Earnings season gets underway. 

A handful of major consumer and media companies will report quarterly results this week. Johnson & Johnson kicks things off under Monday, followed by Netflix Inc. and Omnicom Group Inc. on Tuesday and Procter & Gamble Co. on Friday. Netflix results will be watched with extra attention as this marks the first full-quarter reporting period since the streaming giant launched its ad-support tier last November. 

The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA)’s POSSIBLE Conference is in Miami Monday through Wednesday. 

Several celebrity investors and high-profile executives are scheduled to speak at this three-day media industry gathering, including Twitter Inc. owner Elon Musk, who will be in discussion with NBCUniversal ad sales chief Linda Yaccarino on Tuesday. Some advertising leaders have reportedly expressed concern about providing Musk with a platform at the event, citing his lax stance on hate speech and hostile rhetoric toward media organizations. Beyond Musk’s appearance, POSSIBLE features programming across 14 forward-looking content tracks and exhibitions from more than 100 vendors. 

Snap Inc. is hosting its annual Partner Summit Wednesday in Santa Barbara. 

The social media giant will share news about its latest product innovations, creator tools and advertising opportunities. A virtual attendance option is available. 

The Information’s Creator Economy Summit is on Thursday in Los Angeles. 

Reporters will moderate fireside chats and panel discussions with leading influencers, creator economy entrepreneurs and technology executives at this one-day event. Hank Green, chief executive of internet production company Complexly and Heidi and Marc D’Amelio, founders of  D’Amelio Brands, are among those scheduled to speak.  

Adweek’s Sustainable Leadership Forum happens virtually on Friday. 

This day-long conference explores how marketers can advance sustainability initiatives at their brands while also driving sales growth and customer loyalty. Speakers hail from major retail brands like PVH Corp.’s Tommy Hilfiger and Rothy’s Inc. 

• Walmart Inc. said it has agreed to sell men’s retailer Bonobos to Express Inc. and management firm WHP Global for $75 million: WHP Global will pay $50 million for Bonobos’ brand and Express will pay $25 million for Bonobos’ operating assets and will assume the related liabilities. The deal, which is less than one-fourth of the $310 million Walmart paid to acquire the fashion brand in 2017, is the latest move by the retailer to offload e-commerce acquisitions. (The Wall Street Journal) 
• Warner Bros. Discovery formally unveiled Max as the new name of its streaming service, combining the HBO Max and Discovery+ offerings into one product. The announcement was made at a press event in Burbank, Calif., on Wednesday, where Warner Bros. executives also revealed May 23 as the U.S. launch date for the service, which will be available in three different tiers ranging from $9.99 to $19.99 per month. (Variety)
• National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service have both stopped posting new content to Twitter in response to the social media platform adding a “government-funded media” label to the news organizations’ primary accounts. (Bloomberg) ‘
• Twitter Inc. said it no longer exists after merging with Elon Musk’s newly formed shell company registered in Nevada, X Corp., according to court documents filed in California on April 4. (Slate) 
• Other Twitter-related developments: Musk said in a tweet on Tuesday that Twitter plans to finally remove legacy blue checkmarks on April 20. (TechCrunch) In another tweet on Thursday, Musk said the platform would allow users to offer text and video content subscriptions to their followers, marking the company’s most recent effort to attract creators. (Reuters) Twitter said it is also now providing Blue subscribers with the ability to post tweets of up to 10,000 characters in length. (TechCrunch)
• Netflix Inc. and Lacoste SA announced a co-branded apparel collection that will bring iconography from eight of the streaming service’s original shows to various Lacoste clothing items, including polos and hats. The collaboration marks Netflix’s latest push into consumer products after inking partnerships with Walmart Inc., Sephora and General Motors Co. (Marketing Brew) 
• The U.S. Federal Trade Commission ordered The Bountiful Company, which makes Nature’s Bounty Vitamins, to pay $600,000 in its first-ever action related to the practice of “review hijacking,” or when brands copy consumer reviews for another product to drive sales of its own. The vitamin maker took advantage of an Amazon feature that allows sellers to create “variation” relationships between different products and then sold their offerings under a merged set of reviews, making them appear to have better ratings than they otherwise would have had if marketed on their own listing. (TechCrunch)
• McDonald’s Corp. reportedly laid off hundreds of corporate employees across several divisions in the United States and abroad last week as part of an organizational restructuring effort. The fast food giant also offered some staffers continued employment at the company with reduced compensation packages and title changes, according to people familiar with the matter. (The Wall Street Journal)

63%

The share of U.S. adults who said they are “very” or “somewhat” concerned that artificial intelligence poses an existential threat to humans, according to a new Morning Consult survey. Fifty-eight percent said the same about AI achieving singularity. Learn more about public opinion on the rapidly evolving technology in my colleague AJ Dellinger’s latest story: Most of the Public Believes Artificial Intelligence Tools Can Achieve Singularity and Pose a Threat to Humanity. 

1) Americans Are Starting to Lose Interest in Remote Work

Ellyn Briggs, Morning Consult 

2) Gen Z Is Poised to Reshape the Travel Industry 

Lindsey Roeschke, Morning Consult

3) McDonald’s Cuts Pay Packages, Closes Offices Alongside Layoffs Across Chain 

Jesse Newman and Suzanne Vranica, The Wall Street Journal 

4) Why Nordstrom Rack Changed Its Logo, See the Rebrand

Adrianne Pasquarelli, Ad Age 

5) Gen Z is the least happy generation at work. Here’s how good leaders can set them up for success

Sarah Bregel, Fast Company

6) Netflix Sports Docuseries Not Keeping Pace With F1

Tyler Aqualina, Variety

7) The R.T.O. Whisperers Have a Plan

Emma Goldberg, The New York Times

8) Lacoste’s logo gets the Demogorgon treatment in Netflix-themed collection 

Kelsey Sutton, Marketing Brew

9) Bob Iger Addresses Ike Perlmutter Firing, Says He’d Be “Glad” to Meet With Ron DeSantis

Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter 

10) AI redesigned the Starbucks logo, and the AI won

Jesus Diaz, Fast Company

• Companies Scramble to Keep Abortion Off Annual Meeting Agendas (Bloomberg) 
• ‘Quiet luxury’: No flash, no logos, but big-time style (The Associated Press)
• Bud Light Faces Boycott Calls, but Punishing Brands Is Harder Than It Looks (The Wall Street Journal)
• How TikTok and Gen Z are Driving Advertising’s Nostalgia Push (Ad Age)
• Spotify Courts Broadcasters to Convert Radio Shows Into Podcasts (The Hollywood Reporter)
• A new trailer for the much-hyped Barbie movie has sent shoppers searching online for fluffy mules and pink clothes, with ‘Barbiecore’ set to be a hot trend in 2023 (Insider)
• Major retail players are walking back their metaverse strategies (Modern Retail)
• Fractional Ad Executives: Why Some Brands are Hiring Part-Time Workers for Full-Time Roles (Ad Age)
• What’s Next for AI and Marketing? (Adweek)
• Apple to open first India retail stores next week, signaling growth ambitions in emerging market (TechCrunch)
• Brands and trends Gen Z brought back from the dead, from wraparound sunglasses to the ‘baguette’ bag (Insider)
• Work From the Office, Get Laid Off at Home (The New York Times)