Morning Update: Facebook punishes ‘clickbait’; Google: ad injection ‘infesting devices’; Saatchi’s NZ CEO to R/GA NYC
Ad Age: Facebook Hits Clickbait Again, Punishing Articles With Headlines Using Certain Phrases
Facebook is taking new action against something readers claim to dislike: clickbait headlines designed to lure them to articles.
On Thursday, Facebook said it plans to escalate a previous effort against clickbait by demoting articles in its News Feed if their headlines contain certain, undisclosed phrases.
Ad Age: Google Investigation: Ad Injection Is Infesting Millions of Devices
Google released a disturbing report Thursday detailing the deceptive practices of so-called commercial pay-per-install companies, which it says are responsible for shoehorning unwanted ads into a user’s browser.
Much of the report focuses on ad injection, which is often delivered through software installation or browser extensions. Ad injection is unsanctioned media that can damage both the advertiser’s and publisher’s reputation. The practice is capable of delivering ads on any website even if it does not run ads, and can rob publishers of revenue by removing their ads and replacing them with bottom of the barrel creatives.
Ad Week: R/GA Hires Former Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand CEO to Run Its L.A. Office
R/GA, or “the company for the Connected Age,” has hired Nicola “Nicky” Bell to lead its Los Angeles office in the role of SVP, managing director.
She brings 25 years of agency experience to the job after holding leadership positions in Australia, New York and New Zealand, most recently spending six years as CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand.
Ad Age: Thanks, Zika: NBC Hits Record $1.2 Billion in Ad Sales for Olympics
NBC hit a new record for Olympic advertising – securing $1.2 billion in national ad sales for the upcoming games in Rio.
“We surpassed what we thought was an unattainable threshold,” said Seth Winter, exec VP-advertising sales, NBC Sports Group.This puts NBC about 20% ahead of ad sales for its 2012 London games.
Ad Week: With One Brilliant Pokemon Video, This Swiss City Instantly Became a Viral Superstar
With the Pokemon Go phenomenon still at fever pitch, what better way to promote your city than to create a crazy video filled with life-sized Pikachus running wild all over it?
Basel is Switzerland’s third-largest city, and home to the famous Art Basel festival. Its tourism agency, Basel Tourismus, went all in on the Pokemon Go craze by filming a video with four life-sized Pikachus on a rampage through the city.
https://youtu.be/TeVLxcekEsw
Ad Week: The ‘World’s Biggest Asshole’ Teaches You About Organ Donation in This New Campaign
What comes to mind when you picture the world’s biggest asshole?
Maybe it’s a guy peeing into a beer bottle while driving, throwing said urine-filled bottle out the window, grinning as it crashes and splashes on a car behind him. Or maybe he’s the creepy guy with a bumper sticker that reads “Caution! I can go from 0 to horny in 2.2 beers” tacked to the back of his pick up truck.
