Ryan Reynolds Drops 2 More Mint Mobile Ads; The NFL’s Strange, Extraordinary Return: Thursday'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. After Delighting Us With Rick Moranis, Ryan Reynolds Drops 2 More Mint Mobile Ads Yesterday was already delightful enough with the return of Rick Moranis in the morning, but then Ryan Reynolds made it even better by releasing two more Mint Mobile ads throughout the day. The first stars the great-great-great-great-granddaughter of Paul Revere, and the second highlights 2019 National Teacher of the Year Rodney Robinson, both of whom appear alongside Reynolds in the ads. Watch both ads: Experience the charm and awkwardness for yourself. Learn from Ryan Reynolds, Andrea Brimmer, Sadira Furlow, Dwyane Wade, Marc Pritchard, Brad Hiranaga, Julian Duncan, Katie Puris and more during Brandweek, a fully imagined virtual experience on Sept. 14-17. Take 20% off with code FTFEDIT. The NFL Is Back for a Season Unlike Any Other After most sports, including college football, were stalled due to the pandemic, the NFL returns tonight as the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Houston Texans. Meanwhile, advertisers are thrilled, anticipating powerful ratings, and media companies that saw massive Q2 declines are rejoicing as ad revenue as high as $5 billion pours in. Even the return of the MLB and the NBA can hardly compare to the punch the NFL packs: Last year, the NFL generated an estimated $4.6 billion in national TV ad revenue—and this year it could be higher as dollars have shifted from other sports. For premium subscribers: Talks about the Super Bowl are still tentative, but experts are eagerly waiting to see how this season will change the advertising and media game for the better. Jockstrap-Scented Candles Are Here to Fill the Locker Room Void This NFL Season Speaking of NFL-related happenings that are entirely unlike any you’ve experienced before, Babe Wine and jewelry and accessories maker Ryan Porter are aiming to bring the locker room right to your homebound nostrils with a jockstrap-scented candle. In case that’s just a little too much for your senses, the line also includes a candle featuring the alluring aroma of nachos, as well as Hashtag Field Goals, which smells like fresh-cut grass. Mmm, musk: The sweaty candle might not be quite as stomach-churning as you’d imagine. Also in NFL news: Take a video tour inside the league's newest venue, SoFi Stadium, the new home of the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers. Jennifer Breithaupt Leaves Citi and Carla Hassan Is Named CMO Jennifer Breithaupt, who has held the role of global consumer CMO since Sept. 2012, is leaving Citi, and Carla Hassan, who has served as the bank’s chief brand officer since 2018, will be moving into the CMO role. The move will unite branding and marketing at the company into a single team, and Hassan will drive both its marketing and sponsorship activities. A new strategy: “Harnessing the power of these two organizations under one, performance-driven team, will further propel our business forward,” Hassan said. Also in job moves: MAC Cosmetics CMO Ukonwa Ojo is joining Amazon as CMO of Prime Video and Amazon Studios, leading the company’s global brand and originals marketing. Plant-Based Food Feud: Faux-Meat Brands Start a Public Beef Over ‘Clean’ Ingredients Shots have been fired from both fronts of the Plant-Based Meat Wars: Startup Lightlife wrote an open letter about Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat, criticizing what it called the larger companies’ "hyper-processed ingredients, GMOs, unnecessary additives and fillers, and fake blood.” Then, Impossible shot back on Medium, comparing the attack to “meat-industry propaganda” and questioning its connections to meat brands. Can’t we all just get along? Planterra Foods responded to the fracas with a New York Times ad attempting to forge some middle ground. More of Today’s Top News & Highlights Snap and Dentsu Join Forces for Innovation PartnershipGreg Welch and Global CMOs Weigh in on Today’s CMO OpportunitiesHome Depot Is Reviewing Its $444 Million US Media AccountIf Ford Brought Back the Bronco, Could the Lincoln Continental Return One Day, Too?The Last Few Months From a Marketer Mom Who Had Covid-19Walmart Adds Drones to Its Delivery RepertoireNeiman Marcus Puts Digital Transformation at the Center of Its Bankruptcy Emergence PlanNorthwestern Mutual’s First Campaign Under CMO Lee Hurley Celebrates Advisor-Client Relationships Oscar Mayer’s Wienermobile Is Now Available for Your Wedding Proposal Needs Thanks to Oscar Mayer, you can ask your significant other to spend a lifetime together with style and class. The brand is making its iconic Wienermobile available for proposals for free—though it does say that those who are interested should submit requests three months to a year in advance. Ask your significant other to spend a lifetime together with style and class. More of the Latest: Pizza Hut’s 680-Day Calendar Provides Order Inspiration Long After 2020 Is OverUnited Airlines Announces New International Routes With Cryptic VideoVolvo Captures the Joy, Exhaustion and Constant Dangers of ParentingJohn Mayer Gets Back to Nature and Sings an Unreleased Song for Land Rover’s DefenderThis Campaign Encourages Voters of Color to Cast Their Election Ballot From HomeFX’s John Landgraf Talks Resuming Production and FX on Hulu’s Early SuccessMissing Dive Bars? Miller High Life Will Bring One to Your Backyard

First Things First

Ryan Reynolds Drops 2 More Mint Mobile Ads; The NFL’s Strange, Extraordinary Return: Thursday's First Things First

Plus, inside the faux food brand feud

Jess Zafarris

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