JC Penney rings in holiday proposal season with AR ad driving virtual try-ons

The mobile campaign with Verizon Media includes immersive, full-screen spots, a "wedding personality" quiz and ad sponsorship on HuffPost Life.

By Natalie Black (Koltun) • Nov. 21, 2019

Oreo emphasizes forging connections in largest holiday campaign to date

Created with The Martin Agency, the brand's first seasonal campaign since 2016 includes digital recipes, e-commerce and OOH elements.

By Peter Adams • Nov. 21, 2019

Programmatic advertising must handle more complex media-buying decisions, study says

Programmatic ad growth will require more spending on tech and talent to realize its full potential, per a survey of marketing executives. 

By Robert Williams • Nov. 21, 2019

Frito-Lay and Anna Kendrick celebrate snacking in brand's 1st holiday campaign

The marketer is putting a spin on "Favorite Things" with a celebrity ambassador who's prior brand work has resonated with millennials. 

By Barry Levine • Nov. 21, 2019

How does OTT's ROI on ads compare to linear TV?

While linear TV remains important, new research assesses alternatives such as OTT, addressable and programmatic to find which channels advertisers should use.

By Dianna Christe • Nov. 20, 2019

Sam's Club spotlights speedy mobile checkout with ads starring world's fastest runners

A holiday campaign with Usain Bolt​ and Allyson Felix​ challenges consumers to download the Scan & Go app and make their own shopping trips​. 

By Dianna Christe • Nov. 20, 2019

Jostens debuts NFC-enabled class rings for school champions

The Champ DX Championship Ring preserves videos and photos that can be accessed via a free mobile app developed with Galatea.

By Robert Williams • Nov. 20, 2019

EBay pioneers Verizon Media's shoppable video ads

The online marketplace aims to help men shop with its "Guy's Guide to Nailing the Holidays."

By Robert Williams • Nov. 20, 2019

Adidas' AR activation drops shoppers into a trash-filled virtual ocean

Immersing app users in a littered ocean around the holidays highlights environmental issues and shows how the brand turns plastic waste into shoes.

By Robert Williams • Nov. 20, 2019

Ad-free engagement: Is organic virality a quest or a happy accident?

Many brands want to replicate the recent buzz around Popeyes and White Claws, but the formula for organic reach remains elusive.

By Shane Schick • Nov. 20, 2019

Beef industry brings 2-hour sizzling meat video to the big screen

Now available on YouTube, the ASMR-like "Drool Log" — a pun on Yule Log — will play in movie theaters in 10 states between Nov. 22 and Dec. 5.

By Barry Levine • Nov. 19, 2019

Snapchat's Discover tab extends ads up to 3 minutes

Xfinity and Nissan tested the new longer format that is unskippable ​in the first six seconds and then switches to being skippable for the rest.

By Robert Williams • Nov. 19, 2019

Dick's Sporting Goods brings gear to life in CGI holiday spot

Videos of animation and live-action filming help tell the story of what happens in a Dick's store at night when the merchandise comes alive.

By Barry Levine • Nov. 19, 2019

TikTok craze continues as app surpasses 1.5B global downloads

Sensor Tower found worldwide in-app user spending hit $175 million, with the U.S. being the second largest revenue market.

By Peter Adams • Nov. 18, 2019

YouTube readies beauty influencer contest series with James Charles

Reality show competitions are another sign of YouTube's strategy shift to original, personality-driven content.

By Robert Williams • Nov. 18, 2019

Aveda taps AI for virtual hair color sampling

The Estée Lauder brand's mobile experience features 64 hair colors and a "color melt" effect for another 30 shades.

By Robert Williams • Nov. 18, 2019

Saks creates multichannel experience for 'Frozen 2' holiday windows

The annual window unveiling will include a live event featuring a musical performance by Idina Menzel, who voices Elsa in the film.

By Dianna Christe • Nov. 18, 2019

TikTok opens door to social commerce with test of shoppable video links

Footage shows how links embedded in posts can go directly to an influencer's curated Amazon page.

By Peter Adams • Nov. 15, 2019

Amazon tops list of most valuable US brands at record $335B, new ranking says

The e-commerce giant overtook Apple and Google to gain the top spot while Instagram saw the biggest jump, WPP and Kantar found.

By Robert Williams • Nov. 15, 2019

Toyota tracks TV ads' impact on searches to optimize performance

The idea is that searches are one of the strongest indicators of purchase intent and, if tracked alongside TV ads, can signal their impact.

By Barry Levine • Nov. 14, 2019

Gucci's holiday campaign opens a Snapchat portal to a virtual beach

However, it doesn't appear that the mobile experience lets users further inspect product details or make direct purchases.

By Robert Williams • Nov. 13, 2019

Mobile video ad inventory jumps 31% as viewership grows, study says

Growth in mobile ad monetization will stem from more user time spent with formats like video in the next 18 months.

By Robert Williams • Nov. 13, 2019

Meow Mix remixes iconic jingle for music streaming era

Heavy metal, country, R&B and Latin versions of the earworm are available via Spotify and YouTube, and will appear in the brand's ads. 

By Chantal Tode • Nov. 13, 2019

Bloomberg: Instagram to cover creators' IGTV production costs

In another sign that the video hub has failed to gain major traction, Instagram looks to woo creators as long as they avoid politics, social issues and elections.

By Robert Williams • Nov. 12, 2019

Mixed reality apps will quintuple ad revenue to $11B by 2024, study says

Downloads of mixed reality apps will triple from 3 billion this year to a total of 10 billion by 2024, Juniper Research forecast.

By Robert Williams • Nov. 12, 2019