TONY OF ALL MEDIA

"Eat More Chicken" pleads the forlorn, sandwich board-wielding heifer in those familiar Chick-fil-A ads. Soon eating more of any kind of meat could be a problem if Tyson Foods' warning is correct. "The food supply chain is breaking," the meat producing giant cautioned in alarming, full-page ads in the Sunday editions of The Washington Post, The New York Times and the company's hometown paper, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, as the Post reports . Tyson, which has been forced to shut down 13 plants amid the pandemic, argued in the ads that its facilities must stay open to protect the free flow of food (meaning, meat) to American households, even as it defends itself against not properly protecting its workforce from the coronavirus. The ad called on the government to help find ways "to allow our team members to work in safety without fear, panic or worry" — in an advertisement conspicuous for its tone of fear, panic and worry. D.C. labor lawyer Jo...

We could all use a little "WHASSUP?!" right now. This week, Budweiser brought back its iconic TV campaign from the 90s, reframing it for the age of coronavirus, as Ad Age reports . The spot — which was shot using Zoom and was the brainchild of Bud agency VaynerMedia — features retired hoops stars Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, the WNBA's Candace Parker, DJ D-Nice and Wade's wife, actress Gabrielle Union, resurrecting the classic "WHASSUP?!" line, à la the original commercial from 1999 that became a fin de siècle pop culture phenomenon. As every advertiser knows, nostalgia has a way of making consumers feel all warm and fuzzy, and never more than during challenging moments. Spot-on in tone and timing, this little shot of sentimentality and silliness — albeit with an important message in these crazy times — is just what we needed.

The shutdown of the ad world caused by the coronavirus pandemic hasn't stopped one agency holding company from creating a top executive-level post. Publicis Groupe today promoted Justin Billingsley, its president over Germany, Austria and Switzerland (DACH), to the newly created role of global chief marketing officer, where his responsibilities will include product development and marketing, client transformation, new and organic growth, and internal and external public relations and communications. The company said his immediate priority would be partnering with Publicis's global account leads and with clients directly "to ensure they are recovery ready, for today and tomorrow's 'next normal.' " Billingsley will continue his role as chairman of Publicis Emil and Publicis One Touch, the bespoke agency networks for Mercedes-Benz and Nivea, respectively. Under Billingsley's leadership, DACH won both those accounts. Prior to joining Publicis a deca...

In a recent Mojichat branded activation, gamers earned $3,000 apiece — more than 10 times the typical earnings per stream. Mojichat believes it has cracked the code when it comes to placing non-intrusive ads in the most popular streaming games. Celebrity gamers with huge audiences have steered clear of branded messages because they lose as much as 20 percent of their viewers when they stop gameplay to run a video ad, as the app's founder and CEO Jeremy Greene pointed out. "That has not only limited their monetization opportunities but also left advertisers without access to the lucrative streaming market." Greene says Mojichat removes those barriers — with lucrative results for gamers. Here's how it works. The company's new ad program targets the hundreds of millions of livestream gaming fans with brand images and links integrated into the custom avatars and in-game chats of streamers, according to the company, with all ads sold through its own agency, ...

And you thought department stores and shopping malls were bad off before the coronavirus hit. As one person put it so succinctly in this New York Times piece , they're pretty much toast now. I happened to drive by one of the largest shopping centers in the Boston area, South Shore Mall, this past weekend and was struck by the sight of the massive, empty parking lot (except for the spaces in front of the still-operating Target). This is a mall with several mid-level (Macy's, Sears) and upscale (Nordstrom, Lord & Taylor) stores that were already bereft of foot traffic even in the best of times. As I gazed from the highway high above over at the sobering vista of a sea of thousands of available parking spaces, I wondered: What exactly is the owner of this hunk of suburban real estate wreckage going to do once all the stores inside shut for good? Like other mall operators, will they convert it into a mixed-use space featuring a smattering of retail plus, perhaps, a comm...

Bonnaroo attendees last summer participate in a morning event at the ASICS-branded Third Eye Dome, a massive wellness activation produced by Live Nation Live events have been put on hold for the time being, but the largest entertainment company in the world, Live Nation, has its eye on a post-lockdown future. In other words, live is still alive. The sneaker brand ASICS, which staged successful activations at three of Live Nation's most popular music festivals last summer, is moving forward as well, even as the retail sector tanks and as the athletic shoe market in particular copies with a 75 percent decline in sales because of the pandemic. Even though the Tokyo Summer Olympics were pushed back a year, ASICS still plans to roll out multiple Olympics-themed sneaker styles, as well as several other new designs, this year. For the case study on ASICS' work with Live Nation and more on what these resilient, forward-thinking companies are doing to survive the coronavirus crisis ...

The old Land O'Lakes label, featuring the Native American character Mia The label of Land O'Lakes dairy products featuring the familiar Native American "maiden" is one of the most iconic product images ever. It also represents the worst of cultural appropriation, perpetuates the myth of friendly relations between Native Americans and early European settlers, and even trivializes genocide, critics have charged. And so, the character — whose name is Mia — has officially gone the way of the Frito Bandito, Sambo's and every other racist brand mascot down through the history of American capitalism. As Modern Farmer noted , Land O'Lakes retired the old label (which had been around since 1928) very quietly — but that didn't stop the ferocious roar of complaints that followed, angrily denouncing the redesign as political correctness gone too far. A few choice comments on Modern Farmer's story (many of which I have edited only to make them passably l...