Earnings season continues. 

Several consumer goods companies reported strong profits last week, driven in large part by inflation-raised prices. However, new Morning Consult Economic Intelligence data shows consumer spending dropped sharply in March, suggesting possible trouble ahead.

We’ll be closely watching the forthcoming earnings results of several household brands, including Starbucks Corp. (Tuesday), Yum! Brands Inc. (Wednesday), CVS Health Corp. (Wednesday), Kraft Heinz Co. (Wednesday) and Anheuser-Busch InBev SA (Thursday). Apple Inc. also reports results on Thursday.

IAB’s NewFronts Showcase runs all week in New York. 

Brands, agencies and ad buyers will gather to hear presentations about the latest content offerings from some of the most prominent companies in digital media. Featured presenters include Fox Corp.’s Tubi (Tuesday), Amazon.com Inc. (Tuesday), Roku Inc. (Wednesday), ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok (Wednesday) and FuboTV Inc. (Thursday).

Confab 2023 is in Minneapolis today through Wednesday.

This content strategy-focused conference offers four days of hands-on workshops and main stage talks by content leaders from the likes of Amazon, Meta Platforms Inc.’s Facebook, Bumble Inc., Etsy Inc. and more.

Entries for Ad Age’s 40 under 40 open on Tuesday. 

The publication’s list celebrates rising stars who have made an impact at an advertiser, agency, media, tech or marketing company within the past year. The submission window closes on July 10. Class of 2023 entrants must be under the age of 40 prior to September 18, 2023 to qualify.

• Amazon.com Inc. reported $9.5 billion in advertising revenue for the first quarter of 2023, marking a 21% increase from the same period last year and beating analyst estimates of 15% growth. (Variety) Meanwhile, the e-commerce giant and Pinterest Inc. announced a multiyear ad partnership, which will make Amazon the first partner of the social media company’s new third-party ad platform. (TechCrunch) 
• Alphabet Inc.’s Google posted ad revenues of $54.5 billion for the first quarter, marking a slight drop from the same period last year and a second straight quarter of decline. (The Wall Street Journal) Meanwhile, first quarter ad sales at Alphabet’s YouTube dropped for the third reporting period in a row, falling 2.6% year over year to $6.69 billion. (Variety)
• The Walt Disney Co. began its second round of mass layoffs on Monday, impacting employees across the company, including Disney Entertainment, ESPN and Disney Parks, Experiences and Products. When this latest round is completed, job cuts at the entertainment giantin 2023 will total 4,000. (CNBC)
• 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 celebrities who have passed away 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)

47%

The share of U.S. adults who said they would feel favorable toward a brand that works with a transgender spokesperson, according to a new Morning Consult survey featured in my latest story, which explores consumer sentiment toward various diversity-focused marketing initiatives. The share of U.S. beer drinkers who said the same was even higher (53%), suggesting that recent conservative backlash against Bud Light may not materially impact its brand long-term.

1) Bud Light Brewer Puts Two Executives on Leave After Uproar Over Transgender Influencer 

Ginger Adams Otis et al., The Wall Street Journal

2) The Majority of Beer Drinkers Support Brand Partnerships With Trans Spokespeople

Ellyn Briggs, Morning Consult 

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

Ellyn Briggs, Morning Consult

4) Consumer Spending Dropped Sharply in March

Sofia Baig, Morning Consult

5) Bud Light Sales Drop Induces ‘Panic’ as Brand Response Expected to Include Ad

Jon Springer, Ad Age

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

Andrew Ross Sorkin et al., The New York Times

7) Why brands are embracing the language of Gen Z

Aimee Mclaughlin, Creative Review

8) Fox Has a Secret ‘Oppo File’ to Keep Tucker Carlson in Check, Sources Say 

Diane Falzone and Asawin Suebsaeng, Rolling Stone

9) Nate Silver Out at ABC News as Disney Layoffs Once Again Hit News Division

Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter 

10) Move Over, Retirees: Millennials Are Coming for Your Cruises

Sara Bosworth, The Wall Street Journal

• Why the four-day workweek works (Insider)
• Low employee engagement? Managers can help turn it around with this one habit (CNN)
• Who’s getting laid off in America, by salary range (Quartz)  
• TikTok is launching generative AI avatars, and here’s what they look like  (The Verge) 
• How AI could power advertising’s next creative revolution (Fast Company)
• Why Gen Z Loves Dupes (Business of Fashion)
• Slack? Phone? Teams? Zoom? There Are Too Many Work Communications (The Wall Street Journal)
• Wendy’s will start selling canned chili in grocery stores (CNN)
• The rise of abstract logos (Creative Review) 
• In the in-game advertising world, tension is mounting between intrinsic ads and immersive brand experiences (Digiday)
• Barbie’s Marketing Leader Lifts the Curtain on Its First Down Syndrome Doll  (Adweek)
• Gen Z is at the top of bosses’ firing list because they think they’re the most difficult generation to work with (Fortune)