This week’s winners, losers and newsmakers.

Winners

Budweiser: When the World Cup winner is crowned Sunday, they will get more than the adoration of fans—they will have delivered free beer to their home country, thanks to Budweiser. The Anheuser-Busch InBev brand has made the best of a bad situation, hustling together a “Bring Home the Bud” campaign in response to a last-minute ruling by organizers of the Qatar-hosted cup to ban beer sales in and near stadiums. The New York Times has more on how Bud has responded, in a story titled, “Pouring Through a Crisis: How Budweiser Salvaged Its World Cup.” Bud’s lead global agency, Wieden+Kennedy, has been involved in the effort.

“White Lotus”: The second season of the HBO hit concluded with a bang—actually, several—on Sunday night that resulted in not only the deaths of several characters but also a record high for the series. “White Lotus,” which was created by Mike White during the pandemic, attracted 4.1 million viewers across platforms for the Italy-based series finale, a 46% increase over the penultimate episode the week prior, and more than double the 1.9 million who tuned in for the season 1 finale in August of last year, according to Hollywood Reporter. Arrivederci!

Samsung: The electronics brand tops the list of most likeable holiday ads this year, according to a recent ranking from iSpot. Samsung’s whimsical TV spot shows a young girl and boy sharing some holiday cheer via mobile phone as their buildings grow ever closer.

Losers

Ghost: The maker of energy drinks, dietary supplements and sports nutrition products for adults must defend itself from allegations that it is “unfairly and deceptively marketing” the products to children in violation of Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Food and Drug Administration laws. The complaint comes from ad watchdog group TINA.org and the UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy & Health. They cite Ghost’s use of candy brand names for flavors and packaging, including Swedish Fish, Bubblicious, Sour Patch Kids and Warheads.

Ghost in a statement said it has "an unyielding Responsible Marketing Code of Conduct Policy that strictly prohibits marketing to kids under 18 years old and sets stringent guidelines to ensure adherence. Ghost takes this matter very seriously and we are continuously and thoroughly evaluating our packaging, content, and marketing materials to reflect and uphold our Code of Conduct." 

Influencers: The industry took a hit this week when eight influencers were charged with a stock-manipulation scheme. The influencers are targeted in civil and criminal complaints, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, for allegedly encouraging their followers to “buy certain stocks they had purchased without sharing their intent to dump them after share prices or trading volumes climbed.” Per the Journal’s report, they include: Perry Matlock, known as “PJ Matlock;” Edward Constantin, known as “MrZackMorris;” Thomas Cooperman, known as “Tommy Coops;” Gary Deel, known as “Mystic Mac;” Mitchell Hennessey, known as “Hugh Henne;” Stefan Hrvatin, known as “LadeBackk’” and John Rybarczyk, known as “Ultra Calls” and “The Stock Sniper.” 

State Farm: The insurer was sued for racial bias in a lawsuit that used nine months of data to try to prove its claims, according to an explosive New York Times report. The lawsuit alleges that State Farm discriminates against Black customers when paying out insurance claims. A State Farm media specialist said the company takes the filing seriously. "This suit does not reflect the values we hold at State Farm," she said. "State Farm is committed to a diverse and inclusive environment, where all customers and associates are treated with fairness, respect, and dignity. We are dedicated to paying what we owe, promptly and courteously.” 

Tweet of the week

Number of the week

61%: Percentage of consumers who plan to buy desserts or sweets for Christmas this year, according to market research firm Numerator.

Quote of the week

“This is about putting out to the industry that, as a whole, we are not seeing representation at the level that we hear it being discussed. We all know that marketers do wield enormous power in affecting sort of the cultural norms and how certainly children at a young age begin to create a sense of what people do from the people and situations that they see in advertising.” –Melinda McLaughlin, chief marketing officer of Extreme Reach, regarding a study showing that far fewer actors of color appeared in ads in 2022 than in 2021.

On the move

Johnnie-O, a menswear brand, hired Norma Delaney as its first chief marketing officer. She was most recently VP of global brand marketing at footwear brand Hoka.

Grabango, a checkout-free tech company, hired Ken Fenyo as its first CMO. He was most recently president of research and advisory at Coresight Research, a retail-focused research company.

Elevate Outdoor Collective, a group of winter sports brands, hired Jon Roy as CMO. He was most recently VP of global energy brand marketing and collaborations at Converse.

McAfee Corp., the online protection company, appointed Deirdre Findlay as senior VP and CMO. Findlay, honored as one of Ad Age’s Leading Women in 2019, was most recently global CMO and head of consumer revenue at Condé Nast.

Influencer marketing platform Captiv8 has hired Meridith Rojas as chief brand officer. She had been global head of entertainment and creator marketing at Logitech and is credited with spearheading talent deals including with Lil Nas X for a 2021 Super Bowl ad.