Advertising

• McDonald’s USA has moved its account to independent agency Wieden + Kennedy, New York its lead creative agency in the United States, while still maintaining ties with DDB’s Now We Are Unlimited, part of Omnicom Group Inc. We Are Unlimited will now be folded into its parent company, DDB Worldwide as a division of DDB Chicago, according to several sources with direct knowledge of the matter. There aren’t any other changes planned for We Are Unlimited, according to sources.

• Media net advertising revenue for 2019 is expected to grow 4.1 percent, up from a June forecast of 3 percent, and 2020’s growth forecast is 6.2 percent, up from 5.8 percent estimated in June, according to Interpublic Group of Cos.’ Magna. Magna’s report also predicts the net ad revenue for 2020 will hit $235.4 billion, up from $221.6 billion in 2019.
  

• WarnerMedia, CBS and Viacom Inc. said they will pull advertising by e-cigarette companies from their networks because of increasing health concerns about vaping. More than 20 networks have run Juul ads in the past two weeks, which cost over $2.2 million for more than 900 airings. according to iSpot.tv. 

Marketing and retail

• McDonald’s gave away branded athleisure to anyone who placed a delivery order of at least $10 through Uber Eats on Thursday. The collection for McDelivery Night In included cheese-themed dress socks and a sesame-seed-patterned hooded blanket.
  

• Amazon.com Inc. has tweaked its algorithm to highlight items that give the company more profitability, a move that could favor its own brands, according to people who worked on the project, who said the change sparked disapproval from some of the company’s engineers and lawyers. Amazon spokeswoman Angie Newman said in an emailed statement that the company didn’t change its criteria to rank search results by profitability.

Social media

• YouTube sent a letter to many of its creators notifying them that they will be stripped of their verification badges after the company decided to change its criteria to include only channels that represent an entity that is “widely recognized” outside of YouTube or is well-known online. Those who are losing their verified status say they fear that brands will see them as less valuable. 

• Facebook Inc. said it will introduce on Nov. 5 a new product called Portal TV, a voice-controlled device connected to TVs that allows users to make video calls and access streaming services such as Amazon Prime, Spotify, Showtime and CBS All Access. Facebook will allow human reviewing of audio that it collects from some users of Portal TV as well.

Media

• NBCUniversal unveiled the logo for its streaming service, which it is naming Peacock, set to be released April 2020. 

• “Seinfeld” is coming to Netflix Inc. sometime in 2021 after agreeing to a five-year global streaming rights deal with Sony Pictures Television, which owns the distribution rights to the show. “Seinfeld” will depart from Hulu, which currently holds the domestic streaming rights, and Netflix will take over the overseas rights owned largely by Amazon. 

• AT&T Inc. is considering hiving off its DirecTV unit by spinning it off as a public company or making a deal with Dish Network Corp., according to people familiar with the matter. AT&T is reportedly under pressure by activist Investor Elliott Management Corp. to shed DirecTV, but the unit still generates significant cash flow and customer accounts. 
  

• Advertising Week in New York is finally here. Speakers include Dylan Collins, CEO of SuperAwesome; Allan Thygesen, president of the Americas at Google; Martin Sorrell, chief chairman of S4 Capital PLC; Marc S. Pritchard, chief brand officer of Procter & Gamble Co.; Arthur Sadoun, CEO of Publicis Groupe SA; Arianna Huffington, founder and CEO of Thrive Global; Keith Weed, chief marketing and communications officer of Unilever PLC; and Marie Gulin-Merle, CMO of Calvin Klein.

• Amazon will be unveiling new products at an event in Seattle on Wednesday. Those products are likely to include new Alexa-enabled products.

• Earnings for this week include Pier One Imports Inc. on Wednesday and Rite Aid Corp. on Thursday. 
  

1) McDonald’s is making athleisure wear with no sense of irony
Melissa Locker, Fast Company

2) NBCUniversal Introduces Peacock, Its New Streaming Service
Nicole Sperling, The New York Times 

3) Internal memo from McDonald’s new ad agency reveals why the world’s biggest fast-food chain bucked industry trends to reshape its marketing strategy
Patrick Coffee, Business Insider Prime 

4) Prepare Yourself. This Ikea Ad About the Bond Between 2 Dogs Is Powerful Stuff
David Griner, Adweek 

5) Wealthy, Liberal and Well-Educated: Some of the Traits of a Brand Boycotter
Kasey Meredith, Morning Consult 

6) Juul Takes a Hit After a Long Year
Yusra Murad, Morning Consult 

7) AT&T Explores Parting Ways With DirecTV
Shalini Ramachandran and Drew FitzGerald, The Wall Street Journal

8) YouTube Is About to Demote a Wide Swath of Its Creators
Taylor Lorenz, The New York Times  

9) American Express Gets Visual on Instagram to Help Eliminate Marine Plastic Pollution
David Cohen, Adweek

10) Amazon Changed Search Algorithm in Ways That Boost Its Own Products
Dana Mattioli, The Wall Street Journal