After launching the Absolut Icon campaign in June, Madonna and Absolut teamed up to throw an iconic party at Club Confessions in NYC with complimentary drinks for attendees from a bar stocked completely with the Pernod Ricard brand.

Halfway through the year, the carousel of marketing leadership exits, arrivals, and promotions shows no signs of slowing. See the top marketer moves that have defined the first six months of the year 👇

Bravoholics, this one's for you. As Kyle Cooke said at ADWEEK House: Cannes Lions, every brand wants to build a community, but no one is actually doing it like Bravo.

Commerce Media Meetup, once a casual Minneapolis gathering, has become a nonprofit to close an education and networking gap in commerce/retail media.

.@anthropic.com is urging people to keep asking hard questions about AI’s impact on humans with a new film, “Hard Questions,” made by Mother and directed by Myles McAuliffe to position the company as a responsible player amid growing AI adoption. Read more 👉 https://adweek.it/4pfgdkZ

This week in commerce media brought news of a possible Criteo acquisition, another new retailer for Pacvue, a new nonprofit that supports commerce media talent, and more. See @klundster.bsky.social's five biggest takeaways from this week 👇

Now though, a handful of influential players in the digital media ecosystem have begun laying the groundwork for what was once unthinkable: removing themselves from Google Search. Read more in @markstenberg.bsky.social's latest On Background 👇

Reebok has launched a new campaign as part of its basketball comeback, featuring NBA rookies like Darius Acuff Jr. and Nate Ament and WNBA rookie Lauren Betts. The spot will launch on social before expanding to paid media and out-of-home. Read more 👉 https://adweek.it/4aMn7Z7

Fidji Simo, the executive leading OpenAI’s AGI, product and business operations and spearheading its nascent advertising push, is leaving her full-time position. She announced the move on LinkedIn, confirming she will transition to a part-time advisor role. Read more 👉 https://adweek.it/4vYstJx

EXCLUSIVE | Publicis Media’s Zenith has retained Reckitt’s U.S. media business after a competitive pitch that ultimately came down to a final shootout with WPP Media, according to sources. Read more 👉 https://adweek.it/3SXOg5i

Colle McVoy was selected to steer brand strategy for Allegiant on the heels of its merger with Sun Country Airlines. The Stagwell-owned agency’s remit includes brand identity development, employee and customer engagement, and go-to-market planning for Allegiant.

The Emmy nominations are out, and newcomer Widow’s Bay made a strong debut as the Television Academy unveiled picks for the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, airing Sept. 14 on NBC and Peacock. Here are ADWEEK's takeaways from the nominations. 👇

Lidiane Jones, two days into her new role as CEO of Integral Ad Science, told ADWEEK her early focus is positioning IAS as the ad industry’s “trust layer” as AI reshapes media through agentic bidding and chatbot-driven discovery. Read more 👉 https://adweek.it/4aKdIBo

Parents are already gearing up for back-to-school shopping, and with inflation still a concern, many are hunting early deals, nearly 62% plan to start before August, per Coresight.

Whoop has hired Dirk-Jan van Hameren, Nike’s former CMO, to run marketing as the maker of wearable technology crosses 3 million members globally. He starts July 20th and will report to the founder and CEO Will Ahmed. Read more 👉 https://adweek.it/4f6KMF4

For the past few years, multiple studies have pointed to growing dating app fatigue. AI is also reshaping online experiences and people’s trust in digital content. For Hinge, maintaining the brand’s momentum amid these shifts means convincing daters that genuine human connection is still possible.

MS NOW was the standout network for the month of June, posting no losses in total viewers and the Adults 25-54 demo during primetime and total day.

Cable news audiences fell across Q2 2026 in both total viewers and the Adults 25–54 demo, with CNN posting the steepest declines. Fox News still led the category despite a sports-heavy quarter, averaging 2.493M primetime viewers (230K A25–54).

Andrew Polo wasn’t trying to be discovered through AI assistants, but that changed when ChatGPT began recommending him in response to eczema-related queries, sparking a wave of brand deals.

NBC announced that Mariska Hargitay will host the 78th Emmys on September 14, airing across NBC and Peacock from the Peacock Theater at L.A. LIVE. Read more 👉 https://adweek.it/4eKYJcQ

Jupiter Festival Miami is emerging as the next big creativity event after Cannes Lions, and ahead of its Oct. 6–9 debut, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has signed on as a founding partner.

LiveRamp, which has for years helped brands, publishers, and platforms connect and activate customer data, is launching its first brand campaign on connected TV, delivering a message of trust and flexibility amid a pending Publicis takeover.

In Brooklyn and looking for something very ✨World Cup✨ to do? A free pop-up from Footballco will be going on through July 19 at Industry City!

VOICE | "Patriotism doesn’t have to look like flags and fireworks. And the conversation around authenticity shouldn’t stop at creativity—it should permeate every part of the business that ultimately connects to how consumers experience the brand," writes Zappi's Nataly Kelly.

As The Bear enters its final season, it’s attracting fresh brand partnerships as marketers rush to buy in early. The FX series has consistently sold out sponsorships and grown revenue each year with Season 5 showing the show’s influence extends well beyond Carmy’s restaurant.

On Thursday, AI search startup Profound launched Aim, a ChatGPT-like tool that tracks a brand’s citations and sentiment flags shifts such as a drop in mentions, and then diagnoses likely causes, generates a memo, creates a task-based project, and routes execution to an in-product AI agent.

In this episode of Adspeak by ADWEEK, host Zoë Ruderman, chief content officer at ADWEEK, sits down with Always Alpha's Wes Felix, Allyson Felix, and Cosette Chaput to explore why women’s sports represents one of the biggest untapped opportunities in marketing.

In February, WPP CEO Cindy Rose unveiled WPP Enterprise Solutions as a key pillar of her Elevate28 turnaround plan. This week, the unit moved closer to that goal by launching a suite of AI-powered offerings. The suite spans AI transformation consulting and agentic commerce.

Peacock’s Love Island USA is heating up in Season 8, and advertisers are buying in. Peacock is adding new brand partnerships, including seven integrated sponsors. Six are returning—CeraVe, Coffee-Mate, Cuervo, Maybelline, Motorola, and PepsiCo.

Meta has appointed Denise Moreno as its new CMO, succeeding Alex Schultz, who has been named Meta’s first chief data officer. Moreno is a 17-year Meta veteran, and most recently served as global SVP of consumer marketing and growth. Both execs will report to Meta COO Javier Olivan.

Twelve-time NBA All-Star Chris Paul retired in early 2026 after a 21-season career. But his impact has long stretched beyond basketball. Speaking with ADWEEK CEO Will Lee at Cannes Lions, Paul said brands get the best from athlete partnerships by treating athletes as creative collaborators.

ADWEEK’s fireside chat at Cannes Lions with Evros Group founder and CEO Andreas Roell touched on AI about 10 minutes in. Roell suggested the conversation could have gone further. He also framed this year’s festival as a “reclamation” of human-led services.

Nike’s World Cup marketing pivot is starting to pay off, with executives positioning the tournament as a proving ground for the brand’s broader turnaround.

Kimberly-Clark's Patricia Corsi is set to leave later this year as the company moves toward finalizing its $40 billion acquisition of Kenvue in the second half of 2026. Read more 👉 https://adweek.it/4aucYQM

Comcast says it will pursue a tax-free spin-off of NBCUniversal and Sky. The move would split the business into two companies within about a year. Comcast will focus on technology and platforms. NBCU will focus on media and entertainment.

Unilever is rapidly shifting to social-first marketing. After CEO Fernando Fernandez pledged to put 50% of its digital media budget into social and massively expand its creator partnerships, the company now directs roughly half of its digital spend to social campaigns.

Agentic AI at @canneslions.bsky.social 2026 drew wildly mixed reactions. Some people shut down. Others couldn’t stop talking. But it remained the buzzword everywhere, as agencies, media companies, and adtech firms rushed to prove they were ahead with splashy announcements. https://adweek.it/3QwPRyh

Cannes doesn’t just run on awards, it runs on rosé, rumors, and a constant hum of competition. Before the festival even hit its stride, adtech rivals were already sparring with cheeky billboards along the Croisette, while big tech’s wearable arms race added a fresh jolt of one-upmanship.

America’s big 250th birthday is this coming weekend, and the various news outlets are ready to celebrate this important occasion in style. Here is how news networks are marking America’s 250th birthday. 👇

Before Cannes Lions, many expected AI-made work to have a breakout year. That expectation grew as the festival introduced an AI Craft subcategory and companies like OpenAI and Google DeepMind showed up in force. But the winners suggested the hype has cooled into something more practical.

EXCLUSIVE | Omnicom Media Group is poised to win Adidas’ $512 million global media account, edging out pitches from WPP and Publicis. WPP’s EssenceMediacom previously handled the business after Mediacom first won it in 2018. Read more 👉 https://adweek.it/4faTByO

Former NFL player Robert Griffin III burst onto the scene after winning the Heisman and going No. 2 to Washington in the 2012 draft. He overcame an injury-shortened rookie season to win Offensive Rookie of the Year and earn a top-15 peer ranking.

Claude’s Super Bowl LX campaign poking fun at AI advertising won the Film Grand Prix at Cannes Lions 2026 for two spots—“Can I Get a Six Pack Quickly?” and “How Can I Communicate Better With My Mom?”—created by Mother London and directed by Jeff Low via Biscuit Filmworks.

Miroma Group acquired a majority stake in Ad Results Media (ARM) for an undisclosed amount, marking its biggest U.S. expansion since launching in 2002. The deal reflects CEO Marc Boyan’s belief that audio presents a major growth opportunity, one long undervalued by traditional holding companies.

Comcast is spinning off NBCUniversal in a tax-free deal expected to take about a year, creating two separate companies. Comcast will focus on its core connectivity and technology businesses, while NBCU concentrates on media and entertainment.

Australian insurer Suncorp won the Dan Wieden Titanium Grand Prix at Cannes Lions 2026 for “Haven,” a Leo Australia-built platform that helps homeowners assess climate and extreme-weather risk and create a plan to strengthen their homes.

Rocket’s 2025 Super Bowl ad ended with John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” timed to the Caesars Superdome PA so 65,719 fans sang along. Rocket CMO Jonathan Mildenhall later cited it at ADWEEK House Cannes Lions as proof that decency and kindness in business deliver results.

Publicis’ LePub Milan is bringing back some new hardware from Cannes Lions after receiving this year’s Agency of the Year award on Friday.

EXCLUSIVE | McCann chairman Daryl Lee will depart the company next week, ADWEEK reports. Read more 👉 https://adweek.it/4xRtcNE

Adidas’ Britpop-themed “Original Forever,” created by Johannes Leonardo, won the Entertainment Grand Prix at @canneslions.bsky.social. The campaign rode the hype around Oasis’ Gallagher brothers reunion, leveraging Adidas’ long ties to the band with tour pop-ups selling official merch.