Morning Update: Subway suspends brand ambassador Jared amid federal investigation; Harry Shearer returning to The Simpsons; Piers Morgan’s theme park
AdAge: Subway Suspends Relationship With Jared Fogle Amid Federal Investigation
Subway may have been slow to issue a statement earlier today about federal authorities searching Jared Fogle’s house, but the company has now suspended its relationship with its spokesman of more than 15 years.
The company said on Twitter: “Subway & Jared Fogle have agreed to suspend their relationship due to the current investigation. Jared is cooperating with authorities.”
“Subway and Jared Fogle have mutually agreed to suspend their relationship due to the current investigation,” a spokesman added in an email to Ad Age. “Jared continues to cooperate with authorities and he expects no actions to be forthcoming. Both Jared and Subway agree that this was the appropriate step to take.”
Entertainment Weekly: Harry Shearer returning to The Simpsons
Simpsons fans will find this turn of events nothing short of excellent:Seven weeks after tweeting that he was exiting the animated comedy, EW has learned that Harry Shearer—the voice of Mr. Burns, Ned Flanders, Smithers and a flurry of other memorable characters—has agreed to rejoin Fox’s forever-running animated comedy.
We repeat: Burns is back.
Shearer has signed the same contract as did the other five primary voice actors—Dan Castellaneta, Yeardley Smith, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, and Hank Azaria—keeping the show’s original cast fully intact, EW has learned. These deals, which run for four seasons (including a network option for seasons 29 and 30), are estimated at more than $300,000 per episode. Fox recently renewed The Simpsons for a 27th and 28th season, which will bring its episode tally to 625.
Columbia Journalism Review: The Cult of Vice
ON THE FIRST FRIDAY IN MAY, a line of advertising and media people stretched down New York’s West 22nd Street, waiting to hear from Shane Smith, the 45-year-old bearded and bearish co-founder of Vice. One of the media world’s most flamboyant CEOs had an announcement to make.
The occasion was the Digital Content NewFronts, a corporate event where media companies parade upcoming digital programming before advertisers. While some CEOs came in button-downs and blazers, Smith wore a black T-shirt, a tattoo peeking out from under his sleeve.
In a rollicking, obscenity-laced presentation featuring Oscar-nominated filmmaker and Vice creative director Spike Jonze, Smith unveiled a host of new lifestyle shows starring a who’s who of tastemakers for millennials. Marc Maron, the sardonic comedian who runs a popular podcast of celebrity one-on-ones, will have an interview show; Ellen Page, the actress from Inception and Juno who came out as gay last year, will host an LGBT travel show, “Gaycation.”
Creativity-Online: U.K. Lotto Urges You to Play, so Piers Morgan Can’t Open His Own Theme Park
Former CNN presenter, tabloid editor and “Britain’s Got Talent” judge Piers Morgan is a figure Brits love to hate, but he gamely makes fun of himself in this spot for the U.K. lottery operator Camelot.
The Lotto’s latest campaign takes a new tack: play the Lotto to prevent other people (like Morgan) from winning, using the tagline / hashtag “#PleaseNotThem.”
The New York Times: New York Times to Revamp Video Unit
The New York Times announced on Tuesday a broad revamping of its video operation and said it would seek new leadership for what it described as an increasingly vital part of the newsroom.
The video department’s current chief, Bruce Headlam, will take on another senior role in the newsroom, the newspaper’s executive editor, Dean Baquet, said in a memo to the staff. Rebecca Howard, who led the business side of the operation, will leave the company “to focus on emerging media platforms,” Kinsey Wilson, who leads the Times’s companywide digital product and technology operations, said in another memo.
The Wall Street Journal: Time Inc. Acquires Youth Sports Firms, Creates ‘Sports Illustrated Play’ Unit
Time Inc. has acquired three youth-focused digital sports companies and an events business, as the publisher looks to place bets on growing areas of media and reduce its dependence on print advertising and circulation revenue.
The company has purchased SportsSignup and LeagueAthletics.com, which provide online management tools to youth sports leagues that enable parents, coaches and players to check information such as team schedules and statistics. The two businesses serve about 8 million athletes, 300,000 teams and 8,500 leagues, Time Inc. said.
The third sports company Time Inc. acquired, iScore Sports, sells apps priced at $9.99 each for fans of baseball, football, basketball and soccer. The apps enable users to create a digital scorecard and track games play-by-play, as they unfold.
Miranda Ward worked for Mumbrella from 2013 to 2017, eventually becoming deputy editor. Miranda joined Mumbrella in September 2013 from Sky News.
Linkedin
Yay for Harry Shearer!!! If he HAS to make FOX richer, he may as well share in the spoils.
User ID not verified.