Brands celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and March Madness begins: The Week Ahead

March 14 Food Network describes “The Julia Child Challenge,” which premieres at 9 p.m. ET, thusly: “The iconic Julia Child makes her return to TV, guiding eight talented home cooks through a series of culinary challenges.” Uh, not exactly—because Child actually died in 2004. But this reality competition takes place in a studio replica of Child’s famous kitchen, and has been sanctioned by the Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts, so there’s that. March 15 The National Retail Federation hosts its annual State of Retail & the Consumer 2022 webinar on the health of the American consumer and key shopper behavior trends. The event includes John Furner, president and CEO of Walmart U.S. and Sharon Leite, CEO of Vitamin Shoppe. Get your ticket for the April 5 Ad Age Next: Retail event at AdAge.com/NextRetail. March 16 VSP Global, a nonprofit vision benefits company, hosts a program on deconstructing gender in products and marketing at South by Southwest. The session will explore how brands can abandon stereotypical gender norms and instead infuse an all-gender approach into their research, product development, marketing and communications. Ruth Yomtoubian, head of VSP’s Innovation Center, will lead the discussion. March 17 St. Patrick’s Day is expected to usher in an average spend of $42.33 per consumer this year, according to the National Retail Federation. Last month, Guinness ran an ad ahead of the holiday. Jameson is running a program called St. Patrick’s Days that encourages drinkers to celebrate two days, March 17th and March 18th, to make up for pandemic canellations in the past two holidays. It is giving away cash ($20.22) and breakfast via Uber Eats gift certificates in a sweepstakes open to people who make the two-day pledge. March Madness kicks into full gear with first-round games. Ad inventory is sold out, according to CBS and Turner. Read more: March Madness and influencer marketing—what brands should know March 18 “WeCrashed” debuts on Apple TV+. The streaming service says the miniseries, which is based on the podcast “WeCrashed: The Rise and Fall of WeWork,” is “inspired by actual events—and the love story at the center of it all.” Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway star. Watch the trailer here. Subscribe to Ad Age now for the latest industry news and analysis. March 19-20 AIGA, the association for design leaders, hosts a design leadership and advocacy conference from March 20 through 22. The event, which is in-person and virtual, will include sessions on how design can advance business goals.

Brands celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and March Madness begins: The Week Ahead

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