Nike's Anthem of Hope

Nike's back with another uplifting ad designed to give us the courage to get through the pandemic. This 90-second narration from LeBron James reminds us how sports are the ultimate beacon for hope. No matter how far you might be down, like say three games to one or behind 28-3 in the Super Bowl, there's always hope. The campaign comes on the heels of a number of spots, including a rallying cry to play inside, a challenge to compete with your favorite athletes and a salute to those staying active.

Watch it: Wieden + Kennedy Portland is behind the ad, which features elite Nike athletes, including Serena Willams, Naomi Osaka, Tiger Woods, Cristiano Ronaldo, Rafael Nadal, Megan Rapinoe and others.

Related: ESPN's iconic 'This Is SportsCenter' campaign turns 25 this year. Adweek staffers selected their 10 favorite ads out of the hundreds in the campaign. My personal favorite? Y2K, which is the perfect blend of absurdity and ESPN personality. That ad features the legendary "Follow me. Follow me to freedom." line. Watch our favorites here.

What brand shows up in most Washington Post TikToks and has experienced six straight years of growth? Spam. It's been a long-winning streak thanks to a number of factors, including it's popularity in recipes from the Asia-Pacific region, which has a growing influence in American cooking. More recently, Spam's sales are surging because of a confluence of factors like Americans are cooking more at home and stocking up on nonperishable items.

Analysis: The brand's marketing strategy is leaning into the factors causing its surge.

Right now, Germany has given Dmexco the green light to hold its yearly conference in late September. That said, some ad-tech companies are hesitant to attend the industry's biggest event for several reasons.

Analysis: The risks and negatives don't outweigh the positives for some companies, as an event like Dmexco could be make or break.

Here's another case of a brand pivoting its entire campaign for the new normal. Barefoot Wine planned to debut its first TV campaign with stars Aubrey Plaza and Kenan Thompson. The brand filmed the spot, but its footage was quickly rendered useless, as the ad takes place at a not social distance approved pool party. To salvage everything the brand had shot, it created a new story line with the help of a voiceover from Thompson.

Watch it: A pool party ad still feels a little odd in these times, but Kenan Thompson saying Moscato is a joy.

Best of the Rest: More Top Stories

The team at boutique production house Sandwich were Slack’s first ad stars, grudgingly trying out the startup service in 2014 and reporting on their experience. The resulting, relatable ads tallied 5 million views on YouTube, helping introduce the now-mainstream collaborative platform, and the clips have continued to draw traffic ever since.

Today, Slack launched a sequel of sorts, with Los Angeles-based Sandwich starring in another ad—this time filmed from the team’s homes under quarantine. Sandwich’s staff pitched the job themselves this time, working without a brief and producing a short film remotely from seven different locations. Watch it here.

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The plant-based brand's new campaign touts benefits to health and environment.

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Sale are driven primarily by breakfast and baking.

Like a lot of creatives, Evan Maranca recently found himself out of a job. Unlike a lot of creatives, he decided to print his portfolio on toilet paper and sell it on Amazon for $150,000.

As networks scramble to keep sports fans engaged, 'You can’t go dark; that’s not a choice.'