🎯 Taco Bell Puts Mendoza In Charge
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Brands once fought for a spot in the feed. Now they are quietly trying to become part of the machinery underneath it.
Taco Bell Puts Mendoza In Charge
TL;DR: Taco Bell has cast football player Fernando Mendoza as a rookie restaurant manager in a campaign created by Deutsch. Documentary-style ads follow his first days on the job, while social posts treat the role as real. The brand extends the story into a stadium restaurant with a manager plaque, business cards and a special meal named for its new manager. Read more →
Carl's Jr Trades Complaints For Burgers
TL;DR: Carl's Jr in New Zealand is inviting disappointed customers of rival burger chains to exchange their own one-star review screenshots for a free Famous Star burger. Created by TBWA New Zealand, the One-Star Swapper validates submissions through a dedicated web app before issuing vouchers. Successful participants also enter a draw for a cowboy hat that unlocks a year of burgers. Read more →
OpenAI Makes Ads More Visual
TL;DR: OpenAI is introducing visual ads in ChatGPT, initially testing them during image generation with selected US advertisers later this month. It is also expanding conversion and attribution partnerships and developing brand suitability evaluations with DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science. Ads will remain clearly labeled and separate from generated images, while evaluations will avoid accessing private user conversations. Read more →
TikTok Takes Ads Beyond TikTok
TL;DR: TikTok is opening its external ad network to US advertisers, extending campaigns from Ads Manager into nearly 400,000 apps worldwide with placement and brand safety controls. Announced at Advertising Week New York, the update accompanies a conversational shopping assistant and Buy Direct checkout, which lets shoppers purchase from brands without leaving the app or their For You feed. Read more →
Snowflake Connects Agents To Campaigns
TL;DR: Snowflake is previewing an AI Gateway for Advertising that connects agents to Meta and TikTok campaign systems, with agency PMG among its early customers. The gateway combines live advertising signals with a company's own business data, helping agents explain performance changes and recommend adjustments. Campaign managers approve and monitor actions, keeping decisions and their supporting evidence in a shared record. Read more →
Uber Measures Restaurant Sales Beyond Delivery
TL;DR: Uber Advertising has partnered with Affinity Solutions to measure whether sponsored listings on Uber Eats generate additional restaurant sales beyond the delivery app. Restaurant chains can request analysis of individual campaigns to understand their impact on physical locations as well as online orders. The new offering addresses advertisers' concern that delivery advertising might simply shift purchases away from their restaurants. Read more →
T-Mobile Targets Outdoor Screens
TL;DR: T-Mobile is making its first-party mobile data exclusively available for outdoor advertising through Vistar Media, the platform it owns. Advertisers can build audiences using location and anonymized app usage signals, then reach them on digital outdoor screens. Agency Kepler has tested the integration, while broader rollout now offers both ready-made and custom audiences; dedicated outdoor measurement remains on the roadmap. Read more →
Morning Brew Buys Express Checkout
TL;DR: Morning Brew has acquired Express Checkout, a creator-led media brand covering consumer packaged goods, in an all-cash deal with undisclosed terms. The purchase gives the publisher full ownership of the brand's intellectual property, while co-founders Nate Rosen and Jenna Movsowitz join full time. It adds another independent creator business and its audience to Morning Brew's growing portfolio of media properties. Read more →
Panda Express Stays In The Game
TL;DR: Panda Express is turning its Roblox and Fortnite campaigns into a continuing gaming presence, with permanent destinations, seasonal updates and menu-linked activations. A study by Super League and Nielsen found a three-percentage-point awareness increase after earlier campaigns. Working with The Many and Super League, the chain plans additional Fortnite integrations and regular Roblox updates around Halloween, fall and winter menus. Read more →
Poppi Follows Its Fans Into Culture
TL;DR: Poppi's head of culture, Sophia Sesto, says its partnerships begin with where its audience already spends time, from New York Fashion Week to the Dallas Cowboys. In a new interview, she describes a team that favors enthusiasm and community participation over data-led briefs. PepsiCo ownership has expanded the soda brand's resources while leaving its culture team room to make decisions. Read more →
Papa Johns Finds Customers Through Walmart
TL;DR: Papa Johns' new global chief marketing officer, Chris Lyn-Sue, is using its Walmart Express Delivery partnership to reach customers beyond established delivery platforms. In a new interview, he describes opportunities to combine restaurant orders with household shopping. The chain is also rebuilding marketing around everyday value and promotional bursts, supported by national advertising, local marketing teams and franchisee marketing co-ops. Read more →
Sage Turns Financial Data Into Music
TL;DR: Accounting software company Sage has launched The Financial Symphony, turning anonymized business data into an original musical composition with sound specialists Loud Numbers and a live string quartet. Changes in pitch, tempo and volume follow the underlying numbers. The project illustrates Sage's Glass Box approach to AI, emphasizing that businesses should be able to trace data, assumptions and resulting answers. Read more →
PROJECT ROCKIT Asks Australians To Give
TL;DR: Australian anti-bullying organization PROJECT ROCKIT has launched its first national fundraising campaign, Give a Buck About Bullying, with charity partner UnLtd. Created by The Royals, with media handled by OMD, the campaign invites small donations to help more schools access its programs. The money supports work with young people to challenge bullying, strengthen connections and build more inclusive school communities. Read more →
P&N Bank Gives Banking A Heart
TL;DR: Australia's customer-owned P&N Bank is launching Banking with Heart with a film in which a big-bank boss sings about losing relationships with customers. Created with independent agency Chapter, the campaign presents personal service through an unlikely spokesperson. The platform launches across television, outdoor, transit, audio, digital and social channels, with extensions planned for the bank's website and branches as well. Read more →
Vodafone Spins A Bigger Night Out
TL;DR: Vodafone Australia is promoting the iPhone 18 Pro through a rideshare driver's increasingly unbelievable night-out story featuring singer Boy Soda and a snake. Created by Howatson+Company, the campaign puts the phone's low-light camera, battery life and Vodafone's 5G network into the action. The story runs across television, streaming video, social media and outdoor advertising as part of the phone launch. Read more →
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