• The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee voted along party lines on Wednesday to advance a bill that would grant President Joe Biden the power to ban ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok. The legislation, which passed with unanimous Republican support and no Democratic votes, would also require the Biden Administration to impose broad sanctions on any Chinese-owned companies that engage in the transfer of Americans’ “sensitive personal data.” (Reuters) 
• The Coca-Cola Co. announced NBA star Ja Morant signed a multiyear endorsement deal to be the new face of its Powerade sports drink. The Memphis Grizzlies point guard will begin appearing in commercials, on billboards and at events for Powerade later this month in what executives say is the brand’s biggest marketing push in its more than three-decade history.  (Bloomberg)
• Graham Mudd and Brad Smallwood, two former advertising executives at Meta Platforms Inc.’s Facebook, are launching a new company called Anonym that offers marketers a suite of tools to accurately measure ad effectiveness while still maintaining consumer privacy. Anonym is one of many ad tech startups that have emerged since Apple Inc.’s 2021 decision to limit most third-party ad tracking capabilities. (The Wall Street Journal)

How the Major Streamers Stack Up Right Now

The Wrap

Congress is considering bills that could regulate how advertisers interact with children

Ryan Barwick, Marketing Brew

President Joe Biden hasn’t said much publicly about targeted advertising. But when he has, he’s usually talking about privacy. Specifically, children’s online privacy. In fact, in both State of the Union addresses he’s delivered, he’s called for a ban on targeted advertising to children, not to mention written a Wall Street Journal opinion piece on the topic.

Popeyes Puts U.S. Creative Account in Review

Brian Bonilla, Ad Age

McKinney will act as creative lead on a six-month project basis during the process.

Marketers seek adaptability amid a fragmented post-cookie landscape

Ronan Shields, Digiday

Marketers are increasingly hemmed in by the rising tide of privacy laws across the globe, plus multinational corporates’ preference for a tighter grip on the technology they use forcing them to seek flexibility.

Ozy Media Shuts Down Following Federal Fraud Indictment of Founder Carlos Watson

Josh Dickey, The Wrap

Ozy said its board had ”determined that it’s in the best interests of its stakeholders to suspend operations immediately.” 

CNN Sets April Debut For ‘News Central’ Dayside Lineup

Ted Johnson, Deadline

CNN will launch its new dayside lineup in April as CNN News Central, an effort to highlight its newsgathering and coverage of breaking stories and events.

The owner of Insider and Politico tells journalists: AI is coming for your jobs

Anna Cooban, CNN

The chief executive of Axel Springer — which owns Insider, Politico and German tabloid newspaper Bild — told employees in a memo that “artificial Intelligence has the potential to make independent journalism better than it ever was — or simply replace it.”

Buyers say Fox News’ homepage redesign to highlight more non-hard news coverage is a ‘smart’ move

Sara Guaglione, Digiday

Fox News unveiled a redesign of its website yesterday to highlight more non-hard news and politics coverage to its audience coming to the homepage and provide more “brand safe” content to advertisers, said Porter Berry, vp and editor-in-chief of Fox News Digital.

Vice’s Jesse Angelo Exits To Launch Checker Media

Peter White, Deadline

Jesse Angelo is the latest top executive to leave Vice Media as he starts his own production company. Angelo, who has served as Global President of News & Entertainment since 2019, is leaving the youth-skewing media company to launch Checker Media. It comes a few days after Vice CEO Nancy Dubuc exited and was replaced by Bruce Dixon and Hozefa Lokhandwala as the company continues through its sale process.

YouTube to Add AI-Powered Tools for Video Creators, New CEO Says

Davey Alba, Bloomberg

Google’s video site plans to include new visual AI capabilities, with ‘thoughtful guardrails’.

TikTok’s U.S. Survival Plan Faces Potential Hurdle: Apple’s App Store Rules

Juro Osawa, The Information

TikTok, the popular video app owned by Chinese internet giant ByteDance, has begun talks with Apple and Google to ensure its proposed data security plan doesn’t get derailed by their app store rules, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. 

How Many People Does Elon Musk Need to Run Twitter? Silicon Valley Wants to Know

Alexa Corse, The Wall Street Journal

Users complain about glitches, employees say they are stretched thin, but the site largely keeps running.

DoorDash launches its first co-branded credit card with Chase

Aisha Malik, TechCrunch

DoorDash is launching its first ever credit card with Chase, the company announced on Wednesday. The DoorDash Rewards Mastercard will provide cardholders the opportunity to earn cash back on delivery and every other purchase made with the card.

Meta Accused of Trying to Extinguish Cambridge Analytica Claims

Joel Rosenblatt, Bloomberg

Meta Platforms Inc. is wrong to say its $725 million settlement of a lawsuit claiming Facebook illegally shared user data with a controversial research firm protects it from similar claims brought by New Mexico, attorneys for the US state said.

Liquid Death Launches Iced Tea Line With ‘Jackass’-Style, Heavy Metal Grandmas 

Tim Nudd, Ad Age

Jeff Tremaine directs spot with a track from drink company’s hate-mail musical album.

Hard Mtn Dew hosts ‘Definitely Over 21’ bash at retirement community

Peter Adams, Marketing Dive

The rollout of Hard Mtn Dew Livewire, which has an orange citrus flavor, is supported by a “Definitely Over 21” spring break bonanza at a retirement community in Florida. While the gathering is focused on the older crowd, fans over 21 can enter a contest to win an expenses-paid trip to the event.  

Hertz Dresses Up With Tom Brady, Heads To The Speedway

Sarah Mahoney, MediaPost

Hertz is revving its engines, heading to the world’s biggest racing stage in outfits from Brady, the apparel line launched by retired quarterback Tom Brady. Hertz Team JOTA is the new team competing in the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). And it will also race at the 100th edition of the legendry Le Mans 24 Hours, one the world’s largest sporting events.

Those Il Makiage makeup ads are everywhere — here’s the story behind them

Gabrielle Fonrouge, CNBC

Oddity — the direct-to-consumer beauty and wellness platform known for its ubiquitous Il Makiage social media ads — is making money and growing in an environment that’s increasingly risky for purely digital retailers. 

AB InBev Reports First Decline in Volume Since Pandemic

Andy Hoffman, Bloomberg

Beer-drinking in the US suffered from blizzards in December, while the final stage of China’s Covid Zero policy weighed on demand in Asia. That led to a surprise drop in fourth-quarter volume, while analysts had been expecting an increase. AB InBev shares dropped as much as 4.5% Thursday morning.

Want Better Customer Service? Join the (Membership) Club

Katie Deighton, The Wall Street Journal

More companies are offering expedited customer care as a perk for their paid members, biggest spenders and most loyal fans, borrowing a strategy of airlines and credit card companies.

Forget Chatbots, This Is How Corporate America Is Really Using AI

Michael Tobin et al., Bloomberg

Ever since OpenAI’s ChatGPT lit up the internet in November, companies can’t stop talking about artificial intelligence. Take this earnings season so far: References to AI and related terms during calls with investors are already up 77% from a year earlier.

Alphabet’s Robotaxi Unit Waymo Says it Laid Off 8%

Jon Victor, The Information

Alphabet’s robotaxi developer Waymo laid off 137 employees on Wednesday, its second round of cuts this year as the parent company reins in spending across its subsidiaries.

Peloton hires former Twitter executive Dalana Brand to be chief people officer

Gabrielle Fonrouge, CNBC

Peloton has tapped former Twitter executive Dalana Brand to be its new chief people officer as the company continues its transformation.

Starbucks’ union-busting tactics are facing the heat

Ananya Bhattacharya, Quartz

The Seattle-based coffee chain was rebuked by a New York judge and by corporate employees. 

Corporate America’s Earnings Quality Is the Worst in Three Decades

Lu Wang, Bloomberg

Rather than an indication of bad management behavior, the widening gap likely highlights a harsh business environment, raising questions over the reliability of the corporate resilience stock bulls like to highlight.

What Does Workplace TikTok Look Like During Layoffs? It Gets Weird.

Lora Kelley, The New York Times

Tech and finance workers posted countless videos about the luxuries of their jobs — until the mood shifted.