Next Steps in Halting Hate for Profit; The Rock Buys the XFL: Tuesday's First Things First

Welcome to First Things First, Adweek’s daily resource for marketers. We’ll be publishing the content to First Things First on Adweek.com each morning (like this post), but if you prefer that it come straight to your inbox, you can sign up for the email here. What’s Next for the Facebook Boycott? The Stop Hate for Profit movement, which was led by advocacy groups like the NAACP and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and joined by more than 1,100 companies including Coca-Cola, The North Face, Unilever and more, became the largest organized advertiser boycott of Facebook and Instagram during the month of July and beyond for these brands. But the future of the movement is less certain, as many companies have either resumed advertising on the platforms or have plans to down the road. We talked with the ADL's national director and CEO Jonathan Greenblatt about its impending expansion and plans for the future following Mark Zuckerberg's testimony before a federal antitrust committee. Greenblatt made one thing clear: It's definitely not over. Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and Dany Garcia Are Buying the Bankrupt XFL Pending court approval, The Rock, who played on the Miami Hurricanes' vaunted national championship-winning team in the 1990s, and his business partner Dany Garcia are buying the assets of Alpha Entertainment, which owns the XFL, for $15 million with the help of investment firm RedBird Capital. The XFL made a comeback this year after its initial 2001 flop, but the season was canceled after five games due to the pandemic, and the league went bankrupt. No easy task: Johnson says it's about the game and the fans, but can the league survive without a Covid-19 strategy? FedEx and Fishing Poles Helped Scrappy Wolfgang LA Complete Its First Adidas Project [kickout id="2"] To illustrate motion in an Adidas campaign for the brand’s summer Climacool shoe launch, indie outfit Wolfgang Los Angeles used a fishing pole and large printouts from FedEx and added animations. Take a behind-the-scenes look at the and resourceful production process. Roger Federer Surprised 2 Girls With a Match After Their Quarantine Tennis Video Blew Up After a video of two Italian girls playing tennis from their rooftops went viral (and was subsequently featured in Nike's masterfully edited split-screen ad), agency We Are Social Milan and for client Barilla pasta had tennis champion Roger Federer pay them a surprise visit. In the resulting ad, Federer challenges to a match—and then, of course, they eat some pasta. Watch it: See the original viral video and the campaign that resulted. Discovery Channel Announces Sponsors for Shark Week 2020 This year marks the 32nd anniversary (yes, really) of the Discovery Channel's Shark Week, and yesterday the network released its lineup of sponsors, which includes returning sponsor Geico and a whole lot of new names. A creative promo-palooza: Shark Week has been called Discovery's "Super Bowl" for its ability to attract sponsors, which create integrated content and messaging for the event. Also in TV news: Virus Hunters, an upcoming National Geographic documentary special, is looking ahead to the next pandemic and the efforts to stop the next contagion before it’s too late. More of Today's Top News and Highlights Meredith and Kroger Lean Into First-Party Data for CPG Advertisers Brands Grow More Sophisticated With In-Housing Strategies Lifetime Sets First LGBTQ-Centric Holiday Movie We Must Close the Gap in Marketing Education, Especially Now Adweek Together: The Future of Mindfulness What’s Next for Lord & Taylor Following Bankruptcy Filing CVS Is the First National Retailer to Accept PayPal and Venmo Extra Gum Celebrates Offline Connections Among Generation Z A new ad from Mars Wrigley’s Extra gum, created in partnership with BBDO, invites viewers to take a break from the screen and enjoy offline connections. It's predictably still quarantine-friendly, of course, featuring two sisters sharing a special moment together. "It shares the message that it’s human to look for digital distractions in this new normal, but that what really nourishes our souls is taking the time to reconnect with those around us," said Kenny Blumenschein, svp and executive creative director at Energy BBDO, which created the spot. [kickout id="1"] More of the Latest National Geographic Spotlights Efforts to Stop the Next Pandemic in New Special Finish Asks Folks to Skip the Rinse in New Water-Saving Program With National Geographic Back to School? The Evolution—and Gap—in Marketing Education Opinion | We Must Close the Gap in Marketing Education, Especially Now Opinion | Students Should Not Be Reunited in the Fall on Campus The World According to Scott Galloway, in 6 Short Video Clips