Adweek September 26, 2022

Netflix hasn’t publicly announced a rollout date for its ad-supported tier, but it’s been quietly telling buyers to prepare for a Nov. 1 debut, which means marketers are feeling the pressure of the streaming behemoth’s eagerly anticipated offering. As media buyers race to lock in their commitments by the end of the month, they (anonymously) talked to Adweek about the intense negotiations. Several insiders felt Netflix’s initial $65 CPM was more of a starting point than an ultimatum. But negotiations may depend on how much wiggle room buyers have, as Netflix is looking for up to $5 million per brand and yearlong upfront commitments. Initially, the streamer won’t offer much beyond the cachet of the Netflix name, having no third-party measurement and minimal targeting. However, Netflix is also offering a rare bit of…

It took Mario Chamorro 10 months to help develop creative wellness app Oye with reggaeton superstar J Balvin and Patrick Dowd. But it only took him a few minutes of using it to help his mother open up about her mental health. Oye, which means “listen” in Spanish, was created with Gen Z in mind and centers on “creative wellness,” the idea that people can work through their emotions with creative actions, encouraging users to track their feelings and create art to stimulate personal growth. They can also watch content—specifically created for the Latin American market—tailored to how they’re feeling, whether it’s a talk from a sex therapist or a video encouraging people to twerk out their insecurities and have fun.…

Some people know their calling from a very early age. In fact, as illustrator Cheryl Thuesday puts it, she “really can’t remember when I wasn’t passionate about art.” Growing up in New Jersey, Thuesday said her family supported her passion with art supplies and museum visits. She went on to hone her skills and found her love of illustration at the School of Visual Arts in New York. While that beginning was direct enough, Thuesday’s career journey into marketing took a nontraditional route. After graduation, she headed to Washington, D.C. Naturally falling into the city’s grassroots art scene through friends and other creatives in her circle, Thuesday earned a reputation for her eye-catching flyers and posters promoting spoken word poetry shows and gallery exhibits, eventually going on to showcase her own work at…

When I joined Adweek seven-and-a-half years ago to cover the TV industry, media companies were desperately trying to crack the digital video space. I’ve lost track of the number of NewFronts events I attended where legacy networks touted their new digital divisions and trotted out a YouTube star du jour they were confident would bring the same buzz to their own fledgling platforms. Unsurprisingly, very few of those early efforts broke out. Most of those personalities were never seen again onstage—and in many cases, the upstart platforms met the same fate. As Hollywood learned the hard way, digital success did not translate to more traditional outlets. At least, not until Issa Rae came along. Her web series Awkward Black Girl put her on the map back in 2011, but she pulled off…

Gun advertising once evoked groups of hunters and father-son trips into the great outdoors. But over the last 40 years, the weekend sportsmen demographic shrunk as a marketing target for brands such as riflemaker Winchester. Now gunmakers have moved away from the wholesome images of unwrapping a rifle from under the Christmas tree. That advertising has been replaced by increasingly darker messages about the benefits of armed self-protection against home invaders and an emphasis on patriotism amid the perceived danger of an eroding constitutional right to arms. Through it all are mocking hints that a prospective gun owner’s masculinity is at stake. While those messages have been gaining speed for decades, they’ve switched gears to social media as firearms manufacturers have adapted to changing times. In response, communities, activists and congressional representatives…

When Bo Burnham released a song encapsulating the absurdity of middle-class existence while attempting to process all the concurrent crises of 2020, it’s unlikely he intended to create the soundtrack to climate doomism. “That Funny Feeling,” a song from the comedian’s hourlong special Inside, proved especially relatable, eventually becoming a popular TikTok sound used in despairing videos chronicling climate disasters. “I like to call [summer 2021] the ‘summer of climate doom,’” Alaina Wood, scientist, climate communicator and host for media company Pique Action, told Adweek. While some argue that distress is a rational response to the realities humanity is facing due to climate change, some research has shown it doesn’t actually lead to people doing anything about it. And given the necessity of large-scale action to slow global warming and mitigate its…