Advertising and marketing news: the campaigns, rulings, appointments and numbers worth knowing this week.
Les Binet and Dom Boyd's research for the IPA Effectiveness Conference finds promotions are the biggest marketing cost, and three quarters of marketers cannot say which make money.
Visit Sweden's Introvert Travel Agency pops up in London, Berlin and Paris from 28 to 31 October, selling Sweden as the holiday for people who hate small talk.
The $110bn deal closed on Tuesday, putting CBS, CNN, HBO Max, Paramount+ and two major studios under David Ellison's new company, Skydance, with $80bn of debt.
Specsavers' first fully integrated influencer campaign targets 45 to 59 year old glasses wearers who have never tried lenses, by showing the fumble rather than the finish.
Simon Pakenham-Walsh, formerly of River Island and Sweaty Betty, becomes the Premier League's first chief technology and data officer as it moves to the cloud and builds AI fan products.
Sharps' new campaign by Neverland follows two sisters separated by a bedroom wall, and swaps showroom deals for emotion in one of TV's most formulaic categories.
Brisbane 2032's cockatoo emblems, by VML, Landor, Black Card and Verian, were officially launched on Monday, three days after an explainer video thumbnail gave them away.
Royal Mail has scaled back its disputed rises: Business Mail now goes up 19.4 per cent rather than 30.7 per cent, and Advertising Mail 12 per cent, from 7 December.
Jon Cook is leaving as global CEO of VML and WPP Creative after three decades, staying until March 2027 to hand over to North America chief Eric Campbell.
Nike's demand creation spend rose 5 per cent last quarter even as revenue fell 4 per cent, as Elliott Hill doubles down on brand building and cuts costs elsewhere.
AMV BBDO and Spark Foundry's Beyond Techspectations platform for Currys takes the 2026 IPA Effectiveness Grand Prix, credited with £500m of extra revenue over two years.
The UK advertisers' trade body sets out three ways to run creator marketing, bolt-on, channel and core, as research finds half of brands still manage it ad hoc.
Newcastle United's new crest keeps the castle, seahorses and lion but redraws them for screens. Fans chose it with 64.8 per cent of the vote, and it reaches the kits in 2027/28.
Mother's Don't Crack puts 30 KFC superfans through four absurd challenges for £50,000 in a 32-minute original game show on KFC's YouTube channel.
Not On The High Street is putting 120 per cent more into TV and video on demand, with films starring its own makers running from 1 October to mid-December.
The ASA has banned Huel ads featuring founder Julian Hearn and Spencer Matthews for encouraging people to live on Huel alone and for unauthorised health claims.
Sephora will open concessions in 100 M&S stores from spring 2027 and sell a wider range on M&S.com, giving M&S a beauty draw and Sephora a route onto every high street.
IAB UK and Mediasense put first-half digital adspend at £21.2bn, up 13 per cent, with retail media up 32 per cent and streaming taking a third of video spend.