American Democrats are the clear leaders in raising and spending astronomical amounts of money on their campaigns. Although their advertising expenditures in subsequent elections significantly exceed the media spent by Republicans, the campaign results are systematically very similar.
When I started this editorial, I intended to cynically state that in US politics, as in market competition or building AI models, the winner is the one who brings more money to the table. But that is NOT the case. It is not the case in market competition or AI models either. We want to believe that because it is a simple explanation, but fortunately it is not true.
When I was in college, analyzing Obama’s first campaign for a conference, I paid attention to how the candidate used the emerging power of social media. Obama, led by Chris Hughes (one of Facebook’s key employees), collected a record take telegram advertising service number of small donations through social media and activated his electorate. Let’s not forget, however, that the candidate also had significant charisma and an idea (how it was implemented is another matter).
So, today’s cynical headline is useless. Money still isn’t everything. In communication, business, and politics, what counts are ideas, creativity, efficient execution of strategy, and maybe even truth.
Contents:
- Advertising record in the presidential campaign
- Red light for AI
- Barbie in a more modest edition
- Barbie in classic style
- Google Analytics with benchmarking feature
- Football in the fumes of whiskey
- AI will make it easier to pick up
- Cosmetic immersion
- Why is Duo sick?
- Pinterest has overtaken X
- Shorts
- Weekly Tool
Advertising record in the presidential campaign
Kamala Harris is preparing the largest digital advertising campaign in the history of American politics.
Donald Trump’s rival is planning to spend $370 million on self-promotion. There will be no shortage of funds. Since Harris replaced Joe Biden in the presidential race, donors have supported her efforts with a record $540 million.
Of that, $170 million will cover TV ads between Sept. 3 and Oct. 5. Harris’ campaign will spend $200 million on digital ads, more than any candidate in history. The spots will air on platforms including Hulu, Roku, YouTube, Paramount, Spotify and Pandora.
Red light for AI
Major news outlets and social media sites have refused to support Apple in training AI.
Less than three months ago, the Cupertino giant released a tool called Applebot-Extended. It allows publishers to block their content from training Apple’s AI by making a simple modification to the robots.txt file (it does not affect the indexing of pages).
According to a study by Canadian startup Originality AI, about 7 percent of the 1,000 high-traffic sites analyzed decided to dismiss AI with a flourish—mostly news sites, but also social media sites. They include Facebook, Instagram, Craigslist, Tumblr, The New York Times, The Financial Times, The Atlantic, Vox Media, and the USA Today, publisher of Wired, among others.
Barbie in a more modest edition
Mattel, the world’s second-largest toy maker (after Lego), is looking to revive its crown jewel, the Barbie doll. Last year’s success with “Barbie,” the 14th-highest-grossing film of all time, gave the company more than 9 percent quarter-over-quarter sales growth.
The streak didn’t last long, though. Sales fell 6 percent year-on-year in the past quarter. Now, the company is preparing for a new phase of development in a post-“Barbie” reality, according to Kristy Berger, vice president of the Barbie brand at Mattel.
The latest campaign promoting the iconic doll is carried out under the slogan “Give Limitless Possibilities”. The production shows how the toy can inspire children to creative activities, such as dancing, singing or painting. The recording will be broadcast in several formats on various digital platforms, including social media and connected TV.
Barbie in classic style
The combination of Barbie style (according to the current nomenclature: barbiecore) and minimalism sounds like an oxymoron. Marketing, however, can surprise with non-obvious combinations.
Human Mobile Devices (HMD), the company that made phones for Nokia, has partnered with Mattel to create a foldable phone in an “old-school” style that predates the smartphone era. The device, branded after Mattel’s flagship product, flaunts a vibrant pink color and features—as befits a Barbie phone—a mirror on the outside of the casing.
The device supports voice and text calls, but not social media. It is therefore a classic – although in a modern version – dumb phone that performs basic telecommunications functions and provides freedom from being online 24/7.
The Barbie brand camera is, on the one hand, a nostalgic reference to the 90s, and on the other – an attempt to tap into the fashion of being a little more offline than the rest of the world.
Google Analytics with benchmarking feature
Comparing yourself to others can be frustrating, but in business it’s a necessity.
With the latest update to Google Analytics 4 (GA4), it’s easier than ever to see how far you stand from your (anonymized) competitors.
The Benchmarking service allows companies to compare their results with benchmarks based on the analysis of the results of groups of similar other key features of companies (peer groups). Benchmark data can be accessed in the overview tab, after selecting specific metrics. Interested parties can check, among other things, the trend for a given indicator and the median in their group.
Benchmarks are refreshed every 24 hours. The service is still in the testing phase and is currently only available to selected users.
Football in the fumes of whiskey
Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey is trying to reach Gen Z with its first paid TikTok campaign.
The brand, owned by the American corporation Sazerac, has produced two humorous spots featuring the comedian duo Andrew Santino and Stavros Halkias. Set in a fan context, the recordings show men sitting in a bar, supporting opposing teams.
The stakes are high. In one of the spots, a fan of the losing team shaves his eyebrows. In another, he gets a dolphin tattoo. The sporting emotions are of course watered down with Fireball whiskey.
AI will make it easier to pick up
Dating app conversations are about to become a Turing test. Brands like Tinder, Hinge, Bumble, and Grindr are already working on AI tools that will help break the ice, choose the best photos, create attractive profiles, and provide feedback on how well a flirt is working.
App providers are trying to combat “dating fatigue” among young people in this way. Last year, a study by Axios and Generation Lab found that four out of five college students in the US barely use dating apps. And a OnePoll survey conducted in March of this year found that more than 75% of dating app users experience burnout, with 40% blaming it on repeated failures while searching for a significant other online.
Dating app creators believe AI assistants will help young people regain the desire to flirt digitally and help the industry break through the impasse.
Cosmetic immersion
To celebrate its 30th anniversary, French cosmetics brand Nars has launched a virtual experience on its website called Nars Maison consumer data Explicit. The interactive experience, which combines storytelling, gamification and e-commerce, is set to launch in twelve markets across the Americas, EMEA and Asia. The experience is set to launch in Europe in mid-September – two weeks after its debut in the US and Canada.
Weekly Tool
Bluesky is one of the biggest winners of the Brazilian “ban” on X (the platform gained a million new users in the three days since Musk’s service was banned). The app, created by Jack Dorsey, ex-CEO of Twitter, is a social network that runs on the decentralized AT protocol. It allows for the creation of independent communities within a single open source network and enables group-specific content moderation, giving users more control over the content and views they promote.