Tuesday Stir

By Erik Oster 


-Taproot dentsu partnered with iDiva, India’s largest lifestyle community for women, to celebrate the third anniversary of #MeToo with a digital film titled Nip in the Bud (video above).

“It wasn’t an easy subject. One had to keep in mind the sensitivities involved,” Taproot dentsu creative director Titus Upputuru, who wrote and directed the film, said in a statement. “Nip in the Bud is a tribute to every single woman who had the courage to speak about what happened in a moment where there was no one to corroborate the story. Unfortunately, many women took years to report and this allowed the men concerned to continue with the predatory behavior. Hope this digital film inspires women across the world to nip it in the bud.”

-Leading discrimination lawyer Cyrus Mehri is working with 600 & Rising. Mehri previously worked on the Madison Avenue Project, which exposed issues with systemic racism in the ad industry back in 2009.

Advertisement

-Agency McGarrah Jessee of Austin, Texas, went through a round of layoffs earlier this month, following an earlier round of layoffs in April impacting around 5% of staff.

“In order for our business to meet the changing needs of our clients and the ever changing landscape of the future, we need to restructure the way we’re set up as a company. Unfortunately this means parting ways with 10% of our staff across various disciplines and saying goodbye to some really great people while simultaneously investing in a few key role hires,” an agency spokesperson said in a statement. “These decisions are never easy, especially in the world we’re living in right now, but we remain committed to the people, our clients and the future of McGarrah Jessee.”

-Promote Iceland appointed Havas Media as its media agency of record, awarding the shop a three-year contract following a review.

Havas Media will be responsible for media strategy and buying for North America and EMEA with its first work with Promote Iceland expected sometime before the end of 2020.

“One of the strongest appeals to working with Havas Media was its Mx framework’s approach, focus on Meaningful Media and its experience with different travel and tourism brands. This combination made it a perfect match with Iceland’s current and future approach to market,” Promote Iceland director, marketing communications Sveinn Birkir Björnsson said in a statement. “Together, we will look to engage and connect with new consumers around the world, drawing more tourists to our great country.”

The assignment expands Havas Media’s foothold in the currently volatile travel and tourism categories, as it already worked with VisitCalifornia and TripAdvisor.

-Adweek revealed its Podcasts of the Year.

-Digiday explains why Walmart is still promoting Walmart+ with experiential.

Advertisement