What Are You Jealous Of?

Every year ad campaigns make even the best creatives jealous. And every year we consider it our duty to find out what made creatives green with envy. In 2018, it was Westworld's The Maze, Nike's Dream Crazy with Colin Kaepernick and Bud Light's Victory Fridges for the Cleveland Browns (that's a personal favorite). Last year, there was a lot of Ryan Reynolds' work on the list, more Nike spots and some incredible ads from The New York Times.

This year, agencies loved Satan, well Match.com's Satan, Sexy Colonel Sanders and you guessed it: more Nike. Get the full list of work that made creatives jealous here.

What made you jealous this year? Tweet me and we'll feature a few of your responses in Monday's edition of the newsletter.

In 1999, Cheerios released an ad about a special moment between a grandma and a baby celebrating Christmas together, starring Peggy Miley of Star Trek and Stranger Things fame. Now the ad has a sequel—with Miley and even the woman who played the baby (who is now 21) both reprising their roles. 

See the heart-melting original and its brand new follow-up, which has been adapted for the pandemic.

StreamScam has been unleashed upon unsuspecting streaming viewers. Oracle reported that the new ad fraud scheme has infected more than 28.8 million household IP addresses and pilfered roughly $14.5 million ad dollars through connected TVs. The scammers built servers that send out fake ad impressions, which trick advertisers into buying media that isn’t there. 

Go inside the inner-workings of the scam to understand why connected TV is the target of choice. 

The stack of antitrust suits against Google continues to grow after a bipartisan coalition of 38 states and territories sued the tech giant over its dominance in online search. This round follows a similar lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice in October, which was joined by 11 states led by Republican attorneys general. But wait, there's more: Google was also sued Wednesday by a coalition of 10 Republican-led states for its dominance in the digital advertising market.

Inside the suits: This new complaint alleges several ways Google is stifling competition, including through voice-based search.

Travis Scott has had an impressive year filled with high-profile brand partnerships. Following massively popular moments with Fortnite and McDonald’s, he has now partnered with Anheuser-Busch to release a new agave-based hard seltzer inspired by tequila. The seltzer will be available in  lime, pineapple and strawberry flavors and have a higher ABV than most competing beverages. 

Leaning into the influencer role: How Scott is becoming a marketing powerhouse.

More of Today’s Top News & Highlights:

A forthcoming Frito-Lay campaign stars Rick Astley, who's never gonna give up healthy snacks. Adweek’s Lisa Lacy and Paul Hiebert take a look behind the scenes of the new ad and how it fits into PepsiCo’s larger goals and marketing strategy—and Lacy also sat down with Astley to learn more about the campaign, his past partnerships, his new Christmas song that was originally meant to be a homemade TikTok video and, of course, the immortal cultural power of Never Gonna Give You Up.

Advice you can’t give up: Hear the song, and get smart insights on going viral.

"Jennifer Garner, Co-founder and Chief Brand Officer of Once Upon a Farm, award-winning actress and philanthropist, and John Foraker, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, take to the Main Stage at the Challenger Brands Summit, a Brandweek virtual experience on Feb. 22-25.

Secure your pass before Dec. 31st for super early-bird savings. Register now."

Fundraising series for 3 nonprofits also includes a media partnership with WeRateDogs.

The new direction created by DDB New York has been highly effective.

The campaign won top honors in three categories.

It’s a good sign for social commerce, but maybe not Facebook Advertising.