Posts tagged with "Adweek"

Above, Sydney Sweeney stars in Ford's ad campaign to share her passion for cars. (Photo source: Ford/Wieden+Kennedy)

Sydney Sweeney fixes up a Ford Mustang in ad campaign championing women in auto sector

December 8, 2023

When auto brand Ford partnered with Sydney Sweeney—the star of Euphoria and The White Lotus—to launch a women’s workwear collection in March, items began selling out in less than 36 hours. The success inspired the brand and Wieden+Kennedy New York to expand on their partnership, with an advertising campaign aiming to break barriers for women in the automotive sector, reports Adweek.

The initiative launches with a film showing Sweeney working on her 1964 Ford Mustang. Dressed in the Ford x Sydney Sweeney denim coveralls, which are manufactured by Dickies, she replaces a spark plug and air filter, and changes the car’s oil.

In a second film, she sports the collection’s new T-shirt and corduroy hat as she replaces the car’s brakes. Sweeney comes from a family of mechanics and has documented her work restoring a 1969 Ford Bronco on her TikTok channel, @syds_garage.

“We learned that a lot of people, a lot of women, and not just auto enthusiasts, are captivated and inspired by this extraordinarily authentic partnership,” Ford Marketing Communications Manager Erica Martin told Adweek. “They love getting a glimpse at a new side of Sydney and of Ford.

“This time, we aimed to simply do more of what was so successful—hanging out with Sydney (and her dog, Tank) in her garage while she gets her hands dirty and pursues her passion.”

While the auto industry is typically male-dominated, Ford wants to inspire more women with passion for the space. The brand is releasing a digital lookbook featuring step-by-step instructions for basic vehicle maintenance and pictures of the apparel modeled by female auto restoration influencers, including Adri Law and Gelica Peralta.

The lookbook and tutorials from Sweeney will be shared in Instagram carousels and story highlights directing consumers to buy the line at merchandise.ford.com.

“Anytime we can show up in a relevant way, in unexpected places for an automotive brand, that’s a win,” Martin said. “It’s all about harnessing the power of pop culture, of Sydney, to get in front of new audiences and drive conversation about Ford in social and in the media. And it would be great if the merch sold out again, too.”

Research contact: @Adweek

Above, Walmart is using AI to enable consumers to 'try on' more than 1,400 products from over 20 beauty brands. (Photo source: Perfect)

Walmart uses augmented reality to let shoppers try on makeup on its app

October 13, 2023

Walmart has partnered with beauty and fashion technology company Perfect Corp. to enable shoppers to try on makeup and beauty products in augmented reality before making a purchase, reports Adweek.

Available through the Walmart mobile app, this virtual try-on technology will allow people to “try on” more than 1,400 products from over 20 beauty brands, including Almay, CoverGirl, Maybelline, Revlon, Rimmel, and Neutrogena.

“As a destination for beauty, we’re committed to identifying new and emerging opportunities to inspire our customers and create more personalized, seamless, customer centric shopping experiences,” says Creighton Kiper, VP of Beauty at Walmart U.S.

This virtual try-on experience features Perfect’s Face AI technology, which, according to Perfect “is powered by advanced AI deep learning technology to create hyper-realistic AR-powered makeup filters for customers to try-on digitally.”

“As beauty customers turn to retailers for personalized advice and product recommendations, we are thrilled to be collaborating with Walmart to build an enhanced try-on experience with cutting-edge AI and AR technology,” said Alice Chang, CEO of Perfect.

Perfect has previously worked with companies like self-tanning brand Bondi Sands and Parfums Christian Dior to bring AR experiences to shoppers.

Research contact: @Adweek

Above, Walking Dead actors (including Jeffrey Dean Morgan in bright green and Lauren Cohen in pink) were on hand for Katz’s zombie apocalypse. (Photo source: Adweek)

Ahead of Walking Dead’s New York spinoff, zombies take a bite of the Big Apple

June 21, 2023

Although AMC Networks’ The Walking Dead flagship series may have aired its final episode last year, the zombie universe is anything but finished, with several spinoffs on the way, reports Adweek.

On Wednesday, June 14, one of those spinoffs, The Walking Dead: Dead City—which was set to premiere on Sunday, June 18—ramped up a real-world promotion to bring old and new fans to the fictional universe.

With Dead City set in a post-apocalyptic Manhattan, The Walking Dead and AMC Networks partnered with iconic New York establishments this week to promote the upcoming spinoff. Promotions kicked off in Midtown at a Dead City-themed coffee cart that gave away free coffee and cartoon sleeves designed by The New Yorker to customers.

Additionally, at H&H Bagels on the Upper West Side, the first 200 customers got a free limited-time bagel: the Walker Wake-Up.

At Joe’s Pizza in Times Square, the first 200 fans got two free slices and a merch giveaway, with a similar deal at the New York Hot Dog King Cart on the Upper East Side.

And with Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan reprising their characters of Maggie and Negan in the new series, the pair showed up at Katz’s Deli, where Adweek was on hand to see the festivities.At the iconic location on the Lower East Side, known for its pastrami on rye and that one famous scene in When Harry Met Sally, fans got pastrami sandwiches, coleslaw, and merchandise. (Hey, we’ll have what they’re having!) Several of the show’s walkers were spotted eating the New York staple. And Cohan and Morgan’s appearance led to confusion and delight among customers and tourists.

AMC representatives told Adweek that the two busiest locations were Joe’s and Katz’s Deli—and that fans started lining up early in the morning for the 3 p.m. activation.

Research contact: @Adweek

Above, shoppers can try on Dior makeup in AR. (Photo source: Perfect Corp.)

Dior launches online makeup consultations using AR technology

June 13, 2023

Parfums Christian Dior is introducing a live online makeup consultation service that uses augmented reality technology to allow consumers to preview products virtually before making a purchase, reports Adweek.

This online service will combine Taiwan-based Perfect Corp.’s AR makeup virtual try-on technology with Stockholm-based Bambuser’s live shopping technology. It will be the sixth beauty technology solution developed by Perfect Corp. for Dior, following the release of virtual makeup try-on solutions on Dior’s beauty website and elsewhere.

“It is a true vote of confidence when a prestigious brand like Dior places their trust in us across multiple channels to accurately recreate their makeup products in a digital format,” said Alice Chang, founder and CEO of Perfect Corp.

“This emphasizes the fact that our best-in-class technologies can meet the demands of high-end brands,” she added.

Attendees at Viva Technology 2023 in Paris—taking place June 14-17—will be able to experience this one-on-one consultation service by visiting the LVMH booth.

“This collaboration of Dior x Perfect x Bambuser marks a significant milestone for our maison and presents a tremendous opportunity for growth and innovation,” said Elodie Planchon, direct-to-consumer marketing director at Parfums Christian Dior. “We can leverage our collective expertise to develop new innovative omnichannel solutions to go beyond our clients’ expectations.”

Perfect Corp.’s AR beauty technology has been used by multiple brands. For instance, Sally Hansen and Manucurist have used the company’s tech to launch AR try-on experiences for nail polishes.

Research contact: @Adweek

Above, the ad has a diverse cast, including underrepresented female riders. (Photo source: NCA/Royal Enfield)

Not your dad’s midlife crisis: Motorcycle brand tries to woo new generation of riders

August 11, 2022

Motorcycling is developing an increasingly archaic image. Indeed, in recent years, manufacturers such as Harley-Davidson have reported falling sales amid an aging demographic, reports Adweek.

But now, multinational motorcycle brand Royal Enfield, based in India, wants to change that. Its new global campaign, created by U.K.-based agency New Commercial Arts (NCA), aims to attract a younger, more diverse audience–particularly women.

The campaign more closely resembles a fashion ad than one for a motorcycle company—and it promotes Royal Enfield’s new Hunter 350 model, which targets a younger demographic living in urban environments. The bike is smaller and lighter than many traditional motorcycles and “designed to make you look great on your social posts,” according to the brand. 

In the film, a group of young and stylish Hunter riders gather and traverse the streets of east London, while photographing themselves at each stop. Notably, the cast is diverse and includes female riders, who are largely underrepresented in motorcycling. 

The spot’s soundtrack is Richard Hawley’s 2007 song, “Tonight the Streets Are Ours.” Adriaan Louw directed the film through production company Familia.

Other parts of the campaign—social, digital, and outdoor ads—comprise the photos that the friends captured on their ride.

“Forget about the old guys in their Belstaffs,” NCA co-founder and Chief Creative Officer Ian Heartfield said in a statement. “This is about wearing what you like, standing out from the crowd, looking like you could be on the front cover of a fashion mag—while having the time of your life on two wheels, not four.”

Royal Enfield made its first bike in 1901 and is the oldest motorcycle brand in continuous production.

Research contact: @Adweek

Photo source:Fast Company/Raw Pixel

BuzzFeed will pay creators of viral content up to $10,000 per post

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June 16, 2021

BuzzFeed, the Internet kingpin of viral quizzes and meme-stuffed listicles, is testing a new way to gamify its content production, Fast Company reports.

The website, founded in 2006, earned Internet fame for its trending entertainment and celebrity news, clicky headlines, and library of unscientific quizzes promising to reveal such truths as your Harry Potter doppelgänger predicted from your favorite dessert foods, or whether or not you would be invited to the Met Gala based on an outfit crafted from the Asos clothing catalog.

To build its empire of content, BuzzFeed has long relied on an army of fan contributors—who create essays, lists, and quizzes free of charge via the BuzzFeed Community portal. In the past, it has doled out virtual “trophies” and “Internet points” to top content creators.

But now, for the first time, it’s offering  to pay these community members. Last week, it introduced a new program—dubbed the BuzzFeed Summer Writers’ Challenge—that offers payments of up to $10,000 per post for top creators, Fast Company reveals.

Users who publish posts that achieve a minimum number of page views between June 15 and August 15 will be compensated on a tiered scale, with payouts starting at $150 for stories with 150,000 views, and rising to $10,000 for stories that hit 4 million views.

Outsourcing content creation to the public is a business strategy that has been leveraged effectively by a number of publications in the past, including Forbes Media, which began paying all contributors in February 2018. That amount was whittled down a bit amid the coronavirus pandemic last year, with the current rate standing at $250 for those who author at least five posts per month as well as a half-cent bonus for every new reader a post generates.

BuzzFeed may be on to something similar: The company’s executive director of growth and trends, Peggy Wang, told AdWeek, “If we see positive effects from the challenge, it’s certainly likely that we could make the business case for extending this initiative, or bringing it back in other new forms.”

While the publication originated with a focus on viral content, in recent years it has invested in growing its investigative journalism unit and reporting hard-hitting news features. It won its first Pulitzer prize in 2021 for a series on Uyghur internment in China.

Research contact: @FastCompany

Heineken is a longtime sponsor of the UEFA Champions League, which Super League organizers attempted to break away from. (Photo source #heineken/Instagram)

Heineken responds perfectly to the implosion of the European Super League

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April 27, 2021

In America, the XFL is the most iconic example of a football league that couldn’t go the distance: After its eight teams engaged in just five weeks of play in its inaugural 2020 season, the league’s operations slowly came to a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic—leading to bankruptcy.

But, Adweek reports, the XFL feels like an enduring cultural institution compared to the European Super League, an audacious concept that lasted a mere 60 hours in late April before imploding spectacularly.

Now, brewmaker and soccer sponsor Heineken and its advertising agency Publicis have cheekily marked the misguided attempt at a new soccer league with an Instagram post that bears a simple warning: Don’t drink and start a league.

The social post was created through Publicis Italy and the agency’s dedicated Heineken group, Le Pub.

As a longtime sponsor of the UEFA Champions League, Heineken obviously had a clear side in the debate, but it’s also one that the brand could rest comfortably knowing that its sense of humor would be shared by most fans.

Indeed, according to Adweek, the Instagram post developed by Publicis has received more than 12,800 likes in its first six hours, with comments consistently describing the response as “brilliant” and “genius.”

Research contact: @Adweek

Photo source: Modelez International

Animal Crackers go ‘cage-free’

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August 23, 2018

Lions, and elephants and zebras, oh my! Just as many chickens have gone “cage-free” in this era, so have the creatures depicted on the packaging for Nabisco Barnum’s Animal Crackers. The Mondelēz International cracker brand has a new illustration on its box, showing animals in the wild, Adweek reported on August 21.

And like those free-range chickens, it was the animal activist organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) that lobbied for the change, starting in 2016.

“The new box for Barnum’s Animals perfectly reflects that our society no longer tolerates caging and chaining exotic animals for circus shows.,” the animal rights organization said about the new design.

“PETA is celebrating this redesign just as we’ve celebrated the closure of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and an end to the use of wild animals in many other circuses. ‘No living being exists simply to be a spectacle or to perform tricks for human entertainment, yet all circuses and traveling shows that use animals treat them as mere props, denying them everything that’s natural and important to them.”

The Modelēz brand contacted PETA after the circus closed in January 2017 to say that they agreed it was time for a new design.

“At more than 115 years old, Barnum’s Animals crackers is one of the oldest brands in our portfolio,” wrote Kimberly Fontes, a representative for Mondelēz (parent company of Nabisco) in an email to Business Insider. “Throughout our history, we have leveraged and evolved our classic design to drive awareness around key animal and environmental issues. To continue to make the brand relevant for years to come, we felt this was the right time for the next evolution in our design, now showing the animals in a natural habitat.”

 “The new box for Barnum’s Animal Crackers perfectly reflects that our society no longer tolerates the caging and chaining of wild animals for circus shows,” said PETA EVP Tracy Reiman in a statement. “PETA is celebrating this redesign, just as we’ve celebrated the end of Ringling Bros. circus and the introduction of animal-circus bans across the U.S.”

It’s unclear if the company worked with an agency or did the design in-house, as Fontes did not immediately respond to further requests from Adweek for comment.

Since their beginning, there have been 37 different animals included in Barnum’s Animal Crackers. As of 2012, more than 40 million packages of animal crackers were sold each year around the world.

Research contact: kristina.monllos@adweek.com