Walmart Turns 38% Ad Growth Into Its Next Profit Engine
Walmart’s ad revenue jumped 38% and lifted its full-year outlook. Retail media is becoming the profit engine inside a thin-margin retailer, and advertisers should take note.
Jordan Brand Uses the Air Jordan 41 to Reclaim the Basketball Court
Jordan Brand’s revenue fell to $7.3 billion. The Air Jordan 41 is Nike’s answer, a performance shoe meant to prove the franchise can still win on the court.
The Trade Desk Kills Its Periodic Table and Rebuilds Media Buying Around AI Agents
The Trade Desk is scrapping the interface it was known for and handing media buying to AI agents. It is a defensive move by a leader losing ground to Amazon.
The NFL Turns Touchdown Celebrations Into Its Kickoff Stage
The NFL’s 2026 kickoff campaign turns touchdown celebrations into its brand platform, building a fictional Celly Studio and a creator series to sell personality, not the game.
Fanta Builds a Horror Cinematic Universe to Own Halloween
Fanta enlisted Universal and Blumhouse to turn Halloween into an owned franchise, with horror icons on cans and QR codes as the funnel. Packaging becomes media.
Nike Brings the One Piece Universe to the Air Max Plus
Nike rebuilt three Air Max Plus around One Piece’s Devil Fruits. The manga collab is less a logo drop than a test of how far design can carry fandom.
Media Ad Sellers Spend Most of Their Week Not Selling, and AI Is Moving In
Media ad sellers spend 71% of the week on everything but selling. A new Salesforce report shows AI agents and usage-based pricing rewriting the job.
Liquid Death and Garage Beer Turn Data Center Backlash Into a Song About Pee
Jason Kelce wants your urine shipped to a data center. The real story is how two challenger brands turned AI’s water problem into content people share.
Neutrogena’s Silence Becomes Its Loudest Statement After Hayden Panettiere’s Death
A 2015 endorsement that ended after Hayden Panettiere spoke about postpartum depression is now Neutrogena’s crisis. Its silence is not helping.
LiveRamp Shareholders Clear the Publicis Deal and Reject an $82.6 Million Payday
Ninety-two percent of LiveRamp shareholders backed the $2.2 billion Publicis takeover. They drew the line at the executives’ $82.6 million exit package.
OpenAI Takes ChatGPT Ads to Europe, Where Users Must Opt In First
OpenAI’s ad business is barely six months old. It is already crossing into 31 European markets, where the rules of engagement are entirely different.
Coca-Cola Asks Gen Z to Log Off and Reclaim the Shared Meal
Coca-Cola’s global “The World Will Wait” tells Gen Z to log off and eat together, everywhere but the US. It is attention-economy marketing with a Pepsi-shaped subtext.