Crush Injury Lawsuit
Meta has been criticized for a perceived lack of diligence against AI-generated ads, which go against its policies. Monetized slop content, explicit deepfakes, celebrity impersonation scams – the list goes on and on.
Maybe that’s why the social media conglomerate is trying another tactic where its traditional methods have seemingly failed; namely, public shaming.
As CBS News reports, Meta has filed a lawsuit in Hong Kong against the makers of CrushAI, a “nudify” app that generates realistic nude images from photos of clothed real people.
According to Meta, CrushAI’s parent company, Joy Timeline, has attempted to circumvent the company’s ad review process several times despite a clear ban on “non-consensual intimate imagery.”
Meta can’t sue every single company that violates its rules, if only because there are already so many of them. In the last two months alone, Meta claims it’s shared information about more than 3,800 unique URLs with Lantern, the Tech Coalition’s cross-platform child safety coalition.
Meta also announced new changes coming to its enforcement methods, including expanding the language its systems are trained to detect in offending ads. But let’s be real: The threat of actual legal action is probably a scarier deterrent.
Coke Please, No ICE
Brands with large Latino customer bases are seeing sharp sales declines, as deportation fears keep many from making normal public outings, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Many Latinos report “retreating from public life,” including regular shopping and restaurant excursions, as a result of increased ICE presence in their neighborhoods.
Brands are feeling the effects – none more so than Coca-Cola, whose Hispanic customer base makes up $2.1 trillion in spending power annually, according to the Journal.
Recently, Coca-Cola was subject to a widespread boycott after (unsubstantiated) videos circulated on social media claiming the beverage brand reported its own undocumented employees to ICE.
Though Coca-Cola deemed the videos misinformation, the incident affected sales nationwide.
“Misinformation is unfortunately a fact of digital life,” Coca-Cola’s finance chief, John Murphy, tells the WSJ.
Now, Coke is catering to its Latino audience with a campaign called “For Everyone,” in both English and Spanish (riffing on its “Para Todos” campaign, launched in the ’90s in Argentina) and highlighting Spanish names on bottles.
Agents Of Change
Big Tech platforms’ new AI ad products pose an existential threat to the large agency holding company model, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Meta recently made waves with its plans to automate the advertising process from beginning to end – which prompted single-digit drops in the stock prices of Publicis, Omnicom, WPP and IPG. The backlash from the agency world was so severe that Meta CMO Alex Schultz took to LinkedIn to claim the company “believe[s] in the future of agencies.”
But Meta isn’t the only platform aiming to replace agencies. Google, Amazon and Comcast are also developing AI ad tools.
Because of these challenges, agencies are experimenting with tying their costs to campaign outcomes, rather than billing according to how many people work on an account. Agencies will have to expand those experiments to remain competitive, says MoffettNathanson’s Michael Nathanson.
But is the AI threat overblown?
Creative automation will give small brand marketers more control over their campaigns, and will particularly threaten performance agencies, says Jessica Serrano, CMO at restaurant chain Dig. But SMBs will still rely on agencies for strategy, she adds.
Meanwhile, big brands won’t want to give up the white-glove treatment they enjoy from the holdcos, claims Chris Beresford-Hill at Omnicom agency BBDO.
But Wait! There’s More
A chat with Marketecture Media’s Ari Paparo about the human cost of Google’s ad empire. [AdMonsters]
Clients see WPP CEO Mark Read’s exit as both a risk and an opportunity. [Digiday]
Tubi expands its streaming catalog with crowdfunded films via a new Kickstarter partnership. [The Verge]
Marriott International launches a travel-focused commerce media network. [release]
Senators Bernie Sanders and Angus King introduce a bill to ban drug advertising to consumers. [WSJ]
Meta’s AI app straight up shares people’s queries publicly. [TechCrunch]
You’re Hired!
The IAB has announced several executive promotions and expanded its leadership team. [release]
Indie agency Mother LA hired Nika Rastakhiz as head of strategy and Sophie Gosper as managing director. [Campaign]
