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In a move that seems to have come as a outrage to just about everyone, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos announced on Tuesday he was stepping down as CEO, entrust the controls to Andy Jassy, the head of Amazon Web Service.
As Ad Age’s Garett Sloane reports, the influence modify came as the company reported blockbuster fourth-quarter earnings: It made $125.6 billion in marketings in the fourth quarter of last year, developing 44% year-over-year as it benefited from the spate in online retail in the pandemic.
Bezos will become executive chairman of the board of directors. As Sloane points out, despite leading the online retailer to astonishing success, he has also become “a lightning rod for parties and political leaders concerned about wealth disparities in the U.S.” There have also been questions about his leader; on Tuesday, one of those issues came to daybreak when Amazon agreed to pay a $61.7 million penalty to the Federal Trade Commission.
“Right now, I receive Amazon at its most resourceful ever, obliging it an optimal time for this transition, ” Bezos said in the bulletin. Or maybe, as large-scale tech comes under closer investigation than ever, it’s an optimal time to take a back seat.
The Super Bowl juggernaut continues
Yesterday was another big epoch for Super Bowl ads and teasers, including one for the aforementioned Amazon, which revealed its full-length spot . Created by Lucky Generals and peculiarity actor Michael B. Jordan embodying Alexa in the fictions of a female director, it’s sure to go down well with the Big Game’s female viewers.
Celebrities bristled in other Super Bowl ads disclosed yesterday: Matthew McConaugheygoes from flat to puffy in the ad for Doritos 3D Crunch; Scotts Miracle-Gro would indicate that Martha Stewart and John Travolta exerted their backyards during the course of its pandemic; and Dolly Parton puts a brand-new twisting to her classic “9 to 5” song for Squarespace. Lil Nas X is back in the game after last year’s Doritos ad, this time for Logitech. And Nick Jonas( who has Type 1 diabetes) will perform in a Super Bowl commercial for Dexcom, a glucose monitoring work for diabetes control. See all the Super Bowl ads so far here.
Stayed chanted for slew more blots coming today. And watch Ad Age’s recent volume of Remotely at 10.30 AM ET to get the inside scoop on online hassles place Indeed’s Super Bowl proposes, as Jeanine Poggi is joined by its VP, world-wide label marketing, Jennifer Warren.
Behind the stages with Cheetos
One of the highest profile celebrity pairings of the Super Bowl still further is married couple Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher, who appear in the Cheetos commercialalongside Shaggy in an update of his cheaters’ anthem “It Wasn’t Me.” And Ad Age came exclusive access to the shoot, via Zoom, for a behind-the-scenes look at how they pulled it off.
Jessica Wohl’s special Anatomy of an Adreport includes interviews with the stars, along with director Bryan Buckley, Goodby Silverstein Chief Creative Officer Margaret Johnson and the client, Marissa Solis, senior VP of portfolio market, Frito-Lay North America. They touch on the COVID-secure shoot, the importance of spawning people jest at a “heavy” time–and why snacks ever taste better when they belong to someone else.
Publicis boosted by’ resilient’ U.S .
A’ resilient’ performance at Publicis Groupe’s U.S. arm facilitated boost its results for the last quarter of 2020, despite its overall growing for the full time having been affected by the pandemic. It has reported broadly flat net receipt for 2020, down 0.9% for 2020 at 9.71 billion euros ($ 11.68 billion) and organic growing down 6.3%. Nonetheless, there is a marked contrast between the effectiveness and efficiency in the U.S ., where organic raise showed a slight uptick in the final quarter, compared with Europe, where it continued to fall.
Meanwhile, in a increase for hire morale, Publicis also said it would refund in full the salary cuts taken by 6,000 employees earlier in the pandemic, in a decision signed off by the board yesterday morning.
Just briefly
Awards deadline: There’s still time to enter the 2021 Ad Age -AList and Creativity Awards under regular pricing, which expires tonight at 11:59 p.m. EST. After that, the price goes up by $150 until the final deadline March 2. Ad Age -AList winners will be announced in our May 24, 2021 matter. A shortlist of Creativity finalists will be also released in May, with winner edicts following in June 2021.
Holiday improves Google: Google parent Alphabet has reportedquarterly auctions that beat Wall st. estimates, buoyed by ponderous digital push expend during the holiday browse quarter. Shares rushed about 7% in extended trading.
PlayStation upturns: Sony carried 4.5 million PlayStation 5 components worldwide in 2020, reportsThe Verge, and its overall gaming business performed much better than a year ago as people turned to videogames during the pandemic.
‘Night of Lowemance’: Home improvement retailer Lowe’s, better knows we its hammers, sheetrock and gardening implements, wants to be a romance destination this Feb. 14, writesAd Age’s Adrianne Pasquarelli. It’s offering duos across the country a chance at a special dinner, toast and splash painting session in hand-picked collects in awareness-raising campaigns announced “Night of Lowemance.”
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