Voltswagen Confuses Everyone; Why NFTs Are the Future: 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. Volkswagen’s April Fools’ Name Change Still Highlights Sustainability Commitment Just a few years removed from paying billions in fines over its clean diesel claims—including deceptive advertising—Volkswagen caught the attention of the automotive world once again. The car brand dropped what was purported to be an accidental press release, in which it said it's rebranding the U.S. unit to "Voltswagen." The announcement raised some eyebrows: Would this be the IHOb of the auto world? Naturally, given the timing, there was also some suspicion that it was an April Fools joke—and it turns out that’s exactly what it was. The faux name change, which received widespread coverage and many believed to be real, did reflect the company’s actual sustainability goals—but given those goals, was making a joke about this the right move? Why NFTs Are Here to Stay—and Wow Us Kenny Gold, executive director of social for Grey Group, predicts that NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are a fixture of the creator and marketing world’s future. It all comes down to community, he says in this Voice piece, a means of extending the fan-driven collectible marketplace to a larger conversation. “When done right, you can create a new space for fans and community members to show their love and loyalty,” Gold writes. But should every brand jump on the bandwagon? No, and here’s why. Shoot and score: Dapper Labs, the Canadian blockchain company behind NBA Top Shot, which allows basketball fans and collectors to buy and sell short basketball highlights as NFTs, is now valued at at $2.6 billion. Univision Debuts PrendeTV, a Free Streamer for the US Hispanic Audience There’s a new, free streaming service on the market, and this one is specifically for the U.S. Hispanic market. Univision is introducing PrendeTV, which has more than 40 channels and 10,000 hours of VOD content including movies, drama shows, reality series, kids’ programming, sports and more. Find out how the streamer fits into the network’s larger goals under CEO Wade Davis and ad sales chief Donna Speciale. Also in TV and streaming: UK broadcaster Sky is running a competition for agencies and brands to win a combined 2 million pounds ($2.7 million) worth of advertising inventory if they can help promote positive behavioral change to help its commitment to be net carbon zero by 2020. A Big Week for Job Moves David Fischer, Facebook’s chief revenue officer, is planning to leave his role at the end of 2021 after an 11 year stint. Ogilvy U.K. CEO Michael Frohlich is taking the unexpected step of becoming the CEO of Weber Shandwick EMEA, announcing this week that he left Ogilvy two weeks ago. MediaCom has promoted Jason Lim to a newly-created role as the agency’s first chief planning officer. Briefly: Vodafone Is Focusing on the Power of Partnership Between People and TechnologyCommunity and Cookies: What Microsoft Wants With DiscordVice Media Group Expands Creative Offering With Acquisition of PltfrmrGoogle’s Cookie Alternative FLoC Is Now Open to Third-Party TestingHow Yumi Co-Founder Found A Way to Spotlight Real Parent Pandemic Stories Beyond the Pledge: Workplace Inclusion In our latest episode of Beyond the Pledge, a limited podcast series created in partnership with R/GA and the 4A’s, host Jai Tedeschi chats with Performance ReNEW founder and president Natasha Bowman about the pandemic’s impact on how we work. Listen in. More of the Latest: Lynx Is Paying Customers to Be Instagram InfluencersFrench Optician Asks Customers to Read the Small Print of Rival Deals in Eye Test StuntIn This Lovely Ad for Home Improvement, the Promise of Spring Means More Than EverNas Pens a Message About Black Excellence in Hennessy’s Moving Film, ‘Dear Destiny’This Brand’s ‘Modern-Day Beauty Pageant’ Uses TikTok to Go Beyond Gender StereotypesMarshawn Lynch Gets ‘Lost in the Crunch’ for Lay’s