The mood at Party City was far from festive Friday, as CNN reported that the retailer will abruptly shut down its stores and let all employees go at the end of the day, ending a run of nearly 40 years. Party City specialized in items such as balloons, Halloween costumes, and party goods, and CNN...

Bill Belichick and Tom Brady are reuniting for a Super Bowl, and Michael Strahan's presence won't spoil it, for once. Strahan's SMAC Entertainment is teaming up with Fox Sports Films, BZ Entertainment and NFL Films on a pre-Super Bowl special, "The Madden Cruiser: A Bayou Adventure With Bill Belichick." Airing at 12pm ET ahead of...

The kids aren't just hangry in a new campaign for Wonderful Halos, they're downright vengeful and borderline homicidal. That's because their parents polished off all the sweet-as-candy mandarin oranges in the house, leaving them with low blood sugar and lax supervision. Two hilariously dark ads--from The Wonderful Agency, the company's in-house creative division--set up a...

Everybody wants in on the $60 billion that retail media is projected to make in 2025, according to Emarketer. For many agencies, retailers, and adtech firms, that means striking deals with other players to reach new audiences and data about what people buy. As we close out 2024, ADWEEK asked three execs and industry analysts...

Omnicom Media Group (OMG) is bringing on PHD exec Katie Klein as chief investment officer, it shared with ADWEEK. Klein previously held the same role at subsidiary PHD USA. In her three years there, she built an integrated investment arm serving clients including Burger King, Delta Airlines, Diageo, Priceline, Uber, and Volkswagen Group. Prior to...

A TikTok ban appears imminent, and members of TikTok's thriving communities, like #BookTok, #PerfumeTok, and #MovieTok, will need to find new platforms to connect. BookTok is not just a thriving community, but a space where people can build careers. For example, Eli Rallo is a published author who gained popularity on TikTok along with creator...

The data unit Epsilon has emerged as one of Publicis Groupe's biggest weapons of its recent success, helping its stock soar nearly 70% since the beginning of 2023. "Epsilon and Publicis Media operation are now totally intertwined and at the heart of our connected media ecosystem," CEO Arthur Sadoun told investors in its Q3 earnings...

Happy Friday to all who celebrate. In this week's edition of stories we didn't post for one reason or another, we see the usual churn of local journalists, leaving me to ask, is it me or is everyone retiring these days and one union pickets a Michigan station. Let us begin: Revolving Door: Reporter-anchor Tajma...

Volvo is shaking up its media agency roster for the first time in 25 years. IPG Mediabrands' Initiative has won Volvo's global media review, ADWEEK has learned. The account spans all regions outside of China, with key markets including the U.S., U.K., Germany, Sweden, Japan, Australia, Korea. Work will begin in 2025 after a brief...

Pro tip for Ronny Chieng fans--if you meet him in person, don't say that you only get your news from The Daily Show... even if that happens to be true. "I wouldn't like that," the senior correspondent for Comedy Central's longtime satirical newscast tells TVNewser when asked how he'd feel about being someone's sole news...

WSET anchor Mark Spain has died, just three weeks after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He was 64. "Hello sunshines! It is with a heavy heart that I share the passing of my loving husband Mark. Our family along with the city of Lynchburg lost a man of hope, someone who loves his city and...

Major League Baseball's winter meetings have been over for a week, but the organization saved one of its biggest swings for today--promoting Uzma Rawn Dowler to its new chief marketing officer. A 10-year MLB veteran, Rawn begins her new role in January and will report to Noah Garden, MLB's deputy commissioner of business and media....

Omnicom's acquisition of IPG may have been the biggest agency news of the year, but it wasn't the only move in the sector this month. We've gathered up some of the bigger moves made in the last couple of weeks. Alma Alma has appointed Jorge Murillo as co-chief creative officer, to help to steer the...

Staying in Place: NewsNation's primetime anchor Chris Cuomo has agreed to a multi-year contract extension with the network. Cuomo joined NewsNation in 2020, and his eponymous 8 p.m. show is the network's top-rated program. "Chris is a one-of-a-kind talent whose unrivaled analysis and commentary has helped grow the audience at NewsNation and strengthen our brand,"...

In the long list of cherished holiday traditions, few are as enduring as parents taking their kids to see Santa at the local mall or retail store. Every year, over 18 million children call on Santa, according to the cultural blog Atkins Bookshelf, and 70% of malls and shopping centers employ one, as per NationalSanta.com....

Fox News mainstay Neil Cavuto is leaving the network after 28 years. Cavuto will announce his departure on Thursday towards the end of his 4 p.m. newscast, Your World with Neil Cavuto. A Fox News spokesperson confirmed Cavuto's exit to TVNewser. "Neil Cavuto's illustrious career has been a master class in journalism, and we're extremely...

Former IPG and Amazon Ads exec Amy Armstrong will join Publicis Groupe as chief revenue officer, a new role at the holding company, on March 1. Armstrong joins from Amazon Ads, where she was director of global customer development since June 2022, following five years as CEO of IPG Mediabrands' Initiative. Prior to that, she...

George Stephanopoulos has signed a new contract with ABC News days after the network made the controversial decision to settle a defamation suit with President-elect Donald Trump. The veteran journalist will continue to co-host Good Morning America and anchor his Sunday morning show This Week With George Stephanopoulos. An ABC News spokesperson confirmed to TVNewser...

In this episode of the Marketing Vanguard podcast, Jenny Rooney connects with Linda Boff, CEO of Said Differently, and Tony Wells, a former marketer at Verizon, for a compelling discussion about how CMOs can build successful board careers. This special episode comes to you live from Brandweek 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona. Our guests share invaluable...

When Omnicom announced its takeover of Interpublic Group (IPG) on Dec. 9, its leadership was clear that the deal was pending regulatory approval. Ten days later, the deal is facing its first probe from Congressional representative Jim Jordan, who is investigating the two holding companies' ties to two organizations he views as anti-conservative. On Wednesday,...

A news crew for Reno, Nevada station KTVN got a front row seat to a hit and run on Tuesday night moments before going on-air. According to 2 News Nevada reporter Makayla Hardy, who was on scene at the time, a car and an SUV collided at around 7 p.m. Both cars had a green...

In 2015, Instagram contributed only 7% to Meta's total U.S. revenue, according to Emarketer. Ten year's later, the app is projected to account for half, according to the research firm's latest forecast. Instagram is projected to generate $32.03 billion in U.S. advertising revenue next year, a 24.4% increase from 2024, per Emarketer. This rise would...

Dick's Sporting Goods has a new executive to lead its retail media network. David Young has joined Dick's as a vice president to oversee the ad business. The retailer launched its retail media network, Dick's Media Network, in 2022. He brings more than 20 years of experience in managing media and ad networks, most recently...

Uber has a new global head of advertising in Kristi Argyilan, effective today. The exec joins from Albertsons, where she led the grocer's ads business as senior vice president of retail media since July 2021. After launching its advertising business in 2022, Uber announced in August that it was on track to hit $1 billion...

WTAE reporter Bob Mayo said he is retiring on December 31. TribLive points out that this is the "third significant on-air retirement from Pittsburgh TV stations this quarter, following the departures of KDKA-TV's Jon Delano and WPXI's David Johnson." "I'm grateful for my years at WTAE, a station I've watched since I was a kid...