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Miller Revives the Bud Knight; Facebook Un-Targets Sensitive Ads; ‘Jen’ Stunt Targets Pregnant Moms
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PHOTO: STEPHANIE AARONSON/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
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Calling all fans of creepy advertising that probably works (we know you're out there): Rebecca Kinney, a pregnant 24-year-old from Spokane, Washington, recently got a greeting card in the mail with about $200 in gift cards for baby products. “So excited for you! Hope you like these,” said the note, which completed its handwritten affect with a strategic smudge. It was signed with a heart, and “Jen.”
Obviously, this being 2019, “Jen” wasn’t anybody Rebecca knew—she’s part of an elaborate marketing program aimed at mothers-to-be, Suzanne Vranica reports for The Journal. Recipients were on a list of expectant mothers acquired by Utah-based Mothers Lounge from sources in the marketing world, according to Jayson Crawley, a local law-enforcement official in Virginia who investigated the matter.
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PHOTO: MILLERCOORS
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Miller Lite’s latest ad assault on Bud Light picks up seconds after its larger rival’s biggest Super Bowl ad ended, imagining what happens after the commercial stops shooting: The actors, even the guy playing the Bud Knight, pop cans of Miller Lite.
But the ad and another like it are not, repeat not, related to the corn syrup spat that’s been souring beer marketing, according to Anup Shah, vice president for the Miller Family of Brands at MillerCoors. They continue a strategy since 2016 to argue that Miller Lite has more taste than Bud Light, he said, adding that they jump off from the “Dilly Dilly” campaign just to draw a contrast between fantasy and real life. “We’re using their campaign as a foil,” Mr. Shah said.
In another sign that this battle will never end, however, Bud Light was ready with a prerecorded riposte, shot in anticipation of an attack. “Miller, Miller, Miller...” the “Dilly Dilly” king says at its start.
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PHOTO: RICHARD DREW/ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Facebook is removing age, gender and ZIP Code targeting for housing, employment and credit-related ads. Geographic targets, for example, will have a minimum 15-mile radius from any specific address or city center, according to Facebook. And the “Lookalike Audience” tool, which lets advertisers try to find Facebook users who resemble the customers they already know, won’t incorporate factors such as age, religious views or Facebook Group membership when targeting these ads.
The new actions—and just under $5 million in payments—settle five discrimination lawsuits filed by the National Fair Housing Alliance, the Communications Workers of America and others.
Facebook has faced pressure on targeting around such ads for years, sparked by a 2016 report from ProPublica, which said it had been able to buy ads targeted to house hunters that excluded certain groups based on ethnicity.
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Google introduced its streaming gaming service, called Stadia, and a new game controller designed to deliver console-like play on a computer or smartphone. [Bloomberg]
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Walt Disney Co. closed its $71.3 billion acquisition of the major entertainment assets of 21st Century Fox, as media companies bulk up to compete in a streaming-media world. [WSJ]
CBS is asking $1.2 million to $1.5 million for 30 seconds of ad time in the finale of “The Big Bang Theory,” five to six times more than usual. [Variety]
Google will ask Android smartphone users in Europe whether they want to switch to competing search engines or web browsers, one of two new concessions as it tries to stave off complaints—and potential fines—from EU antitrust regulators. [WSJ]
The U.K.’s culture secretary said the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation, an advisory body. will examine the use of “microtargeting” in online advertising. [The Times of London]
Music publishers representing the songwriters of hits from Justin Timberlake, Gwen Stefani, Drake, Lady Gaga and others sued Peloton, alleging that the marketer of video-streaming stationary exercise bikes generated sales partly by packaging in over 1,000 musical works without permission. [WSJ]
Sales teams still sometimes turn in “embarrassingly overinflated” forecasts, but there’s hope. [Harvard Business Review]
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We bring you the most important (and intriguing) marketing news every day. Write me at nat.ives@wsj.com any time with feedback on the newsletter or comments on specific items. We want to hear from you.
And follow the CMO Today team on Twitter: @wsjCMO, @natives, @alexbruell.
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