ADWEEK

Our SUPER BOWL issue is hereeee 🏈🏈🏈 Cast your mind back to 2006. Apple’s iPhone hadn’t been released yet, YouTube was new on the scene, and Facebook and MySpace were the largest social media platforms. Yet despite the nascent state of the social internet, Frito-Lay’s Doritos was ready to hand the reins of its #SuperBowl ad over to creators with its Crash the Super Bowl contest.    Now, after a hiatus, Crash the Super Bowl is BACK for Super Bowl 59, and creators have shaped the marketing of numerous brands. So what's the value of the contest in the creator era? Find out here: https://adweek.it/3CsnmKT Illustration by: Cesar Canseco Cover story by: Jason Notte

Dick's Sporting Goods is expanding a program called Dick’s Varsity Team, which will give young athletes a 10-month contract to create and share Instagram content that can be used on the retailer’s own channels. https://adweek.it/4hArsQE

Corporate bombast has gotten worse. https://adweek.it/4gGbanZ

#ADWEEKHouse | At ADWEEK’s most recent Group Chat, industry leaders from brands like Zappi, Spotify, Uber, MSC Cruises, and PepsiCo gathered to discuss the many creative and strategic elements that make #SuperBowl commercials memorable and effective—in the moment and for the long haul. Presented with Zappi Nataly Kelly, co-moderator and CMO at Zappi, started the group chat with strategic campaign planning in mind, focusing on how brands can assess ad effectiveness before launch. “Instead of one concept test, brands need iterative development—testing early and often, isolating key elements, and optimizing before launch,” Kelly said. She emphasized that understanding consumer reactions in real time helps brands refine their approach long before game day. As the discussion moved from testing to what consumers want from Super Bowl ads, Avery Akkineni, CMO at VaynerX, summed it up well, “Consumers want to be entertained. It’s the one time a year they’re not skipping ads. They’re watching with friends and family, and they want something memorable.” Read more about the session here: https://adweek.it/3QlcZfk Thank you for joining us: Julian Ahye - The Athletic - Head of Brand Partnerships Erin Albertson - NerdWallet - Brand Marketing Director Anthony Hutchinson - TMP Multi-Channel Wellness Corporation - Chief Executive Officer Hunter Johnson - Xpedition - Chief Executive Officer Keyana Kashfi - Spotify- Global Senior Director and Head of Experiential & Content Production Nataly Kelly - Zappi - Chief Marketing Officer Will Lee- ADWEEK - Chief Executive Officer Mark Kirkahm - PepsiCo North America - Senior Vice President Marketing, Pepsi & Sparkling Brands Elizabell Rivera Marquez - Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream - Chief Marketing Officer Laura Petruccelli - nice&frank - Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer Megan Ramm - Uber Advertising - Director, Americas Suzanne Salas - MSC Cruises USA - Executive Vice President, Marketing, eCommerce & Sales Melissa Coito - Zappi - Vice President, Product Marketing Avery Akkineni - VaynerX - Chief Marketing Officer

#ADWEEKHouse | The #SuperBowl, and its marketing blitz, comes but once a year. But its high-impact ads can offer insights into maximizing inclusivity, effectiveness, and efficiency all year. An all-star panel of industry leaders shared some of that intel at ADWEEK House. Presented with XR Extreme Reach Data and AI have become the most powerful tools to amplify both creative and strategy, Kevin Arrix, chief growth officer of XR Extreme Reach, told the audience. “If you’re trying to reach a specific audience, whether it’s African-American or Hispanic, you want your spot to reflect who you’re trying to reach,” he said. “You want your message to resonate with them and reach them at the moment they’re paying attention to you. There are more tools and data to maximize that now, whether it’s a Super Bowl ad or everyday marketing.” In sports advertising that targets women, that might translate into using real-time data to shift messaging, said Danielle Kushner Smith, VP of Wasserman’s women-focused consultancy The Collective. “In sports advertising, we went from telling women what they should be doing or feeling to using real-time data to include them in the conversation. It’s a simple tagline, two or three words, but changing the approach in real time has been monumental, and results have been astronomical.” Read more about the session here: https://adweek.it/4i03I88 Thanks for joining us: Kevin Arrix - XR Extreme Reach - Chief Growth Officer Nancy Gold - New Orleans Saints and New Orleans Pelicans - Vice President, Brand Strategy Anthony Hutchinson - TMP Multi-Channel Wellness Corporation - Chief Executive Officer Laura Jones - Instacart - Chief Marketing Officer Will Lee - ADWEEK - Chief Executive Officer Jan Liebchen - M&T Bank - Head of Brand Kellie Pean - Brand New - Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Danielle Kushner Smith - Wasserman - Vice President, The Collective Desiree Sanchis - Beliv - Vice President, Marketing

Earlier today, nonprofit She Runs It unveiled its 62nd annual Women of the Year, three executives who embody She Runs It’s mission and esprit de corps. https://adweek.it/3X0GxCG

Four local markets had more than 50% of the viewing audience tuned in to the Big Game. https://adweek.it/40Tmp6C

New for ADWEEK: The third season of The White Lotus returns on Sunday, and ahead of its premiere, I spoke with Pia Chaozon Barlow, evp, originals marketing, HBO and Max, about how the network marketed the show differently from previous seasons including using extensive partnerships and star power to reach audiences globally.

VOICE | "From his highly publicized rap spat with Drake to a surprise album drop, viral moments, and a Grammy sweep, Lamar’s last 12 months have been a master class in marketing and brand dominance," Christena Garduno has the story. https://adweek.it/4jW8XaO

WhatsApp will debut an experimental new feature on Friday, an exclusive group chat launched in partnership with the sports publisher OffBall. The trial product, called The Chat, will build off a preexisting WhatsApp feature called Communities, in which users participate in large group chats based on shared interests. https://adweek.it/4hW3Qpl