| 1. TACO BELL WILL OPEN HOTEL IN PALM SPRINGS: Taco Bell is opening a temporary hotel in Palm Springs this summer as a new way to engage with consumers. The Bell, a Taco Bell Hotel & Resort, will start accepting reservations in June and will open August 9. CNBC: “The Bell will feature a gift shop with exclusive Taco Bell-theme apparel and an on-site salon with Taco Bell-inspired nail art and hair styling services. Taco Bell’s chief brand officer Marisa Thalberg said that the idea for a Taco Bell-theme hotel is meant to be playful and fun, but the brand sincerely intends for it to be an ‘unparalleled experience,’ and opted to house the Bell in a fully operational hotel.” 2. BOTOX COMPETITOR BRINGS DOCTORS TO PARTY IN CANCUN—BUT ATTENDEES FAIL TO NOTE COMPANY’S EVENT SPONSORSHIP: Earlier this month, plastic surgeons and doctors gathered at the Ritz-Carlton in Cancun to learn about Jeuveau, a wrinkle-smoothing injection, which hits the market this week and is being launched as a rival to Botox. Attendees gushed about the luxurious event on social media, but most failed to note that Evolus, the company that manufactures Jeuveau, paid for their trips. The New York Times: “More than a dozen top doctors gushed about the event on social media—using the company’s preferred hashtag, #newtox—without disclosing that Evolus had paid for their trips. The Federal Trade Commission requires social media users to disclose relationships with companies when promoting their products on social media, which has emerged as a potent platform. Medical experts also said the tactics carried echoes of an earlier, anything-goes era of pharmaceutical marketing that the industry largely abandoned after a series of scandals and billion-dollar fines. There was poolside socializing, free gifts, and an oceanfront dance party, an atmosphere that one Manhattan plastic surgeon told her 187,000 followers was ‘everything Fyre Fest was supposed to be.’” 3. ARE LUXURIOUS ELOPEMENTS THE NEXT BIG WEDDING TREND?: For many, elopements typically generate the idea of last-minute wedding ceremonies at Las Vegas chapels or local courthouses. But now, more couples are tapping event planners to turn elopements into lavish, Instagram-friendly events. The New York Times: “‘Years ago, couples who eloped would get married on a sandy beach or in Vegas, but that trend is changing,’ she Rebecca Grinnals, the founder of Engaging Concepts, which works with wedding planners, hotels, and event spaces and holds wedding industry conferences. Ms. Grinnals says her clients report an increase in lavish secret weddings that couples spend months in planning. ‘For a while, it was all about smaller weddings for a few dozen people,’ she said, ‘but now you see these over-the-top ones just for two that require the same amount of work or more than ones for 250.’ Jess Levin Conroy, the founder and chief executive of Carats & Cake, a wedding planning site, also reported a rise in extravagant elopements. She attributed the increase, in part, to the ubiquity of social media. ‘Instagram gives couples the ability to have a private wedding, yet put it in the limelight,’ she said. ‘With all the imagery and videos you can instantly share, friends and family can feel like they were part of the celebration.’” 4. TRUMP MAKES SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO FOURTH OF JULY CELEBRATION: President Donald Trump has taken over many elements of this year’s Fourth of July celebration in Washington. The president is moving the fireworks display from the Mall to an area closer to the Potomac River, and he plans to make an address at the Lincoln Memorial. Washington Post: “ The president’s starring role has the potential to turn what has long been a nonpartisan celebration of the nation’s founding into another version of a Trump campaign rally. Officials said it is unclear how much the changes may cost, but the plans have already raised alarms among city officials and some lawmakers about the potential impact of such major alterations to a time-honored and well-organized summer tradition. Fireworks on the Mall, which the National Park Service has orchestrated for more than half a century, draw hundreds of thousands of Americans annually and mark one of the highlights of the city’s tourist season. The event has been broadcast live on television since 1947 and since 1981 has been accompanied by a free concert on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol featuring high-profile musicians and a performance by the National Symphony Orchestra.” 5. WOODSTOCK 50 AND FORMER INVESTOR HEAD TO COURT: The organizers of Woodstock 50 and the live events division of Dentsu Aegis Network, the festival’s lone sponsor and investor, are headed toward a legal battle. Marc Kasowitz, an attorney representing the festival and founder Michael Lang, filed a petition for injunction with the New York State Supreme Court last week, demanding that Dentsu return nearly $18 million in “misappropriated” funds from the festival’s bank account after it withdrew support from the event last month. Dentsu is slated to appear in court this week. Adweek: “The status of Woodstock 50, which had been scheduled for August 16-18 in Watkins Glen, New York.—the same town as the 1969 classic—is now in limbo. Much like the Fyre Festival, Woodstock 50 initially boasted an impressive roster of performers, like Jay-Z, Miley Cyrus, and surviving members of The Grateful Dead. But it is unclear if any of them will end up performing. A letter sent by Lang to Dentsu’s C.E.O. Toshihiro Yamamoto, on Monday accused the company of taking control of the event, announcing that it had been canceled and ‘illegally [sweeping] approximately $17 million’ from its bank account. Lang also wrote that Dentsu spoke to some of the performers, vendors, and producers, recommending they ‘violate their contracts’ and cut ties with the festival despite having already been paid in full, while also suggesting that doing so might earn them spots in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, where Dentsu will play a major role.” | 