Ad Age Insider

Weekly Report: Planters hires Mr. Peanut a fixer without a pitch, and why character-driven branding is back

Planters named Martin, the agency behind the Geico Gecko, its creative agency of record without running a formal review, betting on character-driven branding to sharpen M

Will the AI marketing bubble burst? | Catch Up

Catch the full conversation: https://adage.substack.com/p/ai-is-all-over-earnings-calls-ai Ad Age's senior tech editor Garett Sloane joins Parker to answer the question

Weekly Report: YouTube raises the bar for creator payouts

YouTube is doubling the watch time and engagement thresholds creators need to qualify for its Partner Program starting February 2027, a shift that matters less than it so

AI is all over earnings calls. AI ROI isn't, with Garett Sloane

Ad Age senior tech editor Garett Sloane unpacks why AI dominates earnings calls at companies from Meta and Google to Colgate-Palmolive, Amazon and Booking Holdings even i

Weekly Report: PepsiCo's AI agency review signals a shift from experiments to infrastructure

This week: PepsiCo is running a global agency review focused on building out AI marketing capabilities, with Omnicom, Accenture, Deloitte, and Publicis Sapient all vying

Weekly Report: Dollar Tree shifts to emotional branding as it eyes $1 billion in untapped sales

Dollar Tree named independent agency Tombras its first-ever creative agency of record ahead of a September brand campaign—what it reveals about the shift from performance

The consumer trends marketers can't ignore this fall, with Erika Wheless

Erika Wheless, consumer culture and brand behavior reporter at Ad Age, breaks down the consumer trends shaping the back half of 2026, and how they connect to the brands g

Weekly Report: McDonald's admits its promotional calendar backfired

This week on Ad Age Insider's Weekly Report: McDonald's opens up about how an overloaded promotional calendar, stacking a K-pop Demon Hunters tie-in, value messaging, bev

Weekly Report: Creators are betting on equity over paid partnerships

This week on Ad Age Insider's Weekly Report: creators like Alix Earle are increasingly chasing equity stakes instead of traditional brand deals, and what it reveals about

Small Agencies are Winning Business with these 2026 Moves, with Judy Pollack, Brian Bonilla and Ewan Larkin

The leaders of the 2026 Ad Age Small Agency Awards—Judy Pollack, Brian Bonilla and Ewan Larkin—break down what actually separated this year's winners from the pack. They

Weekly Report: Taco Bell's trust test during cyclosporiasis crisis

This week on Ad Age Insider's Weekly Report: Taco Bell's Cyclospora outbreak and what it reveals about crisis communications, food safety, and brand trust. Plus, four Mad

Weekly Report: Starbucks' Culture Play, Predictive AI Targeting, Emmy-Nominated Ads

This week on Ad Age Insider's Weekly Report: Starbucks leans into culture over explanation with its 'Pink Energy' platform, built around the fan-favorite Pink Drink. Gary

2026 ad budget check-in: where media money's moving, with Brandon Doerrer

Ad Age Media Reporter Brandon Doerrer gives a midyear check-in on 2026 ad spend, and breaks down the insights behind the data. He gets into why budgets are holding steady

Weekly Report: How 2 indie shops beat larger rivals for a $550M account

This week on Ad Age Insider's Weekly Report: how two indie agencies—Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners and Canvas Worldwide—beat holding company giants Stagwell and Publicis

Weekly Report: Alex Cooper says ad agencies are the problem

In Ad Age Insider's July 2 Weekly Report: inside Alex Cooper's pitch to brands at Cannes Lions; why Mr. Clean is going after beauty creators; how brands are combating con

Cannes Lions takeaways: Lessons for marketers to carry through 2026

On this week's episode of Ad Age Insider, host Parker Herren recaps the news, trends and takeaways that have emerged from the 2026 Cannes Lions International Festival of

Cannes Lions pre-brief: indies and creators surge plus key topics, with Brian Bonilla and Ewan Larkin

Agency reporters Brian Bonilla and Ewan Larkin break down the key topics, trends and questions to watch at this year's Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

CMOs on CMOs: Hippo and Solo Stove on AI and grassroots marketing tactics

Watch this episode and see additional resources for marketers at AdAge.com/cmo. In the first episode of the Ad Age CMOs on CMOs series, Andrea Collins, CMO of Hippo, an

Best World Cup campaigns and the new sports marketing playbook, with Tim Nudd and Jon Springer

For years, the 2026 FIFA World Cup has been must-buy media inventory for marketers. But numerous controversies as well as the bigger-than-ever nature of the soccer games

Publicis-LiveRamp deal: what to know and how to react, with Garett Sloane

Senior Technology and AI editor Garett Sloane breaks down Publicis Groupe's acquisition of LiveRamp, including why it matters for brands and first steps for auditing your