This week's marketing winners, losers and newsmakers.

Winners

JP Morgan Chase: The company was one of several big banks that reaped the benefits of Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse last week. Chase saw scores of customers apply to shift their accounts to its brand. Chase was also specifically named in an email to customers from toy retailer Camp, after the chain found its assets locked up with SVB’s collapse. “All sales from this point forward will deposit into Chase,” the email read.

Oscars: The Academy Awards made a comeback this year as viewership increased 12% from last year, to 18.7 million. The figure was the highest since 2020, according to broadcaster Walt Disney Co.’s ABC network. While no one got slapped, the ceremony still showcased many firsts, including Michelle Yeoh becoming the first Asian to win best actress for her performance in “Everything, Everywhere All At Once.”

Dollar General: The discount retailer appears to be cashing in on the cost-conscious consumer. Dollar General posted earnings that topped analyst expectations. Net sales for the fourth quarter were up 17.9% over the year-earlier period, to $10.2 billion. Net income, at $659.1 million for the period, increased by 10.3%. Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail, summed it up in a research report: “The ill wind of inflation continues to blow more customers and spending to Dollar General, as is evidenced by its solid final quarter numbers.”

Losers

The Wall Street Journal: The newspaper came under fire this week for publishing an opinion piece from columnist Andy Kessler in which he insinuated that one of the reasons Silicon Valley Bank failed may have been because it had a diverse board. “In its proxy statement, SVB notes that besides 91% of their board being independent and 45% women, they also have “1 Black,” “1 LGBTQ+” and “2 Veterans.” I’m not saying 12 white men would have avoided this mess, but the company may have been distracted by diversity demands,” read the piece, headlined “Who Killed Silicon Valley Bank.” Outrage was swift and scathing.

Epic Games: The maker of Fortnite was ordered to pay $245 million by the Federal Trade Commission to consumers over charges that it tricked players into making purchases. Many of these unwanted purchases were made by children without parental consent.

Eli Lilly: The drug company lost a bid to exclude a diversity, equity and inclusion shareholder resolution from its proxy statement. The Securities and Exchange Commission denied Eli Lilly’s request to omit the report. Shareholder advocacy group As You Sow had asked the company to report on its DE&I efforts, including hiring and retention metrics by gender, race and ethnicity. 

Tweet of the week

Number of the week

72: Attention score of a 15-second cinema ad, compared to an attention score between 15 and 17 for linear and connected TV and between 11 and 12 for social platforms, according to research commissioned by National CineMedia from attention measurement firm Lumen Research, in collaboration with Dentsu.

Quote of the week

“There wasn’t some master plan. We didn’t make any decks. Didn’t ask anyone’s permission. It was just an idea we liked and we thought other people would like it, too, so we made it real. That’s why Cocaine Bear captured the world’s heart. He’s a gift. He’s magic. Any brand that wants the kind of fans that Cocaine Bear has should consider that the next time they’re writing a brief.” —Coleman Larkin, a senior copywriter at Cornett and one of the architects behind the original Cocaine Bear story.

On the move

The Home Depot promoted William “Billy” Bastek to executive VP of merchandise. He had been senior VP of hardlines. 

Reddit hired Sarah Rosen as head of U.S. content partnerships. A former Ad Age 40 Under 40 honoree, Rosen had been senior director and head of North America content partnerships at Twitter.

Albertsons Media Collective promoted Claire Wyatt to VP of business strategy and marketing science from senior director of business strategy and marketing science. Evan Hovorka was promoted to VP of product and innovation from head of product and innovation. Sravanthi Muppidi was promoted to VP of engineering from senior director of engineering.

TalkShopLive, a live commerce platform, hired Alan Citron as director of strategy and enterprise partnerships, a newly created position. He had been executive VP of Red Carpet Home Cinema. 

Form Nutrition, a plant-based supplements brand, announced it has retained actor Orlando Bloom as chief wellness officer.