Adweek November 15, 2021

If it seems counterintuitive that a pioneering tech company would latch onto out of home—among the oldest forms of advertising—allow Apple’s Tor Myhren to explain. Billboards and other “outdoor expressions” hold a special place in a transient world, said Myhren at Adweek’s Elevate: Out of Home event. “We absolutely love outdoor,” he said. “It breaks all the rules of today’s fast and temporary and fractured digital culture. It’s static, it doesn’t move, it’s singular—all the things that most of marketing nowadays is not.” Apple and its dedicated agency, TBWA\Media Arts Lab, initially launched the Cannes Lions Grand Prix-winning campaign “Shot on iPhone” in 2014, and it’s still going. Envisioned from the start for outdoor placement, “Shot on iPhone” took the then-nascent selfie and blew it up—in some cases to 80 feet tall—to…

Members of the creative economy aren’t waiting on world leaders when it comes to climate change. An open letter released by activist groups Slow Factory and Clean Creatives calls on the world’s biggest public relations firm, Edelman, to cut ties with a major fossil fuel client: ExxonMobil. And the pressure is coming from within the firm: Many of the climate-focused creators who helped organize, write and recruit over 100 high-profile signatories have worked with Edelman to connect with brands on sustainability campaigns. “Edelman’s fancy ads are giving ExxonMobil social license to operate, and thereby to destroy our climate,” said activist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson.…

Before channeling her brand of positivity into activewear as co-founder of Beyond Yoga, Michelle Wahler was putting it on T-shirts. Originally hailing from Maryland, Wahler went to college in Florida for graphic design and marketing. After graduating, she moved to New York to work in publishing, first at People magazine and then Harper’s Bazaar. At the same time, the artist and designer at heart also began drawing illustrations of her friends, which she would put on T-shirts to give as birthday presents. “I didn’t really make any money [working in publishing], and I couldn’t buy them anything nice,” she recalled. The hobby turned into a company, Unsweetened, with tees featuring illustrations of women—“kind of an un-sugarcoated version of them.” Word-of-mouth led her to start selling wholesale and took Wahler to California with the intention…

It was a “do you remember where you were when…” moment. Simone Biles had pulled out of most of the Tokyo Games. Not for Covid. Not for a sprain. But to take care of her mental health. When the news alert popped up on phones across America, you could almost feel the collective pause as everyone took in something they hadn’t seen before. An elite athlete walking away from a competition she’d trained her whole life for, choosing to put herself and her team before any personal glory. Of course, after the pause came the opinions. Chief among the questions in coffee shops and Twitter circles was what would her endorsers do? In this week’s edition of Adweek, creative and inclusion editor Shannon Miller deftly takes us back to that watershed moment, speaking…

After Coca-Cola spent 11 months reviewing its global marketing, the iconic advertiser finally found a winning partner in the world’s largest advertising holding company, WPP. Monday’s announcement, however, left more questions than answers about the review. Coca-Cola’s initial announcement highlighted WPP as the big winner, taking on media buying for all markets, with the exception of a few select markets in Asia, where Dentsu has a strategic advantage. In total, it amounts to more than 90% of the media business falling to WPP. On the creative front, WPP shops will lead a number of strategic partners, including McCann, Mercado and Leo Burnett. Coca-Cola global CMO Manolo Arroyo told Adweek WPP will receive a minimum of 65% of the creative work. Wieden+Kennedy and Havas’ full-service agency BETC are among a number of shops that…

LONDON—Phil Young, founder of outdoor lifestyle agency Mighty Mighty, has loved spending time outside since the first time he hit the ski slopes as a teenager. After that experience, he became a snowboarder, cyclist, trail runner and skateboarder, and even cohosted a snowboarding TV show. But over time, a realization dawned. “I’ve always been the lone person of color in anything I’ve done,” he said. “I rarely see anyone who looks like me [in the outdoors].” London-based Young is now part of a wave of trailblazers aiming to tackle the lack of diversity in outdoor activities. Though the outdoors is often seen as the ultimate free and welcoming destination, more brands are finally recognizing this hasn’t been the reality and are taking the lead from grassroots groups that want to truly open…