the bricks part of the bricks-and-clicks equation the talent within Publicis.” completely figured out—that the work is done. The unification effort is paying off in a marketing “That doesn’t mean there aren’t still too many campaign built around rock anthems that Rogers stores,” he says,” and that the stores themselves feels is giving Walmart a more recognizable look—or, aren’t still too big for where we see America’s shop- really, sound. “We’re excited about how for the first ping patterns headed.”

80 Ad Age September 25, 2017 AA013860.indd 1 9/13/17 1:01 PM 82 Ad Age September 25, 2017 Andrew Springer doesn’t sleep much, not since he started screen. (Schwartz would even find himself knee-deep in water a few overseeing production of NBC News’ twice-daily Snapchat Show, weeks later, covering the devastation of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma “Stay Tuned,” in July. Springer gets to 30 Rock, NBC’s Manhattan alongside his broadcast and cable news counterparts.) But Snapchat headquarters, around 2:30 a.m. to review the morning’s script with takes only original content. producers who’ve been up tracking events like President Trump’s Executives at the messaging app are also decidedly picky about overnight tweets. They begin taping the first high-octane episode who gets real estate in its high-traffic Discover section, which TV at 3:30 a.m., post it at 7 a.m.—and start the next one at noon, to go networks share with publishers including BuzzFeed, Mashable, GQ up at 4 p.m. and Cosmopolitan. So, one year into its first partnerships with TV net- One afternoon in August, Springer and a half-dozen producers works to produce made-for-Snapchat content, it is forcing traditional and assistants buzz around one of the hosts, Gadi Schwartz, as programmers to rethink mobile video. he reports on a motorcycle chase in California and a 16-year-old TV executives have to try something, and with feeling. The Big running for mayor in Kentucky. The team interrupts a few times, Four broadcasters lost 17 percent of their total prime-time audience asking Schwartz to change his pacing, to try a line differently, to in the last five years, falling to an average of 6.3 million viewers in the smile. Schwartz sounds more like a friend talking current events at 2016-17 season from 7.6 million in 2011-12. Among 18-to-49-year-olds, the bar than an anchor reading a teleprompter. He speaks to a TV more ominously, the plunge was one third. Each new season brings camera turned on its side, to match Snapchat’s vertical format. another significant drop, largely at the hands of digital rivals such as “Stay Tuned” is a 24/7 operation, with 30 people working full Snapchat itself. So even as Wall Street worries about Snapchat’s slow- time to crank out two hyperactive videos on weekdays and an epi- ing user growth and relentless imitation by Instagram, networks hope sode a day on weekends. Their product bears no resemblance to a it can bring them the same young people steadily watching less TV typical NBC News broadcast. Lest there be a moment for viewers to and entice them to check out longer shows on bigger screens. It’s TV’s consider skipping ahead or quitting, producers frequently cut the chance to show everyone what successful transformation looks like. screen in half and stuff it with footage and text. If it, you know, succeeds. All told, it takes about eight hours to produce, shoot and edit a “This is much tougher than just shooting and uploading,” says single episode. Run time: about two minutes. Tom Fishman, senior VP for audience growth and engagement at “It is really highly produced,” says Springer, executive produc- MTV Digital, which produced new versions of the former MTV series er of “Stay Tuned” and director of social media strategy at NBC “Cribs” and “Girl Code” for Snapchat this summer. News, during Ad Age’s visit to the show. The set is a sliver of NBC’s That’s partly because Snapchat heavily involves itself, giving copi- newsroom dubbed “Town Square”; its office space is annexed from ous notes on what its users like and what they tap the screen to skip. the network’s election-season Decision Desk area. “Everything has “Snap is discerning about the way they want to present the portfolio to be really thought out,” he says. of content offerings,” Fishman says. “There’s a lot of back and forth It’s pretty high-polish for a mad dash to the future by NBC, with Snap. This is very intentionally more highly produced.” along with networks from Discovery to E! on similar quests. And Snapchat has no quarrel with that take. “We are unashamedly it’s markedly different from the spray-and-pray strategy that pretty difficult,” says Nick Bell, Snapchat’s head of content and a for- prevailed when TV tried digital before, dumping snips of existing mer News Corp. executive. Snapchat isn’t necessarily rewriting jokes, shows across every and any platform. he says, but it’s not above telling producers to move up the punch line. Snapchat isn’t looking to recreate the TV model, the way If it’s ultimately to Snapchat’s benefit that its content keeps users Facebook and Twitter are going after longer-form and live video. coming back, Bell argues that Snapchat can recapture TV viewers for Much of what appears on Snapchat may resemble TV’s glory days, the networks as well, calling the platform “where you fall in love.” with interrupting commercials and content that always fills the Under this theory, your mobile phone becomes the first place you

Traditional networks hunt lost viewers with new rapid-fire shows on Snapchat

By Jeanine Poggi Photography by David Hall Illustrations by Tam Nguyen TV SNAPS TO ATTENTION Important to Important People 83 encounter programming from NBC News, A&E, Viceland and the summer averaged 12 million viewers for Discovery. And the first (From l.): ‘Stay Tuned’ other TV programmers making Snapchat Shows. And when you get month of “Stay Tuned” drew a total of 29 million people. Executive Producer Andrew Springer; NBC home, you turn on a big-screen, surround-sound version. Those “viewers” can’t be compared with TV ratings, which News Social News “Maybe common sense doesn’t always win, but in my view represent the average tune-in throughout an episode; Snapchat Gathering Senior Editor there’s no better place to watch content for a long period of time counts a view as soon as someone taps an episode to begin, even Emmanuelle Saliba; and hosts Gadi Schwartz than the TV,” Bell says. if she stops a second later. But TV producers say Snapchat also and Savannah Sellers. Another possibility is that TV networks’ efforts could ultimate- shares with networks incredibly specific data that shows every ly work mostly in Snapchat’s favor, making it a sticky content hub single person watching, when they watch and when they don’t. that doesn’t drive younger viewers anywhere else. And even that “It’s a different demo than on our networks, and that makes us scenario remains unproven. very excited,” says Maggie Suniewick, president of NBC Universal’s digital enterprises. “We are in a world where there are certain Picture this people that aren’t going to watch the prime-time shows.” It’s hard for anyone over 30 to imagine these Snapchat Shows It’s an audience advertisers are eager to find as well. WPP CEO becoming the next must-see TV. In August, on the first episode of Martin Sorrell has said his agency holding company plans to dou- E!’s “Ask Kylie,” in which Kylie Jenner answers fan questions in an ble Snapchat spending this year to about $200 million. Revenue oblique promotion for her TV show, Jenner revealed how she deals at Snapchat parent Snap Inc. soared 153 percent in the second with anxiety. (Answer: She jumps on a trampoline in her mom’s quarter to $181.7 million. backyard.) It’s not exactly “This Is Us.” That was below analyst expectations, however, and includes But that’s intentional. “‘Nightly News’ is the delicious steak more than Snapchat Shows. WPP’s outlay will also be a pale shad- dinner you have, the ‘Today’ show is like the breakfast and we are ow of the check it writes to Facebook—“a flea on the elephant’s the protein shake,” Schwartz says. backside,” as the colorful Sorrell put it to CNBC last month. Then For Snapchat’s young, core demographic—75 percent of the 173 consider the $70 billion marketers still spend on TV every year. million daily users are between 13 and 24 years old—its on-screen “There’s a lot of interest and some demand, but inventory at faces are fast becoming familiar. this point certainly suggests room for negotiation,” says Doug “I’ve never had a friend see me when I’m on MSNBC,” says Rozen, chief digital and innovation officer at Omnicom Group me- Savannah Sellers, Schwartz’s co-host on “Stay Tuned.” “And then dia agency OMD Worldwide. a couple of days on Snapchat, they’re like, ‘What the heck, you’re Some potential advertisers are put off by the need to make ads on Snapchat.’” specifically for the platform. Others just don’t “get” Snapchat, an The same is true for Peter Hamby, a former CNN reporter who app that’s famously opaque for those who aren’t regular users. decamped to host “Good Luck America,” a political show produced Then there are other ways for marketers to use Snapchat with- by Snapchat. His mom was disappointed when he left the cable out buying into Snapchat Shows. NBC’s “America’s Got Talent,” for news behemoth. But as they walked down the street together six example, has a Snapchat account that users can follow instead of a months later, several people approached Hamby and identified him series. That helps Dunkin’ Brands extend the reach of its TV spon- as “that Snapchat guy.” Hamby’s mother was shocked by his new sorship. “This allows us to augment parts of the audience that may brand of celebrity, he says. or may not be watching our partnerships live,” says Nick Dunham, TV executives are less intrigued by the anecdotes than the data. director of media and partnerships at Dunkin’. NBC’s companion series for “The Voice” on Snapchat averaged 45 Recruiting more marketers is central to making TV work for percent more viewers in its second season than the first, topping Snapchat, and vice versa. Staffing a “Stay Tuned” isn’t cheap, 4 million. E!’s celebrity-news show “The Rundown” has tripled after all. Snapchat Show ads are usually sold by both the networks viewers to 7.5 million since its introduction last September. A&E’s and Snapchat, with revenue divided between them. Networks “Second Chance,” which reunites exes to see if romance reignites, sometimes bundle them with other inventory, as in one $400,000 doubled viewers to 8 million between its April debut and its season package that included ads in a Snapchat Show plus traditional TV

finale eight weeks later. Three episodes of Shark Week video this or other elements. Prices vary widely. Hall David by Photograph

84 Ad Age September 25, 2017 NEW LOOK SAME GREAT PUBLICATION

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AA013850.indd 1 9/12/17 2:49 PM “With cable, it introduced 24/7 programming and changed the idea of dayparts. It’s that same reinventing for new habits. It’s a land grab right now and all about marking your territory.” Fred Graver, Discovery Communications

‘Stay Tuned’ aims to combine NBC News traditions with a Snapchat sensibility.

Ads in “Stay Tuned” have promoted brands including Sony, cluding its first scripted efforts. One will be an animated comedy Airbnb, Go-Gurt, Perrier, Xfinity Mobile and the author and motiva- based on standup routines. (“If we tried to repurpose this on tional speaker Grant Cardone. Marketers can also back entire series, another platform, it would look absurd,” says Steve Beslow, gen- as Match.com did for “Hungry Hearts,” a new Snapchat dating show eral manager at Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco Digital, the company from the Viceland cable channel starring rapper Action Bronson. behind it.) For brands aching over lost cachet with younger consumers, The field is far from clear, of course. It’s more like a destina- Snapchat offers a new chance, says Kieley Taylor, who leads paid tion battleground. Facebook has just rolled out a “Watch” section social at WPP’s GroupM. for shows such as A&E’s “Bae or Bail,” about couples facing their fears. YouTube last month hired two TV veterans to bolster its Echoes subscription service, Red, and ordered 10 episodes of “Cobra Kai,” Fred Graver was one of MTV’s first freelance copywriters, hired a half-hour comedy spun off from “The Karate Kid.” Twitter is by Judy McGrath, its future CEO. Today he leads digital content pitching advertisers on its live NFL talk show and a news network creation for Discovery Communications. And TV on Snapchat looks from Bloomberg. Amazon is streaming 10 NFL games on Thursday a lot to him like the early days of cable. “With cable, it introduced nights this season and another on Christmas. 24/7 programming and changed the idea of dayparts,” says Graver, But TV has to find its future. When NBC Universal CEO Steve who’s working on a Snapchat series based on the TV show “Myth- Burke first sat down with Snapchat, he had a challenge on his mind: Busters.” “It’s that same reinventing for new habits. It’s a land grab how to get more value from the Olympics, which he had agreed to right now and all about marking your territory.” carry through 2032 at a cost of $7.7 billion. “He was pretty bold That, and marketing it. Merely choosing the “tile” images and and said, ‘We paid a lot of money for these rights ... but one of our headlines to lure users can be laborious. Graver and his team liked concerns is less young people are watching on traditional linear,’” the title “Sharks That Are Just Not Into You,” for example, for a Bell recalls. “‘How do we make sure we maintain the value?’” True Shark Week episode about sharks that won’t attack humans. Then to Burke’s unease, the 2016 Olympics’ prime-time audience fell 15 they ran it through Snapchat software that creates four tiles with percent from 2012, according to Nielsen. But NBC’s Olympics cov- different images and headlines. The system publishes all four to erage on Snapchat reached 35 million people, Bell says. an equal number of people so programmers can see, within hours, It’s too early to say how exactly TV and Snapchat will interact, which does best and what types of people click on each. The best whether Snapchat is a second-screen fad, a test bed for big- two go out wide. In the case of that Shark Week episode, a bit at ger-screen shows, a nick-of-time lifeline to TV’s lost audiences or the end about what to do if you are attacked proved powerful. The something even better, like a spacious new home for TV and its winning headline was, “How to Survive a Shark Attack.” big-spending advertisers. Snapchat knows “every single person watching, when they At a minimum, Snapchat is giving TV networks the freedom to watch and when they don’t,” Graver says. “What was really helpful think beyond the confines of prime time and repurpose their ex- is Snapchat is willing to share what they know about the audience isting shows for digital. Maybe it even lends TV content a new—or and guide us.” is it old-fashioned?—sense of urgency. A way to retrieve back epi- While Snapchat doesn’t believe it will ever be the place for a sodes is likely at some point, but for the moment, each installment 44-minute drama, more variety is on the way. TV on Snapchat so disappears 48 hours after it hits. Is Snapchat creating appointment far comprises nonfiction and unscripted series like “Stay Tuned” viewing for a new generation? and CNN’s “The Update.” And those two are sometimes the only That’s the hope of executives like NBC Universal’s Suniewick. Snapchat Shows posted on a given day. By the end of the year, “For the first time,” she says, “we are getting to a place where digi-

Snapchat is aiming for three Snapchat Shows a day or more—in- tal content is a must-watch.” Nguyen Tam by Illustration Hall, David by Photograph

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Nucleus Print Ad_Ad Age_TO PRINT.indd 1 9/5/17 3:50 PM A day before Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian of our own users—less than .1 percent,” says Steve and tennis superstar Serena Williams welcomed Huffman, Reddit’s CEO and other co-founder. “It is REDDIT REDUX? the birth of their first child, Ohanian was tackling not something that really affects our business.” errands at his home outside San Francisco, prepar- That’s debatable. New design, advertising ing for parental leave. “Thank you for making this “Maybe it’s a perception issue, but I have unwaver- time work with your schedule,” he said, apparently ing faith that nothing super-controversial will stay up staff and measures against as nice and likable as the gossip sites say (though on YouTube for very long,” says Steve Piluso, head of vile content: The most he and Williams did keep their daughter’s due date media and integration at planning and buying agency secret, he said, “so I don’t have to punch a photogra- Media Storm. “But I do see stories on Mashable about vibrant destination in pher at the hospital”). something horrible that came from Reddit.” digital might actually be Now he just has to convince marketers that Facebook, Google and others are “a lot more Reddit is as friendly as he is. After a $200 million public about banning hate groups,” adds David Buk- ready for business investment in July from big-name venture capital- larewicz, executive VP at media agency Marc USA. ists such as Andreessen Horowitz, tripling Reddit’s “They’re laying out action plans and steps to tackle By George Slefo valuation to $1.8 billion, and with a major redesign that. I haven’t seen anything overt from Reddit as far Illustrations by Daniel Hertzberg due by year-end, it’s time for the company to live up as ‘This is what we’re doing to combat the problem.’” its potential. It has long called itself the front page When Reddit has eliminated controversial of the internet, but it’s home to more than that: sections such as r/fatpeoplehate in 2015, users have news that’s blowing up or is about to, style you need complained from both sides—that Reddit’s either to know, users voting headlines and comments up doing too much or still not doing enough. or down, passionate arguments, discoveries from Reddit says it will soon update its terms of ser- the reaches of the web and some very unsettling vice to more clearly define harassment, hate speech conversation threads. Cash in hand, Reddit feels it and other unwelcome conduct, then ban users and now has a plan to satisfy brands that its more toxic subreddits that repeatedly violate those terms. elements won’t brush up against their ads. “It’s frustrating because I know what Reddit is “What Reddit is saying to people is it’s not a and I know the positive impact it has on people’s place where a bunch of trolls hang out—no, no lives,” Huffman says. “But I also know that the com- no,” says Zain Jaffer, CEO of the ad-tech company pany has been through a lot and we haven’t been Vungle. “It’s saying this is going to be a place that very effective at what we do and why we do it.” captures ad dollars.” Huffman says Reddit has been deliberately quiet If it can pull that off, it might have a shot in the about fighting hate groups on the site (“They thrive sweepstakes to become a significant advertising on attention,” he argues), but has been in the fight alternative to Google and Facebook. But it’s been nonetheless. “Take the events that happened in clearing its throat on this subject for a long time. Charlottesville,” he says, referring to the clashes (See “Can Reddit Grow Up?,” The New York Times, between white supremacists and counter-protest- 2014; “Reddit Is Finally Mounting a War Against ers in Virginia last month. “Facebook, Google had to Trolls,” Business Insider, 2015; and “How Reddit ban a lot of groups that we banned a year ago. We’ve Plans to Become a ‘Real’ Business,” Fortune, 2016.) been on the front lines with these sorts of questions Today its “subreddits” on topics such as news, and debates for years now.” fatherhood and cooking still keep company with Yet if Reddit wants a chunk of the $73 billion sections such as “Incels,” where men discuss digital ad market, it has to not only put forward a how much they hate women and some members neighborly face but build its relations with agen- say the government should subsidize their visits cies from virtually nothing. Many media buyers say to prostitutes. they’re unaware that Reddit shows ads only on “wh- “When we talk about the darker side of the inter- itelisted” sections where thriving communities exist net, that population is a vanishingly small amount and the chances of anything unsavory popping up

88 Ad Age September 25, 2017

P088_P090_AA_20170925.indd 88 9/15/17 6:49 PM HEY, AD AGE. THIS NEW REDESIGN IS A-LIST MATERIAL.

SORRY, WE HAD TO.

AA013844.indd 1 9/12/17 10:53 AM “What Reddit is saying to people is it’s not a place where a bunch of trolls hang out—no, no, no. It’s saying this is going to be a place that captures ad dollars.” Zain Jaffer, Vungle

are vastly diminished. And you can’t blame them for “Redditors” are fragmented across the whitelisted by Condé Nast parent Advance Communications, not knowing. Asked whether Reddit has staff whose subreddits. The gaming area has nearly 17 million declines to say whether it is profitable, though signs sole job is to build bridges with agencies, Huffman subscribers with tens of thousands active at any suggest that it isn’t where it wants to be. “Alexis’ says, “Yes-ish.” given time. “Daddit,” on fatherly things, has 69,000 job is to evangelize Reddit,” says Huffman, who is 34 “I’m 90 percent certain we do,” he adds. “We had subscribers, with only 1,400 or so on at a given time. and recently returned from his ninth Burning Man a handful of people doing that as a tactic as part of All of which puts a lot of pressure on the im- excursion. “He is very charming and comfortable in their job.” pending redesign. Visitors seeking the latest theo- front of an audience. We have him in a role right now In reality, Reddit doesn’t have anything remotely ries about “Game of Thrones,” for example, can get that is playing to his strengths.” close to the outreach teams employed by Google, lost in the Netscape-era design—a river of headlines In the last year, Ohanian has spoken at high- Facebook or even many publishers. Those outfits with small images, spartan navigation tabs such as profile events, appeared on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel have poached savvy executives from the “buy side” “top” and “wiki,” and a top row of smaller labels Live” and NPR’s “How I Built This,” and gone to the of advertising—agencies, marketers and ad-tech including “funny” and “todayilearned.” Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity purveyors catering to buyers—to drum up business. “I think I’m allowed to shit on it because I made as judges considered the company’s first entry into Huffman admits Reddit doesn’t have enough em- it,” Huffman says of the current desktop site, the the awards, for a Secret Santa gift exchange on ployees like that, but says it’s hiring similar people source of about 80 percent of Reddit’s traffic. “The Reddit sponsored by FedEx. (Williams, his fiancée, on both coasts to “cultivate senior-level manage- redesign will have a lot of tactical features like has done her part, posting video of their baby on ment at agencies.” giving people their own home on Reddit so they can Reddit this month using Reddit’s new built-in video Part of that new $200 million will fund adding create their own communities and audiences, and uploading tool.) 50 staffers to its roster of 250, and the company just maybe find a way to fit in with other communities.” Ohanian says Reddit has unique advantages signed a lease in “Silicon Beach” in Santa Monica, Cal- Search will get an overdue upgrade. And moder- such as rich data on users who are easily targeted by ifornia, to house more employees. “The extra capital ators will also get tools to customize the look of interests and eager to engage. “The discussion and and having a full team will allow us to do things that, subreddits and convene discussions more easily. conversations on Reddit are our lifeblood and where frankly, weren’t on the table for us before,” Huffman That will help convert “drive-by” web surfers the best content is,” he says. “And that applies to says. “We can play a lot more offense than we have in into devoted users—in theory. Huffman says the our ads, where we have ad campaigns that actually the past and attract more market share, attack things numbers already show “strong signs of life,” and get engagement in minutes and not seconds.” we’ve previously put on the back burner.” that eventually reaching 1 billion users would en- In addition to FedEx, brands including Amazon, That includes going after Google’s YouTube able unrivaled targeting and engagement. Coca-Cola, Toyota and Halo Top are buying in. Halo through a scheme to tap Reddit’s legion of highly Top CEO Justin Woolverton says he’s been a long- engaged regulars to create videos. Reddit will even- Face of the internet time Reddit user—so much so that in the company’s tually explore running pre-roll and interruptive ads Huffman is known for taking playful shots at Ohanian. early days, Woolverton had “TL;DR: Ice Cream You in video, sharing revenue with makers, but is wait- They met as freshman hall mates at the University of Can Feel Good Eating” printed on the bottom of ing to fully roll out its video tools and make sure it’s Virginia, roomed together the next year and founded his pint cups. “I was so proud of the TL;DR because got the user experience right, Huffman says. Reddit as seniors in 2005. Asked about Ohanian’s re- I was a Redditor,” he says. “I was like, ‘Man, no Reddit brags that it has 330 million monthly ac- lationship with Williams, one of the top celebrities in package has a TL:DR’ ... but we eventually got rid of tive users, up 40 percent from a year earlier, which sports, Huffman says, “As his college buddy who knew it because it wasn’t cool anymore.” is slightly ahead of the 328 million Twitter recently him when he had a literal neckbeard, I continue to be For non-users, though, Reddit can still be intimi- reported but far behind YouTube’s 1.5 billion. Strik- amused by the whole situation.” dating, Woolverton allows. “It can be like, ‘Where is ingly, Reddit says it’s aiming for 1 billion, a figure But Ohanian, 35, has a serious part to play in mak- my comment, what are these upvotes and downvot- that sounds more aspirational than in arm’s reach. ing Reddit the business many people think it could es?’ Knowing Reddit made me feel more comfort- Expanding users is vital to the ad pitch because become. The company, which is majority owned able to say, ‘Hey, let’s put money into this.’”

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AA013840.indd 1 9/11/17 12:41 PM THE MARKETER’S PARADOX:

If my ROI is going up, why are my sales in decline?

There are some simple causes and sample and therefore overattribute By Julie Fleischer, effects: Media infl ation continues to sales impact to that single channel. VP-product marketing, increase across all channels, while reach has declined for most every channel • Misinterpretation (The user error Neustar and publisher. Rising costs combined problem): It’s critical to know what with declining reach drives up Cost-Per- you are measuring and evaluate results Point [CPP], which means creative needs accordingly. Different types of metrics to be exponentially more effective to should not be compared: e.g., short- deliver the same results (and that’s term versus long-term ROI, upper-fun- Today’s marketers before attenuation of media attention nel versus lower-funnel tactics, new is factored in). In most cases, even the penetration versus buy rate or marginal are facing a paradox: best creative cannot offset the decline returns versus last dollar spent. We have better intel- in effi ciency. It’s just math. And as the math suggests, in most cases we’d • Limitations in scope (The blind spot ligence and tools for expect to see a decline in payback. Yet problem): Many “360” studies leave out driving growth than ever most channel-specifi c measurements diffi cult-to-measure factors, limiting show a positive ROI. their explanatory power. This includes before. Data-driven issues like the exclusion of walled-gar- digital marketing, pro- Why? A combination of factors is at play. den data and its impact, inability Many ROI analyses today are fundamen- to read non-addressable media, or grammatic and audience tally fl awed. Some of the most common omission of critical endogenous factors buying are proven to be problems with today’s analytic tools, like competitive activity or consumer or the deployment or interpretation of confi dence. delivering results. But them, include: if return on investment • Monolithism (The one-size-fi ts-all • Myopia (The value-added study prob- problem): Many approaches read all [ROI] is going up, why are lem): Many analyses seek to evaluate targets/customer segments the same sales in decline? a single channel against a hold-out way, even though channel allocations

92 Ad Age September 25, 2017

Neustar 20170925_spread.indd 92 AA013839.indd 9/11/17 11:28 AM Publishing Partner

and tactics are planned at the seg- of their marketing counterparts. The ment/target level. This may also be only way to effectively grow a business true at the market level, with different is to learn what works and doesn’t work. markets using different models, so no Learning requires feedback. Analytics direct comparisons can be made. must accurately and reliably provide that feedback to drive decision-making. And • Inaccurate or fl awed (The “It’s just marketers must understand the core wrong” problem): Be wary of analyses building blocks of advanced analytics. that don’t measure what they purport This includes a comprehensive under- About the Author to measure—for example, return on standing of topics, such as: Julie Fleischer is VP-product advertising spend [ROAS] models that marketing for marketing claim any sale in the payout model • Defi ning problems and choosing solutions at Neustar, where versus only incremental sales. the right measurement metrics to she is responsible for driv- answer them ing the go-to-market strat- • Non-neutral (The vested interest • Understanding attribution and egy, positioning, messaging problem): Watch out for analytics that what it means and execution for Neustar’s aren’t conducted by an independent award-winning marketing • Data essentials for measurement third party, creating analytic biases solutions portfolio. Previously, and analytics that color results. Ms. Fleischer was the man- • Short-term versus long-term aging director at OMD, where • Backward-looking only (The rearview measurement she led the CPG and retail mirror problem): Beware analyses • How to calculate marketing ROI businesses; while at Kraft that explain the past, but do not • Connected analytics: Bridging offl ine Foods, she earned indus- provide any forward-looking planning and online try-wide recognition as an or decision-making capabilities, so evangelist for data account- • Marketing mix model and multi-touch the application of learnings is of ability and the critical inter- attribution: top down limited use. relationship between data, versus bottom up, how to use each content and technology. and how and why to connect them • Diminishing Returns Effect (The She is a sought-after brand what-comes-up-must-come-down • The building blocks of data advocate and well-respected problem): ROI can rise while the rate and modeling media, advertising and mar- of sales growth drops. After a certain keting thought leader with investment level, marketing effective- In response to the skills gap created by more than 20 years of industry ness declines. But that doesn’t mean advances in analytics, the Association of experience. you should stop investing. Profi ts may National Advertisers has launched the still rise … just not as fast. Analytics Center of Excellence [ACE], connected by Neustar, to create stan- Even with strong analytic models, it’s dards and governance for marketers easy to misread results. In a market- around marketing analytics. The goal ing mix model, you may see switching of ANA ACE is to help brands develop, between competitors as Brand A steals refi ne and expand their marketing mea- share from Brand B in month one, only surement capabilities to grow revenue, to have Brand B win it back in month improve pricing power, lower customer two. Although there is neither category acquisition/retention costs and build growth nor topline growth for either enterprise value. Better curriculum and brand in this model, both would count it comprehensive training in the use of as positive ROI. From the brand’s point advanced analytics will help close the About Neustar of view it actually won some sales, even widening gap between fast-growing Neustar, Inc. (NYSE: NSR) though in reality it was a zero-sum game. enterprise investment in analytics and helps grow and guard busi- brands’ ability to apply analytical insights nesses in a connected world. Before the tyranny of ROI, marketers for better decision-making and results. Neustar OneID® connects understood the need to evaluate cam- Most importantly, it will help ensure that online and offl ine fi rst-, paign payback alongside other metrics— marketers are driving sales. second- and third-party data brand health, penetration and switching with trusted identity to unify a analyses, elasticity, etc.—to get a sense of A marketer’s job is to profi tably drive singular view of the customer their overall brand performance. Today, growth. If the business isn’t growing across channels and devices. the art of understanding the basket of faster than the competition, it is losing Neustar Marketing Solutions’ measures required to manage a business share. If it is not acquiring new cus- award-winning product port- is being lost as the science of quantifying tomers, it is losing ground. And if it isn’t folio includes data onboard- fi nancial impact has taken hold. doing it profi tably, it is losing margin (and ing, identity data management probably losing marketers their jobs). platform, customer segmen- Marketing analytic acumen must become With better analytics, marketers will be tation, audience targeting, a requisite for marketing talent. It is no able to build their businesses profi tably, and MarketShare measure- longer good enough to rely on a market- so that sales and ROI both go in the same ment and analytics. Visit ing analytics function to own measure- direction. analytics.neustar for more ment, without the deep understanding information.

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AdAge_DATAC_091217B.indd 1 AA013864.indd 9/13/17 4:49 PM Opinion

What does it take to really, truly My suggestion: Hire a key opera- be doing short-term capsule/curated THE THREE reimagine a brand? And which major tional exec away from Costco—a dis- collections with actually relevant American brands most urgently need to counter known for both maintaining rising Instagram and Snapchat style SADDEST be reimagined? Here are my thoughts— low prices and taking great care of its stars who can bring a sense of fast and my (sad, pathetic) shortlist: workers. Put employees first and start fashion and pop-up-shopping rele- AMERICAN making going to McDonald’s feel like vance to Kmart’s game. McDonald’s less of a cranky clusterfuck. BRANDS In the course of writing this column, Trump I visited the three McDonald’s within Kmart Yes, I’m going there—I’m grouping RIGHT NOW a half-mile walking distance of Media Earlier this month Kmart announced the once high-flying Trump “luxury” Guy HQ in downtown Manhattan. that it’s changing the name of its plus- brand (for those that liked a certain There had been four, but over the size clothing section to “Fabulously sort of gaudy, gilded, ostentatious The golden arches summer one shut down; right across Sized.” OK, fine. (Points to Kmart for luxury) with McDonald’s and Kmart. droop, a big box the street from it, a Shake Shack is trying something—unlike its corpo- Which, of course, is rather unfair to about to open. McDonald’s and/or its rate sibling Sears, which seems to be McDonald’s and Kmart (neither of gets squarer and franchisee apparently saw the writing in an irreversible coma.) If only the which, we can presume, would ever a real estate group on the wall in my rapidly gentrifying clothing itself—or any of Kmart’s side with white supremacists). neighborhood. merchandise—were fabulous. There are signs that within the (can you guess Here’s the thing about McDonald’s: Since Kmart’s deal with Martha Trump Organization itself there’s an which one?) loses It used to stand for “food, folks and Stewart fell apart in 2009, there’s awareness of just how tarnished the fun.” Now it’s sad and gross and feels been a vacuum of buzzworthy merch brand has become. For instance, the its luster like it’s managed solely against mar- at the discounter. You know what a Trump Hotels group has been working gins, to the detriment of both employ- Kmart-exclusive fashion label is these on two secondary brands—Scion and By Simon Dumenco ees and customers. days? Jaclyn Smith. Do you know who American Idea—that conspicuously Based on my repeat visits to those the hell Jaclyn Smith even is? She was omit the Trump name. And the own- NYC McDonald’s—plus stops over the famous for being one of the stars (i.e., ers of the Trump International Hotel summer at McD’s in Rhode Island, one of the not-Farrah Fawcett ones) of and Tower Toronto recently paid a Massachusetts and D.C.—the chain’s the cheesy 1970s ABC crime-fighting reported $6 million for an early exit workers are ill-equipped to deal with drama, “Charlie’s Angels.” from a long-term licensing deal so corporate management’s expansion of A newer celebrity Kmart co-ven- they could de-Trump and rebrand as its menu to include trendy sandwiches ture is the Adam Levine Collection. the St. Regis Toronto. and “crafted” coffee drinks. The beanpole Maroon 5 rocker tends But of course, the biggest problem Quite simply, McDonald’s is trying to wear stuff as a judge on NBC’s with the Trump brand is the guy at to will itself into becoming a Pane- “The Voice” that looks nothing like the core of it—Donald Trump. Which ra-meets-Starbucks, but it’s going his namesake Kmart duds. (I checked reminds me of an old lightbulb joke. about it backasswards. A McDonald’s out some tacky Adam Levine men’s How many psychiatrists does it to take Pico Guacamole Artisan Grilled Chick- shirts at Kmart, and they looked to to change a lightbulb? Only one, but en sandwich sounds good in theory, be straight out of the late, not-great the lightbulb has to want to change. but ordering it is way too complicated International Male catalog.) The first Kmart store opened (because of a surfeit of other options There’s got to be some middle in 1962. Ray Kroc opened the first including something called “Signature ground in the marketplace between, franchised McDonald’s in 1955. Donald Sriracha”) and an obvious time suck say, Target’s Victoria Beckham col- Trump was born in 1946. In other on the assembly line (er, kitchen). lection and H&M’s uber-hip collabo- words, the oldest lightbulb in this From what I’ve seen, the overtaxed, rations, such as the upcoming H&M x batch—and frankly, not the bright- underpaid employees radiate stress Erdem. What Kmart lacks these days est—is 71. Of course Trump doesn’t and unhappiness. is not only a sense of direction but of want to change. I’m all in favor of the menu make- (yes, I’ll say it) authenticity. (Does And so the Trump brand, circa 2017,

Simon Dumenco, aka over, but now McDonald’s needs to Adam Levine make you think of fash- has come to stand for nothing so much the Media Guy, is an invest in the humans (most working ion? Of course not.) as anxiety, uncertainty ... and limbo. Ad Age editor-at-large. at or near minimum wage) who are Instead of locking itself into mul- Follow him on Twitter at @simondumenco. tasked with preparing and selling all tiyear set-it-and-forget-it deals with these theoretically upscaled options. random celebrities, the retailer should

Important to Important People 95 Opinion

HOW I WOULD REBRAND THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY Grassroots and big tents: For the Dems to win back Washington in 2018, they’ll need to rebrand with the progressive voter at the core of the party’s DNA

By Laura Olin Illustration by Phillip Wrigglesworth

American two-party politics has be- elections in the first place. come a fight for the soul of the country Being clear about the moment is in a way that is, like much of 2017, no important. But to make the Demo- longer remotely subtle. cratic brand succeed, we also need One side is for white patriarchal to do one other thing we didn’t do supremacy, either overtly or through successfully enough in 2016: Make the complicit silence: benefiting straight Democratic Party a true movement white men with power, opportunities again, with millions of brand repre- and space in public life to the exclu- sentatives—not just a handful. Or, sion of all others. Lord help us, just one messiah figure The other side is for literally everyone’s supposed to get behind as everyone else. And in rebranding, the one true representative of what Democrats could take a page from the party stands for. the Twitter user who, after white The problem with messiah figures supremacists marched with torches in is that they can be brought down to Charlottesville, juxtaposed an image earth, leaving you with nothing (sorry, of them with an image of the Statue of John Edwards supporters). They can Liberty. The caption: “Pick a torch.” hijack your party and set it on fire We’re in a battle for the viability of (Donald Trump). They can run into multicultural democracy, and it’s time term limits (Barack Obama). for Democrats to be clear about that So, who should be the face of the in the way we talk about the historic Democratic Party instead? The 66 mil- nature of this fight. lion people who voted to stop Trump It’s how we’ll get the big tent in 2016, plus millions more. we need, filled with people who are We can embrace the grassroots united in prioritizing this fight over all movement brand and model of orga- others—because if we lose this battle, nization that helped Obama win over the specifics of health care policies millions in 2008 explicitly because or climate change stances will not it made people feel like they were, as matter one bit. volunteers and supporters, an equal Losing the House, governor- and important part of something ships and state legislatures in 2018 larger than themselves. will mean we’re in a poor position That means doing more to conduct to re-draw gerrymandered district the Democratic Party as a chance for lines in 2020 and fight against racist people to connect with others in their voter suppression tactics that make community and figure out how to best it ever-harder for Democrats to win fight fascism in their own towns. If 2008 was the “Movement for Change,” maybe 2018 will be the Movement for Freedom. They’re called grassroots move- ments because they grow from the bottom up, and Democrats have only won in recent years when we’ve been incredibly explicit and consistent about that in both our tactics and our Laura Olin, a messaging. The next great Democrat- digital consultant, ran President ic brand is what Democrats make of Obama’s social it. That’s up to you. Don’t like what media campaign your local group is doing? Join it and during the 2012 election change it. Pick a torch.

96 HOW I WOULD REBRAND THE REPUBLICAN PARTY The GOP has failed the middle class while alienating a generation of young voters who view the party as old, angry and rigid. Here’s how to fix it

By Mindy Finn

Over the last decade, the Republican equal rights and treatment for all. Party has been America’s top-selling Second, American ingenuity must brand. But many now see it as a lemon: be integral to our prosperity. The Re- a flashy coat of paint hiding an anemic, publican Party must embrace techno- sputtering engine. As of May 2017, only logical progress that improves lives in 39 percent of Americans approved of every aspect, whether it’s health care, the GOP, while 54 percent disapproved, transportation, energy or even educa- according to Gallup. Millennials, likely tion, where new models like apprentice- the largest voting demographic in ship programs and virtual schooling can 2020, rate Republicans worse than prepare the workforce for the jobs of any other group. If Republicans want tomorrow. Regressive policies that give to build a party for the future, they way to fear will only choke economic desperately need to rebrand. progress and disadvantage American While the brand of the current GOP competitiveness in the world. is easily recognized, often in the form Next, to unleash innovation, the of a bright red hat, politics is more Party must truly embrace economic than merchandising. No flashy new freedom to expand the middle class. logo or pithy slogan can repair the Republicans have long advocated for damage done. The GOP needs a return limited government, and reducing to patriotism, not as a slogan, but regulatory and tax code barriers will as a meaningful commitment to the help new, creative solutions thrive. ideals of liberty and equality, while The GOP should replace anti-gov- transcending the Lincoln and Reagan ernment dogma with a call for smart Republicanism tropes of yesteryear. government that partners with the First, the Republican Party must private sector on evidence-based solu- embrace radical inclusion—the idea tions tailored to specific communities, that we are equal because we are hu- towns and cities. The next generation man, no matter our class, color or creed. of voters has grown up with on-de- This is the self-evident truth on which mand services in the palms of their our founders relied when they declared hands. They’ll have no patience for our independence. It must also be the today’s plodding, intrusive and unreli- prime principle in defining our new able governance. Neither should we. nation. The U.S. population will become Finally, the party must kickstart “majority minority” in 2044, according a new era of civic engagement to to Census data. The GOP shouldn’t fight strengthen our families, communities that change, but rather protect those and country. The party must reject principles core to the American brand; the politics of blame. Millennials don’t think highly of political figures, but they do harbor an altruistic spirit and long to serve causes greater than their Insta- gram feeds. Technology won’t replace the classic pillars of happiness: family, community, faith and/or vocation. The Republican rebrand must be a rededication to a better future for all; something more profound than any Mindy Finn, a co- legislative win. The brand should offer founder of Stand Up Republic, was a a welcome hand, inspiration, opportu- 2016 candidate for nity and the gift of a cause greater than vice president as oneself. It’s an offering the founders Evan McMullin’s running mate and millennials alike would embrace.

97 Classic Ad Review

LISTERINE AND THE HALITOSIS HALLELUJAH By Barbara Lippert

“Edna’s case was really a pathetic one,” the copy reads. “Like every woman, her primary ambition was to marry. ... As her birthdays crept grad- ually toward that tragic thirty mark, marriage seemed farther from her life than ever.” Amping up the pitiful, Edna is in tears. Why, Edna, why? Halitosis, of course. And “even your closest friends won’t tell you.” Thus, this 1925 Listerine ad cata- pulted “Often a bridesmaid but never a bride” into the American conscious- ness as a shorthand for the-last-girl- picked-for-anything, the one who craves the spotlight but never gets it. Listerine was formulated in 1879, but it was decades later that the cre- ator’s son, Gerard Lambert, read the term “halitosis” in a medical journal and had his eureka moment. Certainly, 1920s America was primed to worry about a new social scourge, however manufactured: Immigrants had brought smells from alien foods, and foreign germs and habits. Meanwhile, people began working and living in closer quarters. Indoor plumbing became widespread. Aided by advertisers, the American bathroom became a shrine to person- al hygiene. Bad breath became big business: According to the Listerine website, sales went from $115,000 a year in 1921 to $4 million a year by 1927. By the late 1920s, Listerine was the coun- try’s third-largest print advertiser. Now a Johnson & Johnson product, Listerine is part of an “oral hygiene” category that has exploded into a $6 billion industry. Its most recent global campaign, begun in 2016, makes use of the line, “Bring Out the Bold.” But today’s ads will never have the same rocket power as the one lambasting poor Edna. Back then it was possible to believe that we could change our futures with a swish.

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98 Ad Age September 25, 2017

P098_AA_20170925.indd 98 9/14/17 7:49 PM CAN YOU BELIEVE WHAT YOU READ? With fake news leaving most Americans confused about even the basic facts, magazine media keeps it real. Whether in print, online, on mobile or video, people MAGAZINE trust it to be expertly researched, written and fact-checked. No wonder magazine readers are MEDIA more engaged and more likely to recommend advertised products. Better. Believe It. Being real matters. That’s a fact.

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