• Anheuser-Busch InBev SA said it placed two marketing executives on leave after they oversaw a recent collaboration with a transgender social media influencer that sparked online outrage from conservatives. The brewer will replace one of the impacted executives, Bud Light Vice President of Marketing Alissa Heinerscheid, with Todd Allen, who most recently served as global vice president of Budweiser. (The Wall Street Journal)
• Twitter Inc. added verification checkmarks back to the accounts of several prominent figures, including some deceased celebrities and others who specifically said they didn’t want one, without any explanation. It’s owner Elon Musk’s latest decision to create confusion over who’s real and who isn’t on the social media platform, which removed legacy verification badges en masse on April 20. (The Hollywood Reporter)
• Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. filed for bankruptcy on Sunday and will begin closing all of its 360   remaining namesake stores, as well as its 120 Buybuy Baby locations. The retailer said that it would pivot away from liquidation and pursue a sale if any potential bidders emerge. (The Wall Street Journal)
• Jeff Shell, CEO of Comcast Corp.’s NBCUniversal, is stepping down immediately following an internal probe that uncovered an inappropriate relationship with a fellow employee. The media giant has not yet named a successor to Shell, who has held the chief executive role since 2020. (Reuters)

The AI Frenzy Is Introducing Marketing Buzzwords That Consumers Don’t Understand

Morning Consult

Digital Signs Energize Old Fights Over Billboards

Megan Graham, The Wall Street Journal 

Debates over electronic signs around the world have now arrived in San Diego, which is considering allowing interactive kiosks on its streets.

How AI could power advertising’s next creative revolution

Jeff Beer, Fast Company

Agencies see artificial intelligence as a chance to make themselves invaluable by marrying these tools with proprietary data to unlock a new wave of imaginative expression.

KLM pulls ‘Fly Responsibly’ ads after greenwashing lawsuit 

Ellen Ormesher, The Drum

The Dutch airline has scrapped an ad campaign telling customers to ‘Fly Responsibly’ after law firm Client Earth accused it of greenwashing.

Montana Passes Right To Opt Out Of Targeted Advertising

Wendy Davis, MediaPost 

Montana lawmakers on Friday passed a privacy bill that gives state residents new rights to wield control over data about them, including the right to reject some forms of targeted advertising.

Roku and UM Partner to Measure Diverse-Owned Media Networks

Parker Herren, Ad Age 

Advertisers will receive viewership data from previously unrated media sellers.

Gayle King, Charles Barkley to Host Weekly CNN Show ‘King Charles’

Brian Steinberg, Variety

Gayle King and Charles Barkley will help break traditional barriers around news programming later this year when they launch “King Charles,” a new weekly primetime program for CNN.

The New York Times Unveils First Big Brand Campaign Under Its ‘Essential Subscription’ Strategy

Tim Nudd, Ad Age 

Droga5 spots position the Times as a must-read for more people under the theme ‘More of life brought to life’.

Lachlan Murdoch Drops Defamation Lawsuit Against Australian Publisher

David Winning, The Wall Street Journal

Decision comes days after Fox settled separate legal battle with voting-machine company Dominion.

Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham to host Apple musical holiday special 

Jess Weatherbed, The Verge

Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas will land on Apple TV Plus later this year.

Paramount to Receive $167.5M to Settle Shareholder Suit Tied to CBS-Viacom Merger

Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter

The settlement comes a month after the company agreed to pay $122.5M in another suit related to the merger.

CNN Moves Chris Wallace Interview Show to Fridays

Brian Steinberg, Variety

Chris Wallace’s interview program, “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace,” will move to Friday nights from Sundays while continuing to stream on HBO Max, a change as the series prepares for its third cycle of conversations between the news veteran and people of note.

CBS News To Debut New Daily Streaming Politics Show ‘America Decides’

Ted Johnson, Deadline

CBS is debuting a revamped daily streaming politics show American Decides, which will feature a team of the network anchors and correspondents.

Twitter removes all government affiliation labels for media organizations

Diego Mendoza, Semafor

Twitter appears to have removed all government-affiliation labels from news organizations’ accounts after the platform was accused of mischaracterizing the editorial independence of publicly-funded newsrooms. Several news accounts, including NPR, CBC, and PBS said they would stop tweeting over the inaccurate labels.

Tech investors focus on profits after layoffs; companies to highlight AI

Nivedita Balu and Tiyashi Datta, Reuters

A quarter into record layoffs, investors in U.S. tech giants will scrutinize if the cost cuts boosted profits to their satisfaction, while the companies emphasize how artificial intelligence will be their next growth driver.

Are Text Messages the New Social Media? One Start-Up Thinks So.

Andrew Ross Sorkin et al., The New York Times

Community, which was first marketed as a way for celebrities to text their fans, now has big brands on board. 

Levi’s Hires Snapchat CMO Kenny Mitchell in the Same Role 

Garett Slaone, Ad Age

After four years at Snapchat, Kenny Mitchell will become CMO of the Levi’s brand as the fashion world becomes more high-tech.

Walmart sells plus-size clothing brand Eloquii, offloading its third digital brand this year

Courtney Reagan, CNBC  

Walmart is selling online apparel brand Eloquii to FullBeauty Brands, marking the retailer’s third divestiture of a direct-to-consumer brand this year.

Pepsi’s New Healthy Diet: More Potato Chips and Soda

Jennifer Maloney, The Wall Street Journal 

For years, PepsiCo Inc. tried to move past its junk-food roots and shift its business toward hummus, yogurt, kombucha, vegetable crisps and fruit-and-nut bars. Never mind. The world’s largest snackfood company is back to pushing Pepsi, Doritos and Lay’s.

Why brands are embracing the language of Gen Z

Aimee McLaughlin, Creative Review

Brands both large and small are leaning into a more subversive tone of voice to appeal to Gen Z audiences. But does the trend suggest we need to rethink our obsession with age demographics altogether? 

How A.I.-powered robots are changing retail

Shawn Baldwin, CNBC

Eager to boost sales, relieve workers from mundane tasks and respond to the ongoing labor shortage, retailers and supermarkets are adding robots to their store aisles.

Sephora launches national take-back program Beauty (Re)purposed

Zofia Zwieglinska, Glossy

With its first nationwide empties program, dubbed Beauty (Re)Purposed, Sephora is hoping to reduce the amount of hard-to-recycle packaging waste going to landfill.

Brands turn to gamification to reach hockey fans during the NHL playoffs

Julian Cannon, Digiday

Great Clips, New Amsterdam Vodka and Kruger Products are reaching out to hockey fans during the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, and they’re taking a gamification approach to their ads to do so. The brands see the playoffs as a unique opportunity to boost awareness and gain new customers through interactive offerings.

Why Gen-Z Loves Dupes

Joan Kennedy, Business of Fashion

Copycat products have shaken up the beauty industry as young consumers eat up inexpensive alternatives hawked on TikTok.

More Activists Lay Down Arms in Battles for Boardroom Control

Lauren Thomas, The Wall Street Journal

Planned proxy fights at Disney, Salesforce, Bath & Body Works fizzle.

Google’s 80-acre San Jose mega-campus is on hold as company reckons with economic slowdown

Jennifer Elias, CNBC

Google has halted construction of its proposed 80-acre campus in San Jose, California, after the first demolition phase.

Deloitte to cut 1,200 jobs in the US

Stephen Foley, Financial Times

Big Four firm the latest to respond to slowdown in advisory business.

Smart Travel Tech for the Work-From-Anywhere Crowd

Annie Goldsmith, The Information

Full-time nomads, business trippers and conference hoppers share their most-packed gadgets and services.

What Young Workers Miss Without the ‘Power of Proximity’

Emma Goldberg and Ben Casselman, The New York Times

One of the first major studies on remote work shows a hidden penalty of flexibility: less supervision.

R/GA Lays Off Nearly 15% of Staff

Brian Bonilla, Ad Age

Shop claims under 100 employees were affected.

Lyft to Cut at Least 1,200 Jobs in New Round of Layoffs to Reduce Costs

Preetika Rana et al., The Wall Street Journal

Latest reductions could affect 30% of company’s over 4,000 employees.