Aviation Gin's Big Buyer; Tushy Wins With Butt Health and Humor: 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. Diageo Is Buying Aviation Gin, Will Keep Ryan Reynolds as Co-Owner In what’s being celebrated as a rousing success for the brand, Aviation American Gin and its parent company Davos Brands are being acquired by liquor giant Diageo for up to $610 million following the brand’s strong growth over the past two years. And Ryan Reynolds fans need not fear—the beloved superstar and brand figurehead will stay on as Aviation’s co-owner and continue to build on his track record of creative and humorous marketing shenanigans. A tongue-in-cheek apology: Reynolds celebrated with a characteristically humorous out-of-office email after the news dropped. Reminisce with highlights from Aviations hilarious ad history: Ryan Reynolds Shares the Mystical Secrets of How His Aviation Gin Is MadePeloton Wife Stars as Herself in the Greatest Sequel Ever: An Aviation Gin AdRyan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman Made Ads for Each Other, but Weren’t Quite on the Same Page Premium | Paid Parental Leave Has Long Been an Issue at Agencies. Is the Industry at a Turning Point? Agency life has long been defined by client demands and extended hours, not to mention a certain preoccupation with youth—a trifecta of factors that has resulted in a dearth of support for working parents, especially around paid leave. In 2019, a Fishbowl study showed that 41% of agency staffers are unhappy with their companies’ paid leave policies. Some companies, like 72andSunny, are more generous with parental benefits, but policy gaps remain at many agencies, with some requiring a certain amount of tenure before parents qualify for paid leave. The group Pledge Parental Leave, which was founded by industry professionals, seeks to aid beleaguered parents by creating minimum standards for benefits including fully paid leave, three months of health insurance coverage and six months of job security for parents. Watch: Discover perspectives on parental benefits around the industry, and learn what’s on the horizon for paid leave. Dive deeper with an Adweek Pro Subscription, your key to the inside scoop on the marketing and advertising trends and reporting that guide the world's top brands. Tushy’s Butt Health and Anti-Toilet Paper Emails Were Well Positioned for Quarantine The toilet paper shortages at the start of the pandemic spelled opportunity for bidet company Tushy, but(t) thanks to the brand’s legacy of funny and unsubtle email and content marketing, it didn't have to pivot hard to rise to the occasion. New subscribers are welcomed to the “clean butt club” and can enjoy educational information about butt and gut health in the weekly newsletter The Posterior, which prioritizes entertainment over sales. The brand also hosted its second annual Butt-Con, a free virtual event with health experts, comedians, fitness instructors and more. Explore the peachy approach: The brand’s cheeky strategy gave it a boost during the pandemic. Trump Sets Yet Another Deadline for TikTok Sale The Trump vs. TikTok saga continues. After the president initially set a deadline of Sept. 20 for parent company ByteDance to sell off the brand’s U.S. operations, he has stepped it up to Sept. 15 in a new executive order, after discussing the matter with potential buyer Microsoft. In a previous executive order, he ordered U.S. citizens and companies to create “transactions” with the company, but didn’t specify what a transaction was. The battle rages on: The new order is the latest step in a conflict touched off by suspicion that TikTok was sharing U.S. user data with the Chinese government, allegations that TikTok has taken measures to address. More of Today’s Top News & Highlights Just Salad Appoints 2 New Executives, Including First CMOVenables Bell & Partners Debuts New AI-Centric Offshoot FirmTransUnion Dives Further Into Digital Marketing With Signal AcquisitionHow the CEO of Authentic Brands Intends to Grow His Retail EmpireTwitter: ‘It Was a Surprise to Be Included’ in Facebook BoycottMcLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown Steering Through The Most Complicated Track in Motor Racing Sport HistoryApple TV+ Subscribers Can Add Showtime and Ad-Free CBS All Access for $10 a MonthAdweek Together: The Future of Entrepreneurship Budweiser’s Vying to Become Utah’s Official State Beer A new campaign from Budweiser aims to woo Utah and its resident fans with a customized beer can, all with the goal of becoming the state’s official beer. The can features iconic landmarks from across the state, and the accompanying ad, created by VaynerMedia, leverages quirky local charm. But there’s a catch—it’ll only make the can if the hashtag #Bud4Utah gets tweeted or retweeted at least 84,899 times (a number that’s also the total square mileage of Utah). More of the Latest Cruisers Tell the CDC: Let Us Back on BoardKeebler’s Ernie the Elf Returns Under New ManagementMcDonald’s Happy Meal Toy Provides Sanctuaries for Finland’s Endangered BirdsPinterest Staff Stages Virtual Walkout Over Racial and Gender DiscriminationNBC News, MSNBC Talent Help Viewers ‘Plan Your Vote’ in New Campaign