After shuttering in 2019, MoviePass is back, baby.
This week's marketing winners, losers and newsmakers.
MoviePass: Like a zombie in a horror movie, MoviePass is back from the grave. After shutting down in 2019, the theater subscription service has returned to offer a new $10-per-month plan for customers. That offering includes one to three movies each month. Popcorn and candy cost extra.
Commerce jobs: Jobs in commerce are one of the ad industry’s hottest—and best paying—gigs right now. A recent Ad Age analysis found that much of the momentum is coming from new and growing categories, such as retail media and social shopping. Marketers are pressured to make the shopper journey friction-free and they’re tapping more commerce experts to make it happen.
Related: Introducing the Advertising Job Salary guide
American Honda Motor Co.: The automaker’s sales surged 58% last month, spurred by Accord (up 81%), Civic (up 98%) and CR-V (up 95%), reports Automotive News.
Amazon: The e-commerce giant had quite a Wednesday. The Federal Trade Commission said that Ring, the home security company purchased by Amazon in 2018, had compromised its customers’ privacy—Ring contractors and employees were able to see home security videos. The FTC proposed a new order requiring Ring to delete such camera data. Also on Wednesday, the FTC, along with the Department of Justice, charged Amazon with violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act rule regarding its data storage of child recordings. The FTC and DOJ proposed a federal court order mandating that Amazon delete inactive child accounts and recordings. Wednesday was also the day hundreds of Amazon workers staged a walkout in protest of a back-to-the-office mandate and the company’s impact on climate.
ZipRecruiter: The job hunting site said it was slashing 20% of staff, or 270 employees, amid an overall softening in job postings by prospective employers. The recruiter is one of a host of tech companies that are making cuts; the list includes Meta, Amazon and Roku.
Diageo: The spirits company was sued by Sean “Diddy” Combs, who alleged Diageo did not deliver on its promises regarding his vodka and tequila labels, which include Ciroc and DeLeon. The lawsuit, which was filed in New York Supreme Court in Manhattan on Wednesday, alleged Diageo gave more attention to other celebrity brands such as George Clooney’s Casamigos tequila because Combs is Black. “This is a business dispute, and we are saddened that Mr. Combs has chosen to recast this matter as anything other than that,” the company said in a statement, as reported by USA Today.
$22.9 billion: The amount consumers are expected to spend for Father’s Day this year, an increase from last year’s $20 billion, according to an annual survey from the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics.
“Pride is, by definition, a protest. If you are running a marketing campaign for your company involving the rainbow flag, that is declaring that you will protect the LGBTQ+ community—that you want to fight not just against bigotry but all forms of oppression that affect the LGBTQ+ community, whether police brutality, homelessness, or the mental health crisis in this country.” —Eric Cervini, a Pulitzer Prize finalist and LGBTQ+ historian, on how brands should be thinking about Pride Month marketing amid the current anti-LGBTQ+ environment.
BET Media Group hired Jerry Leo as executive VP of programming strategy, a new role. He had been chief content officer at Canela Media.
Public Label, a marketing agency, hired Bruce DeFrees as executive creative director. He was most recently executive creative director at E&J Gallo Winery.
Converse named Jared Carver CEO and president, a promotion from VP and general manager of the Nike-owned brand.
