Winner

Wieden+Kennedy’s hire of star creative duo Ana and Hermeti Balarin from Mother gave its Portland office a nice image boost this week at a time when its New York shop seemed to be stealing most of the headlines of late.

Loser

It’s hard to underestimate the role Carolyn Everson played soothing advertisers any time Facebook was caught in a negative news cycle, which has happened quite a bit in recent years. So her abrupt departure—apparently because Facebook overlooked her for a key role—makes the social media network our loser of the week. Then again, as the 2020 ad boycott proved, Facebook can get by just fine financially without major marketer support. 

Number of the week

65%: The percentage of people who say they will partake in in-store food sampling once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, according to a new Ad Age-Harris Poll–a positive sign for marketers that rely on giveaways to publicize new products.

Orangetheory steps up

The NCAA’s continuing image problem with the way it handles female athletes has created another branding opportunity. Fitness brand Orangetheory this week announced it is giving one-year memberships to all players in the final eight teams of the NCAA Women’s Softball Championship, after The New York Times reported that teams at the NCAA Women’s College World Series were given considerably fewer resources and less flexibility than the men’s tournament. Orangetheory previously volunteered equipment and support with weight room inequalities during the NCAA women’s basketball tournament in March.

Pumpkin spice lattes have nothing on this

Here is another sign that the hard seltzer craze has jumped the shark. Bud Light’s forthcoming seltzer flavors apparently include pumpkin spice, maple pair and toasted marshmallow. The website mybeerbuzz.com spotted the forthcoming labels and blogged about them here, noting that it appears to be the “beginning of what looks to be a fall variety pack.” Because what says autumn more than toasted marshmallow flavored fermented sugar?

Sadsack suitcases return to happiness

Suitcases haven’t had it easy during the pandemic either, according to a new campaign from Tripadvisor that personifies vacations and luggage. The 30-second video, called “Vacations Miss You,” was rolled out this month from the travel brand’s new creative agency Stink Studios. In the digital spot, a series of dejected-looking suitcases are forgotten and left behind, before eventually resuming their original use as consumers begin to take trips again. Tripadvisor also has a new app and mobile experience it debuted this month.

A cheesy job

Gimmicky brand titles are all the rage. Mozzarella sticks maker Farm Rich is the latest marketer jumping on the trend by searching for a fan to be its first CCO—not chief creative officer, but chief cheese officer. The summer gig includes helping to create a new cheese holiday and creating social media content. The perks include $5,000, a three-day vacation to the company’s St. Simons Island, Georgia, headquarters, and a year’s supply of its frozen snacks. And Reynolds Wrap plans to pay a rookie griller $10,000 to learn how to grill with virtual training from grilling pro Steven Raichlen and post about the process on social media. 

SurveyMonkey changes name to Momentive

SurveyMonkey, the company that owns the wildly successful self-service survey tool, announced Wednesday that it’s changing its name to Momentive. SurveyMonkey will remain the name of the survey tool. The new company name, per Momentive, “reflects its strength as a new kind of agile experience management and insights platform focused on speed, agility and A.I.” And, yes, they did do surveys, according to a spokesman, that found the SurveyMonkey name was still very popular, so they kept it on the product—but that reaction to the Momentive corporate name was positive.

Marc Lore puts his Walmart cash to use in Vayner venture

Marc Lore rode into the sunset from his job heading Walmart e-commerce in January with a big wad of cash, thanks to the $3.3 billion deal he made selling Jet.com to his old employer five years ago. Now, some of that money is finding its way into a VaynerMedia offshoot—Tracer—a company founded inside the shop that links ad spending to business results. Lore joins VaynerMedia founder Gary Vaynerchuk and NBA star Kevin Durant as investors in a new $10 million seed funding round for the firm, founded by former VaynerMedia Chief Marketing Officer Jeffrey Nicholson. Lore is putting a much bigger bet on the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves as part of a reported $1.5 billion pending acquisition of the team alongside former New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez.

Number of the week

65%: The percentage of people who say they will partake in in-store food sampling once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, according to a new Ad Age-Harris Poll–a positive sign for marketers that rely on giveaways to publicize new products.

Tweet of the week

Quote of the week

“We’ve made great strides with representation, showcasing diversity in our product line. Barbie has also stood for empowerment and equal opportunity, so sustainability is the next big pillar.”—Lisa McKnight, senior VP and global head of Barbie and dolls at Mattel, on the brand's new "Barbie Loves the Ocean," its first fashion doll collection made of recycled ocean-bound plastic. 

On the move

Grove Collaborative, the natural home products brand, hired Jennie Perry as chief marketing officer. Perry had been chief marketing officer of Amazon Prime and Amazon North America.

Crown Media Family Networks named Tom Ziangas senior VP, revenue and strategic research, a newly created role. He was most recently senior VP of research and insights at AMC Networks.

Marketing solutions provider Quad has hired former Ad Age president and publisher Josh Golden as chief marketing officer. “His experience will position Quad to be more accessible to brands and businesses and help the company grow,” according to a statement.

Contributing: Ilyse Liffreing, Jessica Wohl, Adrianne Pasquarelli, Jack Neff