Morning Update: Singing sloth tries to save Americans from too much work; Tetley’s medieval ad

AdWeek: This Sloth Sings for a Good Cause: Saving Americans From Too Much Work

Costa Rica is pulling out all the sloths to boost tourism. The Central American nation hired 22squared for its North American advertising, and the agency put together a digital campaign that features a music video with animals singing “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.”

The Internet seems to love sloths, so it’s the headliner of the video now on YouTube, which also features a lip-syncing macaw and turtle. The Mill was the team behind the computer effects in the video like the animated singing mouths of the animals.

The New York Times: YouTube Challenger Lets Music Fans Call the Shots

Five years ago Yoni Bloch, an Israeli rock star, wanted to make a music video that would let viewers choose what happened as the story unfolded. But the technology did not exist, so Mr. Bloch and his band members developed it themselves and shot the video for $2,000.

That technology is now the basis for Interlude, a company Mr. Bloch helped start in 2010 that has joined the ranks of YouTube’s challengers. It also led to a new joint venture with the Warner Music Group, home of stars likeColdplay and Bruno Mars, called Interlude Music.

AdAge: Top Ad Spenders Pull Back in Third Quarter

Top marketers became more stingy with their ad dollars in the third quarter, contributing only 0.3% growth to $33.7 billion, according to Kantar Media’s latest report.

“After a relatively robust first half when spend grew by 3.1%, the pace of ad spending slowed during Q3 and a principal cause was Top 100 marketers becoming more restrained with their budgets,” said Jon Swallen, chief research officer at Kantar Media North America, in a statement.