The 10 things in advertising you need to know today
1. Shine is rebranding and will stop selling ad-blocking to carriers. The new brand will be called Rainbow and will offer consumers a service which only blocks ads that don't meet industry standards.
2. Facebook will start showing ads in the middle of videos. The mid-roll commercials are now coming to pre-recorded videos and more pages will be able to show ad breaks in live videos.
3. The New York Times' new ad is sending a political message. For the first time in a decade, the newspaper is advertising on television, with a campaign highlighting the importance of its journalism.
4. A longtime Apple PR vet is now working at Edelman. After leaving the company following Steve Jobs' death, Natalie Kerris is back in tech PR as global chair for the technology division of the well-known communications agency.
5. Google tested its new AI which identifies abusive comments with the New York Times. The Drum reports the new system, called Perspective, was tested at the publication because it gets a high volume of comments.
6. The new FCC boss, Ajit Pai, made his first move on open-internet laws. The regulatory body voted to exempt internet service providers from a transparency rule forcing them to inform customers on promotional fees, extra fees, data caps, and throttling.
7. A London tech banker said Snap is a risky investment. One of GP Bullhound's managing partners said the social media market's dependence on advertising and Snap's slowing user growth make it a dangerous investment.
8. Inside the struggling Maker Studios. According to interviews Digiday conducted with executives from the multi-channel network, its owner Disney isn't interested in investing in the network to create original content.
9. Pandora will start pushing personalized ads to users. Adweek reports the online radio partnered with ad tech firm A Million Ads to dynamically create ads for each individual listener.
10. Cadillac's Oscars ad wants to unite the nation. According to AdAge, the car brand said its ad, which features street protests before showing people helping one another, is not a political statement but a celebration of American values.