What you need to know in advertising today
After a trying few months, it's been a particularly brutal week for the ride-hailing app. Tuesday saw the release of the results of an intensive, monthslong investigation into its culture, followed by CEO Travis Kalanick announcing his leave of absence and a board member resigning. And on Thursday, a woman who was raped in India by one of its drivers slapped the company with a lawsuit for defamation, intrusion of privacy, and public disclosure of private facts.
Meanwhile, Lyft has embarked on an aggressive campaign to position itself as a socially conscious alternative in a crowded field. To read how Lyft is ramping up its marketing as well as community engagement efforts, click here.
In other news:
Amazon is buying Whole Foods for $13.7 billion. The online giant said Friday it was buying the high-end grocer for $42 a share in an all-cash deal.
Meanwhile, Walmart is acquiring Bonobos, one of the hottest men's retailers for $310 million. This is Walmart's e-commerce acquisition after ModCloth, MooseJaw, ShoeBuy and Jet.com.
Facebook has explained how it's using AI to help tackle terrorism. The move - detailed in a blog post by the Californian tech giant on Thursday - comes after several world leaders put pressure on the company to stop the spread of extremist content on its platform.
McDonald's has ended its 41-year long Olympic sponsorship stint, reports AdAge. It is the latest big-name sponsor to depart from the Olympics, following Budweiser, Citi, Hilton, TD Ameritrade and AT&T.