Bruce Willis reprises his role as John McClane in ad for...DieHard batteries and Advance Auto Parts. The two-minute spot, which was teased with #DieHardIsBack social media posts from influencers like his daughter, Rumer Willis, and The Lonely Island, has a number of callbacks to the iconic action franchise. The most obvious of those Easter eggs: Willis has to crawl through a vent to escape.

Watch it here.

Each year, Adweek honors the best media plans in advertising. You may recall some like State Farm's Kenny Mayne deepfake on ESPN during The Last Dance and Comedy Central's takeover of the 7 train to promote Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens [Read our cover story on this top honoree here]. This year's batch recognizes true innovation in the cluttered media landscape. See the full list of winners here.

Elsewhere in this issue of Adweek:

• Hard seltzer brands are fighting for dominance in a crowded market. In this Adweek exclusive, we spoke with all the top players in the category to learn how they're marketing their points of differentiation. Read it here.
• Infographic: As consumers vacate cities, they still crave familiar retail experiences. Especially Trader Joe's.
• Opinion: Goodby Silverstein & Partners' Zach Canfield explains what working in a tattoo shop taught him about advertising's creative process.  

Home Depot, H-E-B, KeurigDrPepper, Motel 6 and Salvation Army all left The Richards Group following founder Stan Richards' "too black" comments. Richards has stepped down, but the damage may already be done. Here's why:

• Motel 6 was already in a creative review where The Richards Group didn't have an advantage as the incumbent.
• Home Depot is already reviewing its media business. Could it add creative to that mix and consolidate in a single holding company?
• One potential parallel: After a racist incident at Campbell Ewald, multiple clients left the business.

Full analysis: Veteran reporter Erik Oster dives into this unique situation to explain what may happen next.

You know the story already—a TikTok user delivers the best vibes of 2020 with a video featuring Ocean Spray that has garnered over 10 million likes on the platform. So how does Ocean Spray capitalize on that sudden exposure? TikTok's global head of business marketing Katie Puris spoke with Adweek about how brands can make the most of the platform. A few takeaways:

• You can't plan for viral. But have a plan in place in case the opportunities arise.
• Brands don't need to be perfect.
• Don't chase trends.

Read more: Check out Puris' full advice.

DoubleVerify and AppLovin appear to be exploring public offerings. The activity makes for the most robust IPO market for ad-tech companies in several years. It has shades of the early 2010s, which saw seven companies go public, most notably Criteo and TubeMogul.

What it means: While ad-tech companies have generally struggled since their IPOs, analysts say DoubleVerify and AppLovin can be successful with robust offerings in the potentially lucrative mobile gaming development and CTV spaces.

The spot featuring a famous live music venue slams Trump’s Covid-19 response.

Join ENGINE, Snap and Adweek on Thursday, October 22, as ENGINE shares recent findings from their Cassandra Report®, which has examined youth through the lens of today to provide an understanding of the new cultural trends that are emerging, which values are being amplified and what behavioral changes are likely to be sustained long-term. Register today to save your virtual seat.

Odwalla and Delaware Punch among the brands to bow out by year's end.

The brand asks the public to come up with an alternative tagline.

Biden's audience was larger, despite Trump's telecast also airing on MSNBC and CNBC.

'This is 100% all the things they tell you not to do in ad school.'

Coffee chain is tying executive compensation to building inclusive and diverse teams.

Veteran rocker joins list of celebrity inductees to the burger chain's hall of fame.