The Tea Is Hot! (Spring 2022)

Listen to your regulatory mother
Regulators recently pressured John Lewis to remove its insurance ad after the company spurred some unfounded controversy due to its featuring of a young boy sporting his mother's make-up and jewelry, waltzing through the halls of his house. Ultimately, the ad was not pulled due to backward views of gender but because the underlying product message was deemed misleading. In the end, the U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ruled that the ad would cause consumer "confusion" about the insurance offering. Now, the insurance company is required to contact purchasers of the plan to ensure that they understand the coverage and are satisfied purchasers. Above all, the lesson here is that financial marketing is held to a higher standard due to the associated consequences, and this example illustrates this undeniable truth. Consumer well-being is paramount, and although regulators may restrict creativity, they also exist to protect consumers. Click here to read more.

Is this the beginning of the end for human creators?
During the pandemic, many small agencies have struggled to make ends meet. In response, rather than expanding its core competencies, an agency called Interesting Development reinvented the wheel to start Supernatural, the "world's first human-machine hybrid creative agency." Their new business model is based on AI and machine learning and promises to leverage technology to improve advertising. By harnessing data and connecting it to key campaign objectives, the "machine" can come up with innovative ideas beyond human imagination. So, where does that leave us? Click here to find out more.

Disney, make our advertising dreams come true
Disney recently created a "clean room" data-driven answer to the phase-out of third-party cookies. This new development is essentially a data warehouse with strict data security, and it is ultimately powered by Disney Select, which includes innovative modeling and audience targeting capabilities. The first-party data collected by Disney Select gives marketers an arsenal of tools to formulate strategy and achieve campaign objectives. Thus, as addressable advertising ramps up and third-party cookies cease to exist, Disney's offering stands to be the light at the end of the tunnel. Click here to read more.