Morning Update: McDonald’s launches McTrax; Google moving into ads; Spotify to create 12 original series; internet video viewer metrics ‘bullshit’
Campaign Live: McDonald’s McTrax invites diners to play with interactive musical placemats
Introducing McDonald’s McTrax, this simple yet innovative creation transforms a mere paper placemat into a full music production tool. Users cleverly interact with the system via their smartphones through conductive ink and Bluetooth technology.
A brand known for its playful approach to dining with the infamous Happy Meal toys and play areas, the fast-food giant upped their A-game, in an effort to attract a millennial audience through technology and music.
Digiday: Google said to be exploring an ‘acceptable’ ads policy
Google is reportedly jumping deeper into the ad blocking issue by exploring an acceptable ads policy, publisher and industry sources say. Google, together with Facebook, controlled 64 percent of the digital ad market last year. With that clout, Google could have an outsized impact on the kinds of ad formats that become the industry standard.
Intrusive and slow-loading ads have been blamed for the rise in readers adopting ad blocking software. Google is heavily invested in keeping the web safe for advertising; the vast majority of Google’s business runs on advertising, and it reportedly pays large sums to make sure ads get around the ad blockers and appear on its sites.
AdAge: Spotify Expands Video Offering With 12 Original Series
Spotify is making 12 original series with the likes of actor Tim Robbins and Def Jam Records co-founder Russell Simmons, in a dramatic expansion of video offerings from the Swedish music-streaming service.
Spotify will unveil plans for its first slate of original shows Monday, a year after adding clips from the BBC and Comedy Central. Episodes of every program, which range from a few minutes to 15 minutes, will be available to free and paid Spotify users in the U.S., U.K., Germany and Sweden.
Gawker: Internet Video Views Is A 100 Percent Bullshit Metric
AdWeek: 5 Products That Could Become as Popular as Adult Coloring Books
As consumers look for ways to relieve stress through creativity, adult coloring books have taken the nation by storm, populating Amazon’s list of best-selling books and popping up in marketing efforts for Timberland and other brands. And no, it’s not just a millennial obsession. “Although millennials are driving the growth, the handmade movement is a trend that touches all generations,” noted NPD Group analyst Leen Nsouli.
“We carry 150 coloring book titles now, and we’ve seen a great customer response—so great that we’ve pushed out into other surfaces that people can color on: T-shirts, playhouses and canvases,” said Stephen Carlotti, evp of marketing at Michaels Craft Stores. “We see great opportunity going forward as long as we continue to innovate.”
