Plus, San Francisco agencies confront failed promises ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ 
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First Things First
 
September 25, 2020
By Jameson Fleming
 
 
Presented By
theTradeDesk
 
 
 
The Upfront Isn't Dead Yet–But It's Getting More Data-Driven
 

Marc Pritchard made waves on Wednesday when he said P&G, the world's largest advertiser, will no longer participate in the TV Upfronts, declaring them "antiquated." Often, when P&G changes course, the industry follows, and in this case, upfront spending was already projected to decline by 27% for the 2020-2021 season.

Analysis: Advertisers we spoke to still find some value in the upfronts, but they provided several ways the event needs to change in order to eliminate an "information asymmetry."

 
 
 
 
 
In San Francisco, Agencies Confront Their Failed Promise of Racial Diversity

While San Francisco agencies take great pride in the strides they've made in LGBTQ inclusion, the agency experience for Black professionals is vastly different. Adweek's reporting has uncovered a number of incidents across agencies in the city. Here's a few:

  • A building manager threatened to call the police on a Black employee when he exited the restroom—despite the two having met before.
  • A white agency founder using the N-word at a company event and justifying his use of the word by saying: “It’s OK. I have Black friends.”
  • A white senior art director at a San Francisco agency repeatedly using the words “protester,” “rioter” and “looter” interchangeably and an executive creative director joking that a window brand would have good business because of the “riots” in the city.

What agencies are doing about it: Adweek agency reporter Erik Oster spoke with a number of prominent San Francisco agencies about the problem and their solutions.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Controversial Chef to Be Removed From Cream of Wheat Packaging

In June, hours after Aunt Jemima said it would retire the mascot, Cream of Wheat's owners, B&G Foods said, "We understand there are concerns regarding the chef image, and we are committed to evaluating our packaging and will proactively take steps to ensure that we and our brands do not inadvertently contribute to systemic racism."

The result of that review? The chef will be removed.

 
 
 
With South by Southwest's IRL Future in Limbo, Is It Worth It for Brands to Show Up?

It seems like a lifetime ago, but South by Southwest was actually the first major American event to be canceled because of the pandemic. Now, SXSW faces an uncertain future for 2021. It revealed digital plans for next year's festival earlier this week, but the IRL portion of the event is TBD.

So what does that mean for marketers? Thinking outside the box could pay dividends as brands still have six months to prepare for the event.

More of the Latest Top Headlines:

 
 
 
 
 
 
This Wonderfully Bizarre Ad for Wasabi Doritos Is a Love Note to Japan, From Brazil
 

AlmapBBDO did 'extensive consulting' to get the tone and details right

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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The Latest Thought Leadership From Facebook

See all of Facebook's Partner Expert posts.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
LinkedIn Takes the Wraps Off Its First Major Visual Redesign in 5 Years
 

The professional network also rolled out Stories and updates to search, messaging.

 
 
 
 
 
Absolut Vodka's '#VoteResponsibly' Campaign Wants You to Vote First, Then Drink
 

Parent company Pernod Ricard is giving all U.S. employees the day off on Election Day.

 
 
 
 
 
Expect More, Longer Sales as the Holiday Shopping Season Kicks Off—in October
 

New 10.10 Shopping Festival and Amazon Prime Day seek to encourage early buying.

 
 
 
 
 
How Riot Games Personalizes Fan Engagement
 

Developer fosters connections with players, streamers and influencers inside and outside of its games.

 
 
 
 
 
Chris Rock on Joining Fargo and Avoiding ‘the Eddie Murphy Handbook’ for Black Comics
 

Plus, creator Noah Hawley talks expanding the FX series' audience on Hulu.

 
 
 
 
 
How UScellular Revamped Its Logo to Show That the Carrier Puts Customers First
 

The network, whose emblem dated to 1999, says it was high time for a refresh.

 
 
 
 
 
 
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