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Automakers pull back on Super Bowl advertising
Automakers have retreated from advertising at the Super Bowl amid an uncertain market. This will lead auto companies to have the smallest footprints in decades during this year’s event on 8 February. “It’s definitely been on the decline,” said Sean Muller, CEO of ad data company iSpot. “Autos are tightening their belts, and they’re probably pulling back on their budgets, and certainly that’s reflected. I think the Super Bowl is a good barometer for all of this.” The drop has been an ongoing trend: automakers accounted for 40% of Super Bowl ad minutes in 2012 but declined to 7% by 2025, according to iSpot. Only General Motors, Toyota, and Volkswagen are expected to advertise during the match between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots, with their ads totalling only around two minutes combined. Last year, the only automaker to advertise was Chrysler parent Stallantis, with two ads totalling three minutes. The decline follows instability in the industry that started in 2020 during the pandemic, that were only heightened recently by tariffs and pullbacks in all-electric vehicles that have cost companies billions of dollars. However, auto makers are still embracing other sports, accounting for roughly
Advertising
NBCUniversal sets Winter Olympics ad sales record
NBCUniversal has set a new Winter Olympics advertising sales record, selling its Olympic inventory a month before the Milan Cortina 2026 Games. The Winter Olympics will kick off the company’s ‘Legendary February’ programming, which includes Super Bowl LX and the NBA All-Star Game. NBCUniversal chairman, Global Advertising & Partnerships, Mark Marshall said the company sat in its strongest position for the Winter Games as partners saw the power of the NBC Sports portfolio. "With the resurgence of the Olympic movement, our strongest Sports Upfront in history, the early sell-out of Super Bowl LX, and the remarkable return of the NBA, NBCUniversal has solidified itself as a sports powerhouse, and brands have taken notice,” he said. According to the broadcaster, the massive success of the 2024 Paris Olympics made brands more eager to commit to the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, with over 100 new advertisers investing in the games. “For the first time in our company's history, we have seen such unprecedented demand that we are officially sold out of our inventory this far in advance of a Games,” Executive Vice President NBC Sports & Olympics, Advertising and Partnerships Peter Lazarus said. NBCUniversal also marked the
Advertising
Universal Music Group, WPP partner on music and AI
Universal Music Group (UMG) has partnered with WPP, giving WPP’s clients access to UMG’s music and data insights. The companies will also collaborate on artificial intelligence strategies to “help brands and artists connect and create authentic cultural moments”, according to WPP. “This collaboration provides benefits to stakeholders of each company,” said UMG chief digital officer Michael Nash. “On one hand, combining innovative new technologies with UMG’s industry-leading data insights, we can create significant new commercial opportunities for our artists and songwriters,” Nash said. “In addition, working together with WPP, we will harness and amplify the unmatched power and reach of music for WPP’s clients and brands through new strategic initiatives and programmes.” UMG and WPP previously worked together in partnership with Coca-Cola, having launched the Coke Studio music platform. Coke Studio began in Pakistan in 2008 before expanding globally in 2022. WPP’s Road to 2025 video report found this month that AI can be used to create hyperpersonalised content in advertising campaigns, as well as help with dynamic content optimisation. UMG is involved in an ongoing lawsuit against AI music companies Suno and Udi
Advertising
oOh!media restructures citing 'challenging' conditions
oOh!media Limited (ASX:OML) has provided a trading update for FY24, reporting revenue growth of 2% in Q3 compared to the prior corresponding period. In Q4, revenue growth is expected to increase by 3% to 6%. It is, however, lower than originally predicted due to a slowdown in short-term bookings. For FY24, group revenues are expected to range between $633 million and $638 million. In response to challenging media market conditions, oOh!media has announced a restructuring plan set to roll out in early 2025. oOh! Chief Executive Officer, Cathy O’Connor, said: “In a challenging period for the wider media and advertising market, oOh!media is taking decisive action to ensure that we can operate sustainably through the cycle. “Today we are announcing initiatives to drive revenue growth and right size our cost base. These initiatives will position us to protect our #1 market share and grow revenues and earnings as market conditions improve. “We remain highly confident in the long-term attractiveness of the Out Of Home (OOH) category, which continues to outperform the wider media market, with its market share growing to 15.1%1 at the end of October 2024. As the market leader in Australia and New Zealand, oOh! Is strongly
Advertising
Ad Standards: Year's 'most complained about' ads
Ad standards released its list of the top 10 most complained-about Australian ads this year, with many of the complaints surrounding sexual themes and distressing content. The reasoning for the complaints aligns with the categories people are most concerned about in Ad Standards Community Perceptions research. The top category was gambling (44%), which can be seen in the fourth most complained about ad for Zynga, with use of sexual appeal or nudity (33%) and exploitive sexual content (33%) taking out third and fourth most concerning categories and four of the 10 most complained about ads containing this content. Other categories that respondents found concerning were misleading or deceptive advertising (43%) and advertising to children (30%). The top most complained about the ad was a KFC ad that shows a woman exiting the bedroom of a younger man, much to the dismay of her daughter. There were 69 complaints about this ad for depicting sexual themes, however, it was not one of the two ads that were in breach of advertising rules. These two ads were a mobile digital billboard promoting a brothel for Gotham City and a Budget Direct ad that showed a pool cleaner coming to life after being struck by lightning. Red

Business

Advertising

Automakers pull back on Super Bowl advertising

NBCUniversal sets Winter Olympics ad sales record

Universal Music Group, WPP partner on music and AI

oOh!media restructures citing 'challenging' conditions

Ad Standards: Year's 'most complained about' ads

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