Morning Update: Samsung wants to make things right; Erin Johnson ‘I’m a pariah’; Lego ditches Daily Mail ads; in-app ads ‘the future’
The Next Web: Samsung faces the heat head-on with full-page Note 7 apology in major newspapers
Samsung has been walking through the fire over the last few weeks after the South Korean tech titan had to resort to discontinuing its flagship Galaxy Note 7 lineup following numerous reports of exploding devices.
In an effort to win back the trust of consumers, today Samsung ran full-page apology ads in three major US daily newspapers. Aimed at English-speaking consumers, the apologetic statement appeared in Monday editions of The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times as well as The Washington Post.
What’s it like to return to work eight months after you filed an explosive lawsuit that led to the ouster of your agency’s global CEO?
For Erin Johnson, worldwide PR chief for J. Walter Thompson, the experience has been like being placed “in a box” with little actual work to do and a looming sense of being an outcast among her peers.
Independent: Lego ends advertising with Daily Mail after calls for companies to ‘Stop Funding Hate’
Lego will stop advertising its products in the Daily Mail, following a public campaign calling on big companies to drop adverts from newspapers accused of promoting “hatred, discrimination and demonisation”, the company has announced.
The Danish firm, which has previously run free giveaways in the newspaper, responded to social media campaigners Stop Funding Hate by tweeting: “We have finished the agreement with the Daily Mail and are not planning any future promotional activity with the newspaper.”
Consumer spending habits are rapidly changing, shifting from stores and websites to apps and social media – writes Patrick Corr
Singles’ Day in China – where those in relationships celebrate their singleton status by treating themselves to gifts – has become one of the landmark days in the shopping calendar. This year’s sales are, indeed, expected to be bigger than ever – potentially eclipsing the whopping $14bn spent last year.
Ad Age: AB InBev Culls Portfolio, Cuts Bud Black Crown and Beck’s Sapphire
Anheuser-Busch InBev is axing two line extensions, Budweiser Black Crown and Beck’s Sapphire, that were plugged with pricey Super Bowl ads in 2013.
The beers are among several products that the brewer will discontinue next year as part of what it is calling a “portfolio optimization initiative.” Also on the chopping block are two products introduced in 2015: Oculto, a tequila-flavored beer that got heavy promotion in Miami, and Mixxtail, a cocktail-inspired Bud Light line extension
