Daily News Roundup

Google just can’t seem to win with its Gemini ads. Plus, what’s the deal with Roblox’s nascent ad business? 

Meta quietly launched a product and loudly updated another. Plus, DeepSee.io’s naming and shaming which sellers it found monetizing stolen content.

Google’s AI search drops click-through rates for organic search results to 0.4%; Trump’s China tariffs put the squeeze on Temu; and how other brands could pull back ad spend due to tariffs.

Publicis looks to capitalize on potential fallout from the Omnicom/IPG merger; Google Cloud is seeing an influx of ad sales talent; and Spotify advises investors to be patient with its growing programmatic ads biz.

Paramount and Nielsen have ended their measurement standoff. Plus, a new survey says digital ads now cost more and convert less.

Coinbase has acquired a blockchain-based advertising and attribution startup. Plus, is brand safety on social media a myth?

Fiat is taking luxury car-branded apartment complexes to the next level. Plus, the new FCC Chair is launching an investigation into NPR and PBS.

Google’s open-source MMM product goes live; Amazon Prime Video’s ad biz turns one; and teens don’t trust Big Tech and have doubts about AI.

The IAB predicts what privacy laws might be passed by the new congress; AI-generated newsletters are competing with local news; and the IAB Tech Lab ramps up production of new OpenRTB specs.

Things aren’t going well for Hollywood. Plus, Nielsen is finally ripping off the Band-Aid.

At long last, brands on Threads can buy ads. Plus, Meta is also trying to copy-and-paste an alternative to CapCut.

Kimberly-Clark didn’t hire a new CMO, and it doesn’t intend to. Plus, now airport bookstores are also ad networks.

P&G pumps the brakes on paid media and turns to product innovation to drive growth; with TikTok’s fate unclear, Snap and Reddit offer credits for new advertisers; and brands are following news audiences and journalists to Substack.

Google asserts its position in the CTV ad ecosystem. Also: a change to its search ads biz may be inflating advertising costs for charities.

Retail media might not ruin retail, but the strikes are adding up. Plus, TikTok throws its support behind Trump.

AI-generated slop content is growing exponentially online. Plus, publishers and new organizations are strategizing for a post-TikTok future. 
 

AI chatbots entice users into subscriptions with free trials; non-pornographic content creators are raking in ad bucks on PornHub; and the US TikTok ban has Americans flocking to other China-based apps.

Mohegan and LiveRamp partner on a “casino media network;” Criteo hires its new CEO from the agency side; and Publicis Groupe consolidates

Would the internet be a better place if it weren’t run by billionaires? Plus, more brands are cutting out the ad tech middlemen.

Nobody is acting like TikTok will actually be scrapped from American smartphones. Plus, Venu Sports got benched – for good.

Amazon Ads has a new product called Amazon Retail Ad Service – which is notable because it licenses Amazon ad tech to other retailers. 

Two startups team up to help brands target TV viewers based on what – and where – they buy. Meanwhile, TikTok remains in will-they-won’t-they purgatory.

Broadcasters, streamers and video currencies are making a lot of noise at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week.

During CES, Comcast debuted a plan to expand its reach among small business and regional advertisers with a new offering called Universal Ads.

Meta recently revisited its goal to create AI-generated “characters” — which backfired. Plus, Apple’s trying to avoid a class-action lawsuit.

Dealmaking and AI (and blackjack) are top of mind for those heading to CES. Plus, don’t expect brands to reengage with hard news in 2025.

Trap More Flies With Honey Honey, a free browser extension that automatically finds and applies discount codes, is being accused of defrauding its users and the online content creators who championed it. That’s according to a YouTube tech investigator who goes by MegaLag. He alleges that the PayPal-owned Honey effectively steals the credit for online […]

Google plans to create an “AI Mode” for its web search engine users. Plus, the social media vultures now circling the air above TikTok.

Publisher C-suite drama has been making headlines recently. Plus, there are now 27 different active lawsuits against various AI content generation companies.

Sports betting comes under fire over dubious ad claims and problematic targeting; Forbes says Google’s SEO crackdown on affiliate marketing caused it to cut freelancers; and SCOTUS takes on the TikTok case.