Marketing winners and losers of the week

This week’s marketing winners, losers and newsmakers. Ad Age Small Agency Awards Showcase your agency’s creativity, business success and commitment to a thriving workplace. Enter today Winners Frontier Airlines The budget carrier is trying to take advantage of the backlash competitor Southwest Airlines received last week with its own offer. Early this week, Frontier posted an ad on Instagram promoting free bags and seating assignments for certain flights beginning May 28. The promotion comes after Southwest did away with its popular free baggage policy, and saw heavy criticism as a result. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Frontier Airlines (@flyfrontier) Wayfair The home goods retailer announced it will open a second large-format store after the success of its first. Wayfair plans to open a 150,000-square-foot location in Atlanta next year. Wayfair opened its first large store outside Chicago last May, and has seen substantial interest and growth, including bus tours from other states, as a result, according to remarks made by a brand executive to Retail Dive. McDonald’s The fast feeder tops a report on restaurant chains by Gen Z research firm Dcdx that measures “brand magnetism,” defined as how much and how often people talk about a brand online measured by the amount of organic user-generated social media content made about a brand. The Golden Arches scored 89.38 out of 100, followed by Wingstop (87.5), Starbucks (87.13), Chipotle (86.84), Taco Bell (86.05), Crumbl Cookies (85.59), Raising Cane’s (85.11), KFC (83.73), Chick-fil-A (83.59) and Subway (83.20). McDonald’s will probably get another boost from its recently launched Minecraft campaign. Losers Forever 21 It’s the end of the line for the fast-fashion chain, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and plans to close down its U.S. business as part of the reorganization. This is the second time in five years that Forever 21 has gone bankrupt. The chain cited competition from overseas rivals, which now include the likes of Shein and Temu. See all of Ad Age’s 2025 Agency A-List winners here Nestlé The food company is recalling certain meals from its Lean Cuisine and Stouffer’s brands in the U.S. Nestlé said the products contain a “wood-like material.” Meals include Lean Cuisine Butternut Squash Ravioli, Spinach Artichoke Ravioli and Lemon Garlic Shrimp Stir Fry and Stouffer's Party Size Chicken Lasagna. The recall was tied to one potential choking incident. Nestlé is also facing consumer boycotts beginning Friday for rolling back DEI initiatives, which follow similar pressures for Target and Amazon. General Mills The company lowered its sales forecast for the current year amid muted consumer demand for snack foods. Previously, General Mills expected year-over-year sales at the lower end of a flat up 1% range; the Minneapolis-based company now anticipates a decline between 1.5% and 2%. Its fiscal year ends in late May. Quote of the week “It’s definitely an identifier that they’re part of the Glossier community. People are like, ‘We met in line, I saw her sticker and now we’re best friends and meet at the store once a month.’” —Kleona Mack, chief marketing officer of Glossier, on how branded stickers are resonating with customers. Read more: Gen Z loves brand swag—how marketers are using stickers, tote bags and more to drive loyalty Social post of the week @duolingo Mark P. has no idea what his innie does all day. #severance #severancetheories #severanceseason2 ♬ original sound - Duolingo Number of the week 95 Percentage of women shown in stereotypical domestic or family settings in U.S. social media ads last year, an uptick from 69% in 2023, according to new research on the topic from CreativeX, a measurement platform. The Gender in Advertising report found that globally, 71% of women in social media ads were portrayed in domestic settings, up from 67% the year earlier. On the move Deloitte expanded the responsibilities of Scott Mager, who is chief marketing officer of Deloitte Consulting, to include Deloitte U.S. CMO. The previous U.S. CMO, Suzanne Kounkel, was promoted to Deloitte Global CMO. Bill Renspie, chief customer officer for Constellation Brands’ beer division, abruptly stepped down March 19 in what the company described as a mutual agreement. Renspie had been with Constellation since 2002. Contributing: Erika Wheless, Jon Springer Become an All Access subscriber Get access to exclusive resources including Leading National Advertisers, World’s Largest Advertisers, Agency Report, Agency Review Tracker and TV Pricing Report. Click here

Marketing winners and losers of the week

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