Quibi Bites the Dust

The length of Quibi’s content now seems to have foretold the platform’s longevity. Jeffrey Katzenberg, who started the app with Meg Whitman told investors yesterday that the streamer is pulling the plug. Quibi’s demise, which comes just over six months after it launched with the intention of revolutionizing mobile video content with its “quick bites” (hence the name qui + bi) of content, is the first in the ongoing streaming wars. The duo published an open letter on Medium shortly thereafter, offering a “profound apology” for “letting down” the company’s employees, investors and partners.

RIP: Check out the (very short) history of the failed platform.

Also in streaming news: Theatrical ad spend is (predictably) down, but streaming TV ad spend is filling the void.

Amazon's newest ads look like scenes from high-budget HBO series, but they’re quickly interrupted by the presence of homebody viewers who appear right in the middle of the action and star making demands—much to the annoyance of the characters. The spots, created by Droga5 for Amazon Alexa, tout the smart devices' voice commands, which make viewers feel like they have “magical powers,” according to Droga5’s Shelley Smoler.

Watch: Experience the power of interruption.

Related: This set of ads follows Droga5’s previous Super Bowl commercial that asked “What was life like before Alexa?”

TODAY: Life Interrupted | Time Disrupted: The Long-term Implications of this Defining Moment for Generation Z

Join ENGINE, Snap, Ernst & Young, Made By Us and Adweek on Thursday, October 22, as ENGINE shares recent findings from their Cassandra Report®, which has examined the new cultural trends that are emerging among today’s youth, which values are being amplified and what behavioral changes are likely to be sustained long-term.

Google is officially entering crisis communications mode in dealing with the recent antitrust lawsuit against it. A new blog post describes the lawsuit by the DoJ over Google’s alleged monopolistic control of search and search advertising as “deeply flawed” and argues that people and advertisers wouldn’t use Google search and related tools if they didn’t want to, and that the lawsuit isn’t looking out for consumers.

Google argues that it supports innovation from other companies, but does it really?

In a time when the pandemic has raised the stakes of misinformation, the 4A’s Advertiser Protection Bureau has introduced a new initiative to help out agencies and brands in the realm of brand safety. The APB’s Brand Safety Playbook, released last year, was its first step to address misinformation and disinformation, but now it’s expanding. The goal is to get misinformation and disinformation recognized as a new category of harmful content so that it's easier for brands to avoid appearing next to it.

Inside the initiative: Learn what additional steps the organization is taking.

More of Today’s Top News & Highlights

A new ad from bidet brand Tushy plays off of election season, asking Americans to properly clean their butts as though it were their “civic doody.” The spot, called “American the Bootyful” was created by production company Black Powder Works.

Join Adweek for Commerce Week, on Nov. 9-12, for four days of exploration into the rapid transformation of the commerce landscape with the leaders building the ecommerce marketplace of tomorrow. Register for free.

GMC has unveiled its highly anticipated 'supertruck' for 2022.

Companies can avoid large overhead costs by thinking smaller.

Agency Humanaut, known for satire and trope busting, based its new program on celebrity roasts.

Workware brand Red Kap teams with Cracker Barrel to pick up truckers' tabs in Farmuse's campaign.

Delivery app finds success with email and social campaigns for Chipotle and Blackpink.

Advertisers, creators and retailers will be able to self-identify via a new tool.