This week's marketing winners, losers and newsmakers.

Winners

Band-Aid: The Johnson & Johnson-owned brand tops Morning Consult’s “Most Trusted Brands 2022” report for the U.S., which is based on consumer research and surveys. “Band-Aid’s value for price helps it earn and keep trust among U.S. consumers, even if its price point is slightly higher than that of generic brand competitors,” according to the report. The remaining list, in order: Lysol, Clorox, UPS, CVS, Visa, Cheerios, The Weather Channel, Colgate and The Home Depot.

Applebee’s: The dining chain took home one of the most coveted marketing awards of the year—the Grand Effie—for its “Fancy Like” campaign that starred pop country singer Walker Hayes and went viral on TikTok. The Grand Effie recognizes the most effective marketing campaign in the past year. “It was clear that the team was following the lead of culture versus trying to create it, which made it feel organic and authentic,” said Kate Charles, chief strategy officer and managing partner at Oberland and 2022 Effie US Grand judge.

Read the full Applebee’s story here

Seinfeld nostalgia: Pretzel brand Snyder’s of Hanover tapped into a marketing trend that never seems to get old–and we’re okay with that. The snack food brand revealed a campaign starring Phil Morris reprising his role as “Seinfeld" character Jackie Chiles, the attorney who represented Kramer on the popular 90s sitcom.

Losers

Martin’s Famous Pastry Shoppe: Barbecue season might look a little different this year. Martin’s, the potato roll purveyor reportedly used at restaurants such as Shake Shack and the Hard Rock Cafe, is being boycotted by some consumers following the revelation that the family-owned brand has financially backed Doug Mastriano, a Republican nominee for governor of Martin’s native Pennsylvania. A Trump supporter, Mastriano has tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in his state. Yet Martin’s loss might be a bun rival’s gain—some have pointed to King’s Hawaiian, a sweet roll brand, as a potential filler of the burger bun void.

Real estate marketers: It was a tough week for real estate as mortgage interest rates rose to 6%, prompting more concern for homebuyers. The news got worse when two major real estate brokerages—Compass and Redfin—both announced massive layoffs. Compass said it is cutting 450 employees, or 10% of staff, and Redfin will cut 470, according to TechCrunch. 

343 Industries: The developer of the popular “Halo” video game apologized this week after a game update included a racist Juneteenth game feature. A black, red and green striped nameplate with yellow birds meant to honor the Pan-African flag was reportedly released under the ape species name “Bonobo,” prompting immediate backlash. Despite the company apology, it was not clear whether the employees responsible for linking the offensive term with a Juneteenth celebration were held accountable. The Miami Herald has more.

Tweet of the week

Number of the week

$5 trillion: Amount expected to be spent on the metaverse in 2030, according to a McKinsey & Co. report.

Quote of the week

"I'm used to asset classes, like a farm where they have output, or like a company where they make products."—Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates criticizing NFTs and cryptocurrencies at a TechCrunch conference this week. He also slammed the digital assets as being "100% based on greater fool theory," according to CNN.

On the move

J.P. Morgan Wealth Management named Paul Halpern as chief marketing officer, effective in September. He was most recently head of deposits and cash management for private banking at Morgan Stanley.

Ferrari named Carla Liuni as its chief brand officer. The former Procter & Gamble exec was most recently chief marketing officer at jewelry marketer Pandora. Automotive News has more.

Viamedia, an independent cross-media advertising company, promoted Rick Tarvin to chief revenue officer from executive VP, sales.

Commando, a shapewear brand, named Lori Wagner chief marketing officer. She had been CEO of the Nantucket Project, a digital media and live event firm.

Sharebite, a food ordering and management platform for the workplace, hired Stephanie Bohn as chief marketing officer. She was global chief brand officer and chief marketing officer at VidMob.