This week’s marketing winners, losers and newsmakers.

Winners

Volleyball: The Pro Volleyball Federation, a new women’s pro volleyball league that will begin play in January 2024, announced an agreement with CBS Sports in a media rights package that calls for a minimum of 10 matches to be aired in 2024, plus the semifinals and championship match. It is the latest sign of a major bump in interest in the sport in the U.S. ESPN last month reported that the 2023 women’s college volleyball season was the most-watched ever on its platforms. “Volleyball is having a moment in America, thanks to increasing media coverage and high participation among younger demographics,” Sportico recently reported.

More: Inside women’s sports marketing and brand interest

Guinness: By now, viewers have seen countless holiday campaigns. But few have been more creative than Guinness, which this week with AMV BBDO introduced winter boots that leave footprints that resemble pints of the Irish stout.

Read more: Guinness winter boots leave pint marks in the snow

Ritz: How does a cracker brand get a headline in Vanity Fair? When it is spotted in the hands of a major celeb. Mondelēz-owned Ritz recently enjoyed that love when the magazine wrote a story entitled “Olivia Rodrigo and Her Sleeve of Ritz Crackers Spotted Kissing Louis Partridge at a Gas Station.” Of course, Ritz jumped on it on social media:

Losers

Quaker: The food giant issued a recall of more than 40 of its popular snacking items, including Quaker Big Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars, Quaker Chewy Mini Dipps Summer Night S'mores and Quaker Simply Granola Oats, Honey & Almonds Cereal. The recalled foods have possibly been contaminated with salmonella, the PepsiCo-owned brand said, adding that “to date, Quaker has received no confirmed reports of illness related to the products covered by this recall.”

VF Corp.: The parent of The North Face and Vans said its business has been disrupted by cyber attacks. The operational disruptions are impacting the clothier’s ability to ship goods before Christmas, VF stated in a regulatory filing. In some cases, brands cannot fulfill the orders made, despite having inventory in stock. The company said the attacks could have a “material impact” on its business.

Apple: Following a U.S. International Trade Commission import ban and patent dispute on a blood oxygen monitoring sensor, Apple announced it would stop sales of two new versions of its Apple Watch in the U.S. The move includes the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, the current models, and not Apple’s less expensive Apple Watch SE, which lacks the blood oxygen sensor of the higher-end products. Cnet reported that “the last time for the pickup and delivery of online orders, as well as in-store sales, will be the end of the day on Dec. 24.”

Social post of the week

Number of the week

100: Number of The Container Store outposts, following the opening of a location in Princeton, New Jersey this month, the sixth small-format store the retailer has opened as it pursues its strategy of “high productivity” for brick and mortar.

Quote of the week

“The 2026 FIFA World Cup could be the phenomenon that finally supercharges the multicultural markets.”—PQ Media CEO and founder Patrick Quinn on how the soccer tournament will influence ad spending.

Read more: US multicultural media spend expected to surge

On the move

Vuori hired Karen Riley-Grant as chief marketing officer, effective Jan. 22. She had most recently been CMO of Levi Strauss & Co.

For more comings and goings, including recent CMO changes by Etsy and Walgreens, bookmark Ad Age’s Executive Moves page.