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Instagram brought in more money than YouTube in 2019
There's little doubt that Instagram is important to Facebook's bottom line, but how big is it, really? It might be larger than you think. Bloomberg sources say Instagram racked up $20 billion in ad revenue in 2019, handily eclipsing YouTube's $15.1 billion -- yes, the most popular video site on the planet wasn't as lucrative as a photo-focused social network. Instagram unsurprisingly played an important role in Facebook's finances, accounting for more than a quarter of the tech firm's ad money from last year.
KFC slips ads into Spotify Premium through artist profiles
You might not avoid ads in Spotify just because you pay for a Premium account. KFC Middle East and the ad agency Memac Ogilvy recently ran a promo campaign for the Kentucky Burger by taking over the profiles of artists Flipperachi, Moh Flow and Shébani. Their photos, bios, event calendars and even their playlists all pitched the chicken burger whether you cared for it or not.
Apple wants to remind you Arcade exists
Apple was a no-show in the flurry of Super Bowl ads, but it made its presence felt seemingly everywhere else. The tech giant launched a full-on ad blitz for Apple Arcade shortly before the football extravaganza got underway, including a takeover of its home page where game characters invaded the usual product promos -- you probably weren't expecting Sonic to ever race around a MacBook Pro. There were a number of straight-up commercials, too, such as a TV spot showing all the ways you could play (including in the grips of a sewer monster) and a mock livestream from Oceanhorn 2's hero.
Jeep's Super Bowl ad teases a powerful off-road electric bicycle
Companies are tripping over themselves to hawk electric vehicles at the Super Bowl, but they aren't all cars. Jeep has posted a Super Bowl ad that's primarily meant to pitch the latest Gladiator, but also includes a brief glimpse of the company's first electric bicycle, simply called the e-Bike. You hardly see any of it (Bill Murray mainly uses it to take a groundhog on a ride), but don't worry. Jeep's partner on the e-Bike, QuietKat, has published a splash page shedding more light on what the two-wheeler will entail.
LeBron James helps GMC pitch its Hummer EV in a Super Bowl ad
GM thinks it has a simple way to drum up hype for its future GMC Hummer EV: give it the kind of celebrity endorsement that sports fans would notice. The brand is airing a teaser commercial during the Super Bowl (in the third quarter for US viewers) that has no less than LeBron James pitching the all-electric pickup truck. Don't expect to see more of the Hummer than you have so far. Instead, this is more about the EV's combination of raw power with near silence... and, of course, equating James' basketball dominance with the Hummer's performance.
Porsche's first Super Bowl ad in 23 years is for the electric Taycan
There have been Super Bowl ads for electric cars before, but they've tended to treat EVs as novelties. BMW's 2015 ad for the i3 was practically a crash course in EVs, while Audi's 2019 spot was more to advertise electrification than the still-unavailable E-Tron GT. Porsche, however, is embracing the radical concept of advertising an EV you can actually buy. The automaker is airing its first Super Bowl ad in 23 years on February 2nd to promote the Taycan, and this video focuses more on -- gasp -- the actual car.
Snapchat will host exclusive NBC Olympics coverage
The 2020 Olympic Summer Games don't commence for six months, but plenty of marketing work goes into the international event well beforehand. NBC, which owns the media rights to the Olympic Games, has renewed its deal with Snap to publish daily coverage of competitions in the US. The two companies have partnered before, with similar deals involving the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2018 Winter Olympics. However, this year's deal ensures far more content: NBC will produce more than 70 episodes for Snapchat -- three times than in 2018, according to Variety.
Twitter apologizes for error that allowed advertisers to target neo-Nazis
Twitter has apologized after the BBC found that the company's ad platform could be gamed to target neo-Nazis, Islamophobes and other hate groups. In a report published on Thursday, the BBC says it was able to use Twitter's advertising tools to broadly identify groups of people who may have been interested in topics like white supremacism and then pay to advertise to them.
Samsung announces a Privacy app for its smart TVs
At a preview for its 2020 TV lineup here at CES, Samsung revealed a new app for its TVs: Privacy Choices. The advent of smart TVs has increased their ability to profile and track your activities while watching them, and according to Samsung's exec, this app will give owners an easy-to-reach place where they can see what data is being collected, and opt-out as they see fit. The app wasn't available on the demonstration TVs we were looking at, but now that the TV is keeping track of your workouts, some extra visibility about privacy settings seems appropriate.
How home assistants ruined us, an explanation
Our situation became clear when my friend ran through Trader Joe's screaming "ALEXA WHAT TIME IS IT?" This wasn't a cringey mockumentary comedy segment. It's the way we live now. I'm certain San Francisco's sea of terrified Postmates and Prime delivery runners parted for her, trampling an Instacart personal shopper already wallowing in the misfortune of crawling along the baked goods aisle, feeling blindly under tortillas for lost earbuds. Everyone wondering if they should yell at Google or Siri to call 911. Several cameras are trained on everyone, of course, to memorialize and broadcast these special moments forever.
Spotify will 'pause' airing political ads in early 2020
Spotify, not Facebook, has become the latest tech company to rethink its approach to political ads. Starting early next year, the streaming giant will stop running political ads. Spotify told Ad Age it will "pause" political advertising across both its free ad-supported tier and during any original podcasts it makes. The move will apply only to the US, since it's the one market in which Spotify currently airs such advertisements. Third-party podcasts will still be able to embed political ads in their recordings as long as they adhere to Spotify's content policy.
France fines Google $167 million over unpredictable advertising rules
After a four-year investigation, France's competition watchdog is fining Google €150 million ($167 million) for opaque and unpredictable advertising rules, Reuters reports. The investigation began after French company Gibmedia accused Google of suspending its Google Ads account without notice. According to Reuters, the French regulator alleges that, by changing its terms of use and rules at will, Google abused its market power. Google plans to appeal the decision.
Facebook's first ever Super Bowl ad will focus on Groups
Facebook has attempted to overcome a year of PR disasters with some high-profile adverts for its services featuring celebrities, such as Portal commercials starring Kim Kardashian and Jennifer Lopez. Now, the Wall Street Journal reports that Facebook taking this one step further by airing a Super Bowl ad.
Facebook, Instagram ban influencers from promoting guns and vaping
Facebook and Instagram already ban ads for guns and e-cigarettes, but now they're shutting down a loophole that let merchants pitch the products regardless. The social networks have announced that they're banning "branded content" (read: influencer posting) that promotes weapons, tobacco and vaping. You'll also see "special restrictions" on posts that market products like alcohol and diet supplements.
NBC's Peacock streaming service may charge $10 for ad-free viewing
NBCUniversal's Peacock service might be free for some viewers, but the network also appears willing to charge money for the ad-averse. The Information tipsters claim that NBC is mulling a $10 ad-free tier as well as a $5 plan with limited ads. That would provide more flexibility and lower prices than Hulu, which has no free tier and starts at $6 per month for limited ads. Of course, Hulu isn't just limited to one broadcaster's content -- you're paying more to get more.
Ads on Facebook are spreading misinformation about anti-HIV drugs
While many are focused on Facebook's unwillingness to curb false political ads, there appears to be another misinformation campaign going unchecked. The Guardian and GLAAD have noted that personal injury law firms continue to run Facebook ads making false claims about the risks of Truvada, a drug meant to reduce the likelihood of HIV transmission. Some float the specters of bone loss and kidney damage despite evidence that the risks of either are "not clinically significant," according to the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.
A bug caused UK election ad spend data to disappear on Facebook
Earlier this week, an unspecified bug caused as many hundreds of thousands of political ads to disappear from Facebook's Ad Library, a tool the company rolled out globally earlier this year to provide more transparency on political spending. According to CNN Business, the bug caused ads to go missing in several countries across the world, including the UK.
AT&T starts showing pause ads with motion on DirecTV (updated)
Since the end of last year, reports indicated that AT&T was planning to add pause ads to its video platforms. According to Variety, the telecom has flipped the switch. AT&T is currently testing the ads on DirecTV, its satellite TV service, and "other" video platforms it owns. They're also more like traditional ads than the pause ads you might see on Hulu. Variety initially reported that they include both sound and motion, though since this article was originally published, AT&T clarified to Engadget that these ads would not include audio. They'll start playing 30 seconds after you stop a video to take a break.
YouTube changes rules on violent game content to match movies and TV
YouTube is making a significant change in how it will moderate content that shows video game violence. Starting today, the company says it will treat "scripted or simulated" violence in games the same way that it approaches violence in TV shows and movies.
EU investigates Google data collection practices
No, European antitrust regulators still aren't done looking into Google's practices. The European Commission told Reuters in a statement that it's conducting a "preliminary investigation" into Google's data collection. While it didn't go into detail, a leaked document indicated that the focuses were on local search, ads (including ad targeting), sign-in services and web browsers, among "others." It's covering the core of Google's businesses, to put it another way.