The 10 things in advertising you need to know today
1. Ad tech company Criteo says rival SteelHouse ran a "counterfeit click fraud scheme." Criteo filed a lawsuit claiming SteelHouse's scheme led to substantial injury and damage" to its business and reputation. SteelHouse has yet to respond to requests for comment.
2. GroupM chief digital officer Rob Norman says the ANA report into media agency rebates overlooks the fact that agencies make major investments in technology at their own risk. Writing in a blog post, Norman said he hopes the forthcoming recommendations set to be published by Ebiquity's Firm Decisions "do not have the effect of reducing investment in 'fit for market' technology and ultimately disadvantaging advertisers in the name of transparency."
3. Keira Knightley, Vivienne Westwood, and a bunch of other big names star in a new EU referendum ad, encouraging Brits not to waste their vote. The tagline is "Don't f--- my future."
4. Facebook's vice president for EMEA, Nicola Mendelsohn, believes the social network will probably be "all video" within the next decade. Facebook's daily video views have risen from 1 billion to 8 billion over the course of a year, while text posts have declined.
5. Rock star and Apple exec Trent Reznor has slammed YouTube in an interview with Billboard magazine. He said its business was "very disingenuous" and that it got big "on the backs of free, stolen content."
6. A condom brand has signed up Charlie Sheen as its spokesman. The actor, who admitted last year he was HIV positive, stars in a video to promote the Lelo Hex.
7. Twitter invested "around $70 million" in music-streaming service SoundCloud, according to Recode. The investment was part of a new ~ $100 million round that will reportedly value the streaming service somewhere in the neighborhood of $700 million.
8. Americans are spending their money on three major categories. Apparel sales are dropping, but home improvement, beauty, and sports are still appealing to consumers' wallets.
9. Why Netflix thinks its personalized recommendation engine is worth $1 billion a year. Netflix chief product officer Neil Hunt and VP of product innovation Carlos Gomez-Uribe have penned an academic paper explaining how the engine keeps subscribers from canceling.
10. How Paul Polman became the Fortune 500's most environmentally friendly CEO. Unilever's recent commitments include launching "a sustainable living plan that includes a commitment to cut calories in its ice-cream products" and a pledge "to eliminate coal from its energy usage within five years, and derive all of its energy solely from renewable sources by 2030."