Nike Creatively Unites Athletes; Google Posts First-Ever YOY Revenue Decline: Friday'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. Clever Video Editing Portrays a Message of Unity in Nike’s Latest Powerful Spot [kickout id="1"] Narrated by Megan Rapinoe and produced by Wieden + Kennedy Portland, a new Nike campaign uses creative video editing in a spot celebrating the comeback of sports and the resilience and unity it took to make that comeback happen during the pandemic. The short film is the third in the larger "You Can’t Stop Us" campaign, which leverages the universal sense of community that has held people together in social isolation. Creators sifted through over 4,000 pieces of footage to created this masterpiece of editing. Watch it here. Big Tech Earnings Updates: One day after Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google testified during congressional antitrust hearings, the four behemoths released their earnings. Here's some quick takeaways: Google parent company Alphabet saw its first year-over-year drop with a 1.5% decline. However, the drop was still smaller than projections suggested. [Read more here.] Facebook and Apple fared much better, with both posting an 11% year-over-year increase. Facebook outperformed both expected revenue and user growth for Q2, with nearly all of its earnings from ad revenue. The increase marked a record quarter for Apple, with boosts notably coming from its fast-growing services including Apple Music and iCloud. Amazon revealed its net sales were up 40% year over year to $88.9 billion and net income jumped $5.2 billion. [Read more here.] Everything We Learned About Amazon From Jeff Bezos’ Antitrust Testimony Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos spent a good portion of Wednesday's Congressional testimony on the defensive. He said he can't guarantee that the company's policy against using seller-specific data to aid its own private label products hasn't been violated before—and that that policy isn't internally enforced. With the focus of the probe on antitrust behavior, Bezos insisted that there is plenty of competition in the space, and that the relationship with the sellers it competes with on its own platform isn't a problem—despite suggestions that Amazon has poached business from its sellers. More bombshells: After one particular comment from Jeff Bezos, Rep. Jamie Raskin suggested Amazon was trying to corner the smart home market. The ‘Programmatic Endgame’ Is Coming, Says Luma Partners’ Terence Kawaja Terence Kawaja, ad tech’s relentlessly entertaining top investment banker, used his NexTech session to break down five areas where M&A activity will happen following the pandemic: connected TV, identity, mobile apps, audio, and what he called “programmatic endgame consolidation.” Projections for overall digital ad spend show steady growth in the coming years, and shares in listed ad-tech and mar-tech companies are surging, but ad-tech dealmaking is down. Watch his talk: These trends signal a lack of short-term confidence but more optimism for the long term. Premium | 6 Lessons You Learn Directing an Ad Shoot From 6,000 Miles Away in a 22-Hour Sprint Not long after director Los-Angeles Brad Lubin was hired to direct a space-themed campaign for Russian brand Baltika Brewery with agency Slava Moscow, travel to the country was suddenly barred due to the pandemic. Here are a few of the lessons Lubin learned in the process of directing from more than 6,000 miles away: A reliable audio link is even more important than video for maintaining constant communication with the team doing the shooting. Work ethic trumps leadership skills when you're not present, but things need to get done. Be prepared for quick pivots. What was supposed to be a two-day shoot was compressed into less than 24 hours as the country's lockdown was announced, and the team essentially had to pull an all-nighter to finish. For Adweek Pro subscribers: Watch the final ad and discover more lessons from Lubin. Stay a step ahead of the competition with an Adweek Pro Subscription, which includes unlimited stories, virtual events and more. More of Today's Top News and Highlights Citizen Verizon Assemblies Aim to Hold CEOs Accountable for Social Justice Discovery Joins On Addressability, Widening Its Advanced TV Offerings This Startup Is Building Covid-19 Chatbots With Governments and Tech Giants Verizon Will Stream NBA Games in VR Through League Partnership CEO Mark Read Acknowledges WPP Has Work to Do After Releasing Diversity Data Study Shows Americans Still Love Their Big-Name CPG Brands AMC Networks Entertainment President Sarah Barnett Stepping Down Impossible Foods Signs Deal With Walmart, Continuing Its Massive Push Into Retail NBCUniversal Touts 10 Million Peacock Sign-Ups as Q2 TV Ad Revenue Plummets We Are Rosie Gets Into the Content Game With New Platform for the Future of Work Ad of the Day: As the World’s Bars Reopen, Heineken’s Ad About Social Distancing Is 100% Relatable In its latest campaign by Publicis Italy, Heineken both pokes fun at and celebrates the relatable awkwardness of new rules aimed at keeping bar patrons safe as the businesses open in several countries. [kickout id="2"] More of the Latest American Eagle Is Proving That It Really Understands Generation Z Emirates’ Covid Insurance Is a High-Flying Piece of Brand Marketing—and Not Without Risks Natural Light Built a Dorm Room for One Student to Escape Their Parents’ House Drew Barrymore Interviews Her 7-Year-Old Self in Adorable Talk Show Promo Gen Z Talent Manager Jeff Levin on the Future of Content and Entertainment Genius and HP Give Music Newcomers Tools to Create Original Song With Established Talent

First Things First

Nike Creatively Unites Athletes; Google Posts First-Ever YOY Revenue Decline: Friday's First Things First

Plus, how to direct an ad from 6,000 miles away

Clever Video Editing Portrays a Message of Unity in Nike’s Latest Powerful Spot

Jess Zafarris

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Clever Video Editing Portrays a Message of Unity in Nike’s Latest Powerful Spot

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Jess Zafarris