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Apple News+ Signs Up 200,000; Brands Remake ‘Game of Thones’; Justice Department Warns Oscars Over Netflix
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“Roma” director Alfonso Cuarón at the Oscars in February after collecting three trophies for the film and nearly scoring best picture. PHOTO: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
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First up, winning an Oscar is great marketing for a movie—or a streaming service, which explains why Netflix fired up a jaw-dropping campaign to nab statues for “Roma” this year. It’s also why the Department of Justice has warned the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that it could break the law if it limits the eligibility of Netflix and other streamers, Variety reports.
Stephen Spielberg has argued that primarily-streaming movies like “Roma” should contend for Emmys, not Oscars. Count “The New Mutants” on team DOJ, then—although the whole reason the “X-Men” spin-off is rumored to be going streaming-only is because it has problems. So what’s the movie business afraid of? Oh, right: Netflix.
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Orlando Apollos quarterback Garrett Gilbert is hit by Arizona Hotshots defensive end Olubunmi Rotimi during an Alliance of American Football game last month. PHOTO: STEPHEN M. DOWELL/ZUMA PRESS
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Advertisers were intrigued by the Alliance of American Football, the startup alternative (or “complement”) to the NFL that debuted in February, less than a week after the Super Bowl, with attractive ad prices and promises of new gambling-friendly features to rope in fans. They would certainly have been happy if it succeeded, given that live sports is about the only way to get many people to watch live TV commercials.
Now the intrigue is over. The AAF is suspending play before its first season is even out, beset by problems with its plan to “borrow” young NFL players, a lawsuit about who had the idea for the league, and insurance issues at a practice facility. Unless the call is reversed, CBS will not get a chance to air the first AAF championship on its broadcast network this month as planned. (The Orlando Apollos are now calling themselves de facto champs, with a league-leading 7-1 record.)
Still waiting in the tunnel for its shot at pro football money: Vince McMahon’s reincarnated XFL, scheduled to arrive next year.
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“I can say with a lot of confidence that they were deeply wrong.”
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— Former Google privacy engineer Yonatan Zunger speaking to Bloomberg about his idea to ban borderline videos from YouTube’s recommendation engine. YouTube rejected the idea.
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52%
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The share of Gen Z’s top 25 “most loved” brands that don’t appear in other generations’ top 25 picks at all, according to Morning Consult’s new “Most Loved Brands” report. Boomers are the next-most differentiated group, with 44% of their favorites nowhere to be found among the other groups’ picks.
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Mtn Dew remade the “Game of Thrones” theme song with Migos, the Chainsmokers and endorsers including NBA star Joel Embiid and pro skateboarder Mariah Duran. [Ad Age]
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Oreo remade the “Game of Thrones” opening animation with cookies. [The Drum]
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Walmart is introducing voice-powered shopping and checkout via Google Assistant as marketers’ fight for the “invisible shelf” grows. [Ars Technica]
More than 200,000 people subscribed to Apple News+, Apple’s new media bundle (disclosure: including The Wall Street Journal), in its first two days. [NYT]
Separately, Apple released a three-minute ad that riffs on an actual Apple patent for round pizza boxes. [YouTube]
Sears defended its lavish loyalty program, arguably the most generous in the business, as a way for the troubled retailer to get data on shoppers. [WSJ]
The North Face and designer Christopher Raeburn are recycling old tents into bags, but they’re not cheap: A “Raeburn Bag” goes for $175. [Fast Company]
The FTC cautioned eight companies over ads that it said failed to distinguish between diamonds from mines and diamonds from the lab. [Reuters]
Taco Bell will start testing a vegetarian menu on Thursday. [Skift Table]
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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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