Changing Identities
Since Publicis Groupe is acquiring LiveRamp, many brands will likely find themselves in the market for a new independent vendor for audience and identity data.
At least, that’s what LiveRamp’s competitors say. Take Hightouch, for example, which Digiday reports hosted a dinner during Cannes this week to discuss the post-LiveRamp landscape with a select group of advertisers and agencies.
In the short term, however, it seems more likely that most agencies will simply rely on a patchwork combination of in-house data tools and external graphs, rather than try to find a one-to-one LiveRamp replacement. Some might even prefer this method if it meets their specific needs better than a larger vendor would.
There’s also the concern that others will try to follow in Publicis Groupe’s wake and acquire their own data platform to bring in-house, rather than wait for some third-party vendor to take on the mantle as LiveRamp’s successor.
Then again, can there even be a successor to LiveRamp when true neutrality is so difficult to prove? After all, it doesn’t take an agency buying a company outright for that company to fall victim to possible conflicts of interest.
Maybe the industry will just continue to develop walled garden after walled garden instead, independently managed data connections be damned.
Doesn’t Hold Water
If you haven’t heard, FIFA’s first-of-their-kind, ad-filled hydration breaks twice per every World Cup game have been controversial, to say the least.
Fans bristled at the break in what has historically been 45 minutes of continuous play per half. This stands in stark contrast to regular commercial breaks placed throughout every other major sport.
But fútbol fans abroad also see the increased advertising as a consequence of the World Cup partly taking place in the US, with its “monetize everything” culture. And a foreboding sign of things to come.
Fan frustration has now boiled over. Arena DJs are filling the hydration breaks with karaoke to cut off the boo-birds, leaning into soccer hooligan singalongs.
And now FIFA president Gianni Infantino is passing blame to broadcasters by claiming the league earns no additional revenue from hydration break advertising. Never mind the massive Powerade ads filling arena screens during stoppages.
FIFA has also been criticized because it’s not enforcing its TV advertising allotment rules, which Fox overran during the tournament’s opening round.
BBC reports that the ad revenue from hydration breaks will net broadcasters more than a quarter-billion dollars in the US alone. So expect the trend to continue.
And The Award Goes To …
Last year, at least one Cannes Lions award winner was forced to withdraw its entries for including inaccurate, AI-manipulated content.
That controversy led the festival to develop a stricter set of “global integrity standards.” They require proper transparency with regard to AI usage, manual checks on AI-led analysis and – perhaps reflecting the ad industry’s renewed emphasis on measuring performance – more proof of ad impact and campaign effectiveness claims.
Those new standards might’ve led to big changes in this year’s entry pool, Campaign reports. While there were 25% fewer entries in 2026 compared to 2025, the number of entries that used AI doubled from 20% to 40%.
At the press conference for the Creative Data and Media Lions winners on Wednesday, Cannes Lions chair Phil Thomas couldn’t speak to the reason behind the overall decline in entries. However, he did suggest that the new rules around proving impact might’ve affected certain categories like Creative Data.
Just goes to show that measuring performance isn’t just a big deal for proving outcomes and justifying budgets – it also helps at award season.
But Wait! There’s More!
The rate at which users dismiss ChatGPT ads has dropped 50% since OpenAI launched ads back in February, presumably due to improved relevance. [Search Engine Land]
The Google Play Store will soon implement lower developer fees and new payment options as part of its settlement with Epic Games. [Ars Technica]
Paramount becomes the new linear TV home for “Harry Potter” and “Fantastic Beasts” movies as the media company’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery looms near. The deal was inked as a multiyear licensing agreement – or should we say a prenup? [THR]
Amazon Prime Video’s five-race NASCAR series averaged 2.29 million viewers this year, up 6% from last year’s inaugural season. [Awful Announcing]
In perhaps the most upbeat news we’ve heard all year, the Teletubbies are very optimistic about the future of creative! [Adweek]
Google hurries to reorganize its AI coding strike team after key members depart to work at OpenAI and Anthropic. [The Information]
