Coronavirus

• Walt Disney Co. said it would lay off 28,000 U.S. employees, mostly in its theme park division, after placing tens of thousands of workers on furlough for the past six months. 

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidance dissuading Americans from shopping at crowded stores around the Thanksgiving season, adding that holiday tradition to a list of activities with a higher risk of spreading the coronavirus. 

Branding

• Convenience store and gas station chain Casey’s General Stores Inc. unveiled a new, simplified logo that removes previous yellow and brown accents along with the phrase “General Store” and features a monochromatic red silhouette of a barn. 

• Color forecaster Pantone has released a bold new shade, Period red, in partnership with a Seen+Heard campaign from the Swedish feminine products brand Intimina, aimed at destigmatizing menstruation. 

Advertising

• Disney sold TrueX Inc., an ad tech company known for its technology that asks viewers to interact with video ads before watching content in order to limit the number of commercials they see, to Gimbal, a location-based tech and ad services company, for less than $100 million, according to a person familiar with the matter. 

• Burger King’s 2018 campaign “Whopper Detour,” created by FCB/New York and FCB/RED, took home the Grand Effie at the 2020 Effie U.S. Summit. The campaign redirected McDonald’s Corp. customers to their nearest Burger King restaurant via the Burger King app with the promise of 1-cent Whoppers, helping the app reach the top spot in the iOS and Android app stores and generating $15 million in incremental value and a 37-to-1 return on investment, according to the judges. 

• Google said it will make shopping ads free in European, Asian and Latin American markets beginning in mid-October, expanding an April initiative launched in the United States to help struggling businesses.

• Samsung Electronics Co. is launching a self-serve advertising platform for brands interested in connected TVs as it tries to compete with Facebook, Google and Amazon.com Inc. 

• Companies reporting earnings this week include Mattel Inc. on Monday; Levi Strauss & Co. on Tuesday; and Domino’s Pizza Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc. on Thursday.
• Advertising Week continues through Oct. 8.
• The Wall Street Journal’s fifth annual Global Food Forum is Oct. 5.
• The Festival of Marketing kicks off online, running Oct. 5-9.

1) Pantone’s Newest Color Is a Nod to Menstruation: Period Red
Geneva Abdul, The New York Times

2) McDonald’s Left Customers Hanging on Facebook. What Burger King Did Next Was Brilliant
Justin Bariso, Inc.

3) No longer a ‘General Store,’ Casey’s redesigns its logo for the first time in over 50 years
Katie Akin, Des Moines Register

4) For Harry Styles, TMI Is a Four-Letter Word — and Gen Z Influencers Should Take Note
Sarah Shevenock, Morning Consult

5) The Sports Industry’s Gen Z Problem
Alex Silverman, Morning Consult

6) How Headspace Is Winning the Cutthroat Meditation App War
Herbert Lui, Marker

7) Samsung launches self-serve ad platform to take next steps in connected TV
Garett Sloane, Ad Age

8) As holidays approach, CDC puts shopping at crowded stores on Black Friday in high-risk category
Melissa Repko, CNBC

9) Why adding ‘Plus’ to the name of every streaming service is actually good
Jeff Beer, Fast Company

10) When Will Consumers Feel Safe? Weekly Updates on Consumers’ Comfort Level With Various Pastimes
Alyssa Meyers, Morning Consult