Grey London
McVitie's new ad campaign features an array of cute, fluffy animals.
1. Gap's sales continued to slide in November. The retailer's new "Dress Normal" positioning and fall ad campaign appear to be failing to inspire consumers.
2. Marissa Mayer's mobile strategy at Yahoo appears to be paying off. Yahoo is set to overtake Twitter in US mobile advertising market share next year.
3. Google's push for ad viewability transparency could delay a bunch of adtech IPOs. That is the opinion of Joe Apprendi, CEO of adtech startup Collective, who says the industry's switch from its current Wild West condition to full disclosure will have a knock-on effect in terms of the larger adtech companies considering going public.
4. We asked Target whether it would rather give up advertising on Facebook or on TV. It was a surprisingly difficult decision.
5. A UK biscuit company has made the cutest ad of the year. Prepare yourself for a menagerie of fluffy animals from McVities's.
6. The Federal Trade Commission has told agencies that they can't ask their staffers to casually tweet nice things about their clients without making full disclosures, Adweek reports. The FTC has reminded the ad industry that statements made on social media accounts need to be transparent if there is any brand bias.
7. Starbucks could be set to make the same mistake as McDonald's. The coffee chain has expanded its menu to 255 items, but there is a danger in expanding too fast and overloading the menu, as McDonald's recent sales decline shows.
8. Aeropostale's CEO Julian Geiger has said teens can avoid bullying by wearing his brand's clothes. Julian Geiger said the retailer's focus on basics will help teenagers "be accepted by their friends and peers."
9. Snickers is returning to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2011, AdAge reports. Mars is benching M&M's this year for a "You're Not You When You're Hungry" spot from Snickers.
10. Cadillac has dropped ad agency Lowe for Publicis Worldwide, Bloomberg reports. It is understood to be the Publicis Groupe-owned creative agency's biggest win for over a decade.