Kenvue’s Crisis Chief
How does a brand deal with the government accusing it of causing autism?
That’s the mess Tylenol maker Kenvue’s new chief marketing officer, Jon Halvorson, has to contend with, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Halvorson most recently served as a global SVP for Mondelez, with previous stints at Publicis, GM and Twitter. But pushing back against the Trump administration will be a different challenge altogether.
Last month, President Trump and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed that Tylenol use during pregnancy is linked to autism. However, medical consensus holds that the over-the-counter medication is safe to use as directed during pregnancy and by children.
Nevertheless, on Tuesday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit accusing Tylenol of falsely advertising its product’s safety.
Countering Trump’s messaging and the sway he has over his political base will be a tall task. Last week, Trump threatened Canada with new tariffs after it ran an ad against his trade policy, and he’s frequently criticized marketing he sees as not aligned with his political agenda. So if Kenvue pushes back using an ad campaign, it’s likely in for a fight.
But taking on the government is just one of Halvorson’s agenda items. Kenvue is also looking for a new ad agency to represent its sizable marketing budget, which was $1.6 billion last year.
Nobody Wants These
The problem with titling a show “Nobody Wants This” is that it gives critics a perfect framing device with which to air their grievances.
In this case, the “this” that The Guardian writer Alaina Demopoulos claims “nobody wants” is product placement, which seems to appear quite prominently within the second season of the Netflix series.
Demopoulos is not alone. A lot of other fans and commentators agree that the conspicuous shots of Dunkin’ boxes and Estée Lauder products (at one point, Kristen Bell’s character puts night serum on over a full face of makeup) were a bit much.
Typically, the brands that appear in Netflix shows were placed there (organically, presumably) by the producers themselves – or so Netflix has claimed in the past. That said, it’s probably not a coincidence that Kristen Bell also appeared in Estée Lauder’s latest marketing campaign earlier this year and for the exact product she uses on the show.
Obviously, producers are going to do whatever it takes to get their shows made, even kowtowing to what Demopoulos calls “sponcon slop.” But it just goes to show that frequency capping isn’t just a programmatic buying problem.
Con-Census
Many companies in the ad tech space use US census data to develop cookie-free methods of audience targeting or to add additional context to their own data sources.
But that information might become less privacy-safe – and, eventually, less accurate – if some Republicans get their way.
Wired reports that the Center for Renewing America is now actively campaigning against “differential privacy,” a mathematical framework first used during the 2020 census that keeps data from being used to identify individual respondents.
The right-wing think tank, which was founded by current US Office of Management and Budget director Russ Vought, alleges that differential privacy affects the data in a way that favors Democrats for apportionment and redistricting purposes.
On paper, at least, it’s illegal for census workers to reveal data that would identify individuals. (But it’s also illegal to withhold SNAP funding during an emergency shutdown, so …)
Even still, the fear that census data could be traced back to specific members of marginalized populations – say, a transgender person or someone of Hispanic descent – might cause people to avoid taking the census altogether. Which would almost certainly affect how well the data can be used by nongovernmental organizations, including advertisers.
But Wait! There’s More!
Surprise! Amazon notified some of its recently laid off workers via a 3 a.m. text message. [Business Insider]
In better tech news, no, it’s not just you – the current Apple iOS keyboard has a bug that’s causing users to make more typos. [Macworld]
Following its merger with Skydance, Paramount has officially begun to lay off more than 2,000 employees – roughly 10% of the combined headcount. [NYT]
Grammarly has changed its company name to Superhuman, doubling down on its AI focus. [The Verge]
The IAS Threat Lab reports on a new trend of HTML5-based gaming websites that monetize their ad supply based on fraudulent Android apps. [Integral Ad Science]
You’re Hired!
Kruti Patel Goyal has been named the next CEO of Etsy, where she was previously president and chief growth officer. Patel will replace current CEO Josh Silverman, who will now become executive chairman of the company’s board. [The Information]
TV ad measurement platform iSpot appoints Julie Van Ullen as president and CRO. [Adweek]
Criteo names Ed Dinichert, former TripleLift CRO, as chief customer officer. [release]
MiQ appoints Jordan Bitterman as global CMO. [Business Wire]
Crystal Jacques joins Optable as VP of sales. [release]
Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here.
