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Audi’s gender equality plea lacks horsepower

6 Feb 2017

The German premium carmaker made an emotive call for gender pay equality in a Super Bowl TV commercial. The cause is honourable. But the message came from a company with no women on its executive board. Binding legal rules are needed to turn fine ideals more quickly into action.

Super Bowl 51 may be defensive, political football

3 Feb 2017

The championship game on Sunday caps a tough year for the league. Though some 100 mln people are expected to tune in, TV ratings have been down all year. Add sponsors tapping into post-election rancor and a president with an old grudge against the NFL and it could be brutal.

Publicis boss exit plan is bad ad for succession

27 Jan 2017

Maurice Levy is finally stepping down from running the $16 bln advertising firm, but he'll only move to the supervisory-board chairman's office. The presence of Levy, in charge for 30 years and a proven reluctant ex-CEO, risks clipping the wings of the new leader, Arthur Sadoun.

It’s past time for Japan to tackle overwork

6 Jan 2017

A suicide at a top advertising firm shines an ugly spotlight on Japan's dangerously long hours. Relaxing a culture of workaholic conformity won't be easy. But official plans to curb overtime are a good start. And a better work-life balance would bring real economic dividends.

Digital ad dominance has TV in crosshairs

8 Dec 2016

Google, Facebook and their ilk will as of next year control more of the $500 bln advertising market than broadcasters. Along with the rise of ad-free series from Netflix and Amazon, it'll push down the cost of TV commercials, leaving traditional program makers in a jam.

Antitrust probe will hasten Mad Men decline

7 Dec 2016

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether advertising firms rigged bids in the $5 bln commercials industry. The business is already under pressure from Facebook and Google and their own clients. The whiff of more malfeasance is further evidence the model is broken.

Daily Mail submits a vague New Year’s resolution

1 Dec 2016

The UK tabloid's parent wants to slim down a portfolio which spans media, events, education, and property information. Weak advertising makes a new svelte form a priority. But if boss Paul Zwillenberg doesn't offer more detail the pledge could end like many post-Christmas diets.

Viewsroom: Should Facebook root out fake news?

17 Nov 2016

The social network is under fire for allowing erroneous and downright misleading media reports on its platform that may have swayed the U.S. presidential election. Meanwhile, Canada and Mexico prepare for a Donald Trump presidency. And Warren Buffett eats his words on airlines.

Newspaper business model imposed by market

2 Nov 2016

New York Times quarterly print revenue declined a fifth and the Wall Street Journal is radically redesigning to cope with tough conditions. A long-running debate by publishers over the merits of advertising versus subscriptions seems quaint. The choice has been made for them.

Trump cold shoulder for TV ads may set the trend

30 Sep 2016

TV loves the GOP presidential nominee, but he has spent only $78 mln so far on political ads. Broadcasters usually count on an election-year windfall, but spending is forecast to fall and digital upstarts like Snapchat are in the mix too. Trump's playbook could become a classic.

Facebook blunder may stem online TV tide

23 Sep 2016

The $370 bln social network for two years erroneously inflated how long users were watching videos. It's an embarrassing mistake that should give advertisers a stronger negotiating position with Facebook. It also could prompt a recalibration of media strategies and budgets.

WPP shoos away grey swans

24 Aug 2016

The ad giant posted a strong increase in sales in the second quarter, driven by growth in Europe. Sources of uncertainty like Britain’s exit from the EU are a risk for the industry. But WPP’s scale and spread makes it resilient, at least to risks than can be foreseen.

NBC’s gravity-defying Rio gymnastics may fall flat

12 Aug 2016

The network has reaped $1.2 bln from Olympics ads, a fifth more than its London take. But 9 pct fewer Americans are tuning in due to uninspiring coverage and too many commercials. It'll prompt advertisers to strike a hard bargain in future games, unless NBC devises a new routine.

Facebook’s ad dominance masks Snapchat threat

27 Jul 2016

The $350 bln social network's meteoric revenue growth has displaced Yahoo and others, but its 1.5 bln-plus audience is skewing older. Meanwhile, Evan Spiegel's disappearing-messaging service is a hit with the kids. Disruptors are always in danger of being disrupted.

EU’s Google antitrust push slower, more scattered

14 Jul 2016

The European Commission has hit the tech giant with a third charge, saying it abused search dominance on third-party websites. It also reinforced a claim, first made in 2010, that Google favored its own shopping service. A speedier, focused campaign would better serve justice.

Rough ride ahead for the descendants of Mad Men

29 Jun 2016

A damning report backed by P&G and other brand advertisers combined with a potential pullback in marketing during uncertain times spells trouble for big agencies. With revenue per employee slowing at stalwarts like WPP, job cuts on Madison Avenue look inevitable.

Inter Milan typifies China’s muddy sporting goals

6 Jun 2016

Chinese money is pouring into foreign teams, rights and agents. Now Suning is paying $307 mln for 70 pct of Inter Milan. A mainland retail giant is not an obvious owner for a top Italian soccer club. But these deals are all about anticipating a politically backed sports boom.

Dell, Dex sum up dozy bondholders in a nutshell

17 May 2016

The PC maker may face long-term decline yet is selling 30-year debt as part of a $20 bln package to help pay for EMC. The Yellow Pages publisher is hitting its fifth bankruptcy in seven years. They’re apt examples of how short-term yield boosts entice bond buyers to ignore risk.

Baidu selloff understates long-term health risks

10 May 2016

Regulators have ordered China’s top search engine to rein in healthcare advertising after a scandal. That could knock as much as a fifth off earnings. Investors who have marked the shares down by 13 pct so far may be underestimating the broader impact on Baidu’s business model.