Ad Age

Olipop’s redesign wowed consumers while a temporary logo from Spotify turned fans away—plus, why the Swatch-Audemars Piguet collab was not a win for all.

Insanely proud of this work. Representing an iconic brand, so deeply ingrained in culture, is a privilege. It’s also a lot of pressure. People have massive expectations of Las Vegas, and while we’ve done some incredible things over the past few years, we’ve been chasing the exact mix of humor, tone, and playfulness that made "What Happens Here, Stays Here" so legendary. "Pack for Vegas" nailed it. Delivering a sharp insight into a construct that resonates is hard. Doing it in 15 seconds while being charming, funny, and genuinely entertaining takes real skill. Sincere thanks to Tim Nudd for noticing and deep gratitude to Kate (Vuturo) Wik, Colleen Yoshida, Andrew Luft and everyone at the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority - LVCVA for the partnership along the way. And, mad respect and tons of love to our partners Caviar, Pickle Music, Arcade Edit, Untold Studios., and TRAFIK. and the entire team at R&R partners - Liam Doherty, Erika Buder, Audrey Sigel, Jenna Lusk, Blake Morris, Brad Warsh, Josh Harris, Chuck Monn, Mariya Munsey, Brenda Band, Thiago "Chuck" Barbieri, Erin Mowry, Erin McCleskey, Nick Valente, Destin Cox, Jilda Cheng, Lindsey Hill Patterson, Brandi Skrtich, Robin Rossi, Mikael G., Richard Oldfield, Danny Schotthoefer, Michon Martin, Jacqueline Meason, Joshua Levion, Katarina Urban, Josh Burns, Felicia Cerna, and many others - for delivering the goods. Finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a special shout out to Billy Vassiliadis, Arnie DiGeorge, Catherine Cole, and Rob Dondero who, collectively, have been stewarding this brand for damn near 50 years. https://lnkd.in/gy2Y2hnB

➕1️⃣ for your holiday watch list! Ahead of the long weekend, I scoured the Ad Age Insider archives for some of my favorite words of wisdom for brand leaders. In recent months, my colleagues have shared insights on why the power of the idea is more important than ever in an AI-saturated market, what Gen Z brand loyalty actually requires from marketers, what questions every CMO should be asking their agency right now and more. Watch, listen, read and ✨subscribe on your favorite podcast platform✨ at the link below 👇 A thank you and shoutout to the fabulous Tim Nudd, Erika Wheless, E.J. Schultz, Brian Bonilla, Ewan Larkin and Judann Pollack for lending their wisdom to the podcast over the past few months! https://lnkd.in/e-QptvrR

Google’s new ad formats for AI Mode could force brands to surrender short-term control of messaging in order to build long-term trust with consumers who are skeptical of ads in AI environments, experts told Ad Age. The update, announced this week at Google Marketing Live, may pose initial discomfort for brands, as well as blur the boundary between their organic and paid media strategies since Gemini will now bring outside context into their sponsored content. This information could even include negative details about the advertiser if Gemini deems it relevant, a Google spokesperson confirmed. “It’s what we’ve been waiting to see,” said Valerie Dorer, head of paid search at Wpromote. “The question [has been], ‘How are we going to introduce ads into a conversational experience in a way that preserves trust?’ This definitely gets us closer to that.” AI Mode now has more than 1 billion monthly active users globally, and as Google makes the platform a more central part of its search experience, it is also expanding AI Mode’s advertising functionality. But this latest development could also pose significant challenges for advertisers. 🔗 Read the full story from Asa Hiken to learn more about why advertisers may have to get uncomfortable and how could help brands in the long term: https://lnkd.in/gVV988FS

Mondelēz International has hired Stagwell’s 72andSunny to handle global creative for Oreo, along with much of its U.S. biscuits portfolio, as the snacking company seeks to boost sluggish domestic performance, Ad Age has learned. Along with global Oreo duties, 72andSunny will oversee U.S. creative for Oreo and Ritz, as well as the bulk of Mondelēz’s remaining U.S. biscuits portfolio, according to a person familiar with the matter. Omnicom’s Martin, the incumbent on Oreo and U.S. Ritz—including back-to-back Super Bowl spots—will no longer work with Mondelēz. The agency shift follows Mondelēz’s appointment of Inspire Brands executive Travis W Freeman as senior VP and global head of consumer experience in late January, replacing Jon Halvorson. In winning the pitch, 72andSunny beat out Martin, WPP’s Ogilvy and Publicis’ Leo, Mondelēz confirmed. 🔗 Read the full story from Ewan Larkin to learn more about the new agency appointment: https://lnkd.in/gHzVMip8

In today’s creative news: ⚽️🏆 Nike’s teases the cast of characters for a vast World Cup campaign 📺 British insurer Hiscox messes up its TV ads on purpose ⛽️ Veloz targets gas stations with billboards showing your savings with an EV

Ad Age's 2026 Tech Power List honorees offer their best advice for how to run a team and get the whole organization moving in one direction. I have been posting these leaders' tips and stories all week, hoping these features help the community find a strategic advantage. 🟥 Netflix's Amy Reinhard said it best: "Don’t let a fast-moving environment prevent you from making hard decisions." 💡 This is about how to reach consensus, not just around technology, but in any endeavor. That's why this works, why we ask everyone how they achieve what they achieve. Ultimately, that's what any Tech Power List, or A-List, or Small Agency community is for. 🪟 "Transparency does two things: It lowers the barrier for contribution, and it turns experimentation into a shared discipline," JPMorgan's Tracy-Ann Lim said. 🪙 "The job keeps changing—and you have to change with it," Profound's James Cadwallader said, about how it is to go from 15 to hundreds of employees as CEO. We are going to hear more from Tech Power List honorees this year, many of them mentioned here below, and from all the tech leaders I get to talk with every day. So stay tuned 👇 https://lnkd.in/ekDtKYHx

Google offers a new tool to help brands track visibility in AI search 🔍 The news: This week, Google unveiled a new way for brands to track their visibility on AI search. A tool in Merchant Center will show marketers how their share of voice on AI platforms compares to that of competitors. The metric will be evaluated across several areas, including product discovery, evaluation and purchase. The tool, which was announced at Google Marketing Live on Wednesday, will also show relevant terms and attributes for products and how clearly they are reflected in brands’ product pages. Why it matters for marketers: As marketers look for ways to increase their visibility in AI search platforms, Google’s update offers a potentially useful lever for showing up in AI Mode and AI Overviews. The tool inside Merchant Center is mostly concerned with how brands are performing in specific product categories, such as shoes. This view, broken down into three sub-sections (discovery, evaluation and purchase), could be particularly helpful for strategies around agentic commerce, in which AI agents search for products on behalf of consumers. While the tool also offers a general share of voice score for a brand compared to its competitors, non-product marketing—such as information like a brand’s identity and reputation—is excluded from the tool’s remit, basically leaving brands that don’t do e-commerce out to dry. Expert’s take: “I definitely think [seeing] attributes where you are missing out compared to your competitors could be really insightful,” said Lily Ray, founder of SEO and AI search consulting firm Algorthymic. “But Google is pushing so hard into shopping and sites that have e-commerce, whereas there are so many other types of websites that would benefit from having any type of reporting or insights about AI’s impact, but so far they have basically nothing.” 🔗 Check out more tech shifts reshaping marketing—including a look into R/GA’s vibe-coding phone booth and a vivid—in Asa Hiken's weekly roundup: https://lnkd.in/gpQS8vxj

☕️ Tressie Lieberman wants people to feel proud carrying a Starbucks cup again. That ambition sits at the center of Starbucks’ resurgence, as the company leans more heavily into culture, storytelling and product innovation under CEO Brian Niccol’s “Back to Starbucks” turnaround plan. Lieberman, who joined Starbucks as global chief brand officer in late 2024, has overseen a marketing strategy built around social-first menu innovation, seasonal beverage drops, entertainment tie-ins and cinematic storytelling aimed at deepening the brand’s connection with younger consumers, including a stately ad from “Chef’s Table” director David Gelb. Read this edition of Brand Marketer of the Month where Lieberman talks with Ad Age about “shareworthiness,” customer rituals and restoring the emotional connection that has long defined the Starbucks experience. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/dfDT2yny