Adweek June 21, 2021

Cannes Lions is virtual this week, including the awards portion. After sitting last year out due to the Covid-19 disruption, the festival returns to honor work from the past two years. However, doubling the eligible time frame has not led to more entries—almost 2,000 fewer pieces of creative will be judged this year than in 2019. The reasons for this are varied, with some network agencies admitting to entering less work in order to save money. Entries for the Creative Effectiveness Lions have seen a 38% decline, while the Creative Strategy Lions contenders fell by 20%. Meanwhile, independent agency entries have grown by 14% and production company entries by 19%. Look for coverage on Adweek.com through the week on how those shifts affect the slate of winners and other emerging trends from the…

As part of yet another ongoing antitrust probe into Google’s business, the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority has been granted oversight of the tech giant’s proposed alternatives to third-party cookies, called Privacy Sandbox. If the CMA finds the proposals don’t fall on the right side of regulation, it can reopen its investigation, potentially delaying the removal of third-party cookies. Google has outlined a number of other commitments around how it plans to architect a replacement. Interested parties have until July 8 to comment on the commitments, and once these are accepted by the CMA, they become legally binding.…

When Kiehl’s Canada approached Toronto illustrator Tim Singleton to design special Pride packaging for its popular face cream, the decision was a no-brainer. He’d used the brand for years, and more importantly, Kiehl’s vowed to use part of the proceeds to help the queer community in practical, tactical ways. The partnership will create 2SLGBTQIA+ workshops for 17,000 students, virtual workshops for 10 schools in remote areas and training for two new speakers—one of them trans—to bring a message of hope to 58 schools this year. Adweek partnered with him this month as well to illustrate our June 21 Pride Stars cover story, marking Singleton’s first magazine cover. We caught up with him about what influences his trademark style—a colorful, optimistic “rainbow explosion”—how he chooses brand partnerships and how Pride can evolve beyond…

When we began assembling this year’s class of Pride Stars, the editorial team was united in what we wanted to accomplish: a celebration. It felt important at this moment, in the summer of 2021, to celebrate a community that has persevered through obstacles both historic and ongoing to create inspiring brands, services, entertainment ventures, nonprofits and, most notably, cultural change. While some Pride parades may be postponed or canceled, the spirit of pride is not. The word itself means “feeling a deep pleasure or satisfaction as a result of one’s own achievements, qualities or possessions, or those with whom one is closely associated,” according to the New Oxford American Dictionary. We wanted to bring you that sense of abundance by highlighting 25 community members who are making a difference in every…

Picture this: You’re the CMO of a major brand at the center of a quickly spreading TikTok trend. Rolling notifications make it clear that this clip is a hit across multiple social platforms and gaining steam. Do you repost their content? Send free products? Is your CEO willing to approve the title of TikTok youth brand ambassador in a pinch? Once that’s all decided, what do you owe the budding influencer who helped catapult your product into the spotlight? While brands are not legally obligated to recognize social-savvy fans, doing so could be the key to fresh partnerships and continued relevance. “While brands don’t necessarily have a responsibility to reach out to creators who find virality around their brand or product, it’s certainly a missed opportunity if they don’t,” Katy Wellhousen, accounts…

Ad tech’s privacy era is here. Third-party cookies are disappearing, and mobile ad IDs aren’t far behind. Now, add IP addresses to the list of vanishing signals used for targeted advertising. IP addresses are fundamental to the functionality of the internet, allowing information to be based between devices on a network. But they can also be used to serve people targeted ads and build digital profiles on users without their knowledge. At the Worldwide Developers Conference in June, Apple announced it’s taking measures to hide IP addresses on Safari and its mail app. Google issued a proposal in January called Gnatcatcher that would similarly hide IP addresses in Chrome. And internet service providers, the companies that ultimately control IP address, are at the beginning stages of making the signal harder to use…