Author: admin
Having tapped major athletes, including Serena Williams, for its 2025 launch campaign, NikeSkims is putting Blankpink star Lisa en pointe to promote its spring ’26 collection. The rapper, singer, dancer, and White Lotus actress stars in a film to promote the ballet-inspired range of pale and black pink footwear, apparel, and accessories. Directed by Sergio Reis, the choreographer behind Gap’s 2024 Troye Sivan-fronted campaign, the film shows Lisa dancing with a troupe of professional ballerinas and dancers, all clad in NikeSkims. The minute-long spot centers on movement and performance, while showcasing what the brand describes as its first “head-to-toe” system of…
The latest wave of AI excitement has brought us an unexpected mascot: a lobster. Clawdbot, a personal AI assistant, went viral within weeks of its launch and will keep its crustacean theme despite having had to change its name to Moltbot after a legal challenge from Anthropic. But before you jump on the bandwagon, here’s what you need to know. According to its tagline, Moltbot (formerly Clawdbot) is the “AI that actually does things” — whether it’s managing your calendar, sending messages through your favorite apps, or checking you in for flights. This promise has drawn thousands of users willing…
In San Francisco, people wanting to get from point A to point B have a few fairly unique options. There’s Uber and Lyft, both headquartered in the area and also available around the world. Then there’s Waymo, the Alphabet subsidiary, providing driverless rides in just a handful of US cities (coming to more places this year). Then, starting last fall, Bay Area denizens also got access to electric automaker Tesla’s ride-hail service, which operates as a “robotaxi” in Texas but as a more traditional service, with drivers behind the wheel, in California.For months, the new and futuristic “robotaxi” services felt…
VML is reshaping its North American leadership bench, naming Jason Xenopoulos CEO of its New York office while elevating longtime creative leader Mel Routhier to North America chief creative officer, the agency told ADWEEK. The appointments are effective immediately.The moves mark VML’s first major U.S. executive appointments of 2026 and follow a period of leadership transition in New York after the departure of Beth Ann Kaminkow and the retirement of Audrey Melofchik last year.Xenopoulos will take on a dual role as CEO of VML New York and chief creative officer for global accounts, overseeing the agency’s flagship office while continuing…
ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, recently established a separate American entity to run the app’s U.S. operations. This restructuring aims to separate U.S. TikTok from its Chinese parent, addressing concerns about data privacy and foreign control. The move came after years of pressure from lawmakers, who feared the Chinese government’s potential access to Americans’ data. In 2024, Congress enacted a law, mandating that TikTok’s U.S. operations be separated from ByteDance. Under the new structure, about 80% of the U.S. TikTok entity is owned by non-Chinese investors, with ByteDance keeping only a 19.9% share. The newly formed entity, “TikTok USDS Joint…
But how does one decide what constitutes a piece of content—or whether or not something is considered pornographic?“It’s mostly a counting question in terms of ‘does the law apply’” Alan Butler, the executive director of Electronic Privacy Information Center, previously told WIRED.Kupper, who sponsored Arizona’s age verification law, tells WIRED he stuck to the one-third threshold because it’s been previously upheld by the United States Supreme Court. He says he’s heard estimates that 15 to 25 percent of accounts on X are at least somewhat pornographic, but he’s not sure how accurate that is, nor does he think it’s “feasible”…
Google has elevated longtime exec Jitendra Kumar to oversee the tech giant’s relationship with critical mid-market agencies, ADWEEK has learned.Kumar was promoted to the role of director of U.S. agency, Google Customer Solutions. He previously held two titles: Director of U.S. agency, west coast; and director of venture capital and private equity partnerships.Kumar, nicknamed Jitu by some of his clients, is a 20-year veteran of Google. He previously lead Google’s relationships among agencies for products like Google Customer Solutions and Google Marketing Solutions. He reports to Alicia Carey, managing director of agency, platforms, and investor partnerships for Google Customer Solutions.
Social network Bluesky is teasing its roadmap for the year ahead, emphasizing a focus on things like improving the app’s algorithmic Discover feed, offering its users better recommendations on who to follow, giving the app more of a real-time feel, and more. At the same time, the company admitted that it needs to work on getting the “basics” right, too. Launched to the public in early 2024 after an invite-only period, the decentralized X and Threads alternative has since scaled to over 42 million users, according to data sourced directly from the Bluesky API for developers. Though it’s differentiated from…
Looking for a great pair of earbuds that won’t cost you hundreds of dollars? The Anker Soundcore Space A40 already make a great proposition at their full $80 list price, and Anker has knocked them down to just $45 on Amazon, a discount of almost 50 percent. They have excellent feature support, a great sound profile, and come in five different attractive and eye-catching colors.Despite the low price tag, these pack a surprisingly competent feature set. We were immediately impressed by the active noise canceling, particularly when it comes to tuning out lower frequencies. They’re excellent for cutting out the…
Even if you’re not an NBA fan, you may have heard of the Kardashian Kurse: the fantastical yet consistent phenomenon in which NBA players who date Kardashians or Jenners lose their careers in the process. Even if it can’t be proven, the curse has been fodder for Reddit debates and even serious statistical analysis.Now, it’s the theme of Fanatics Sportsbook’s Super Bowl 60 ad starring Kendall Jenner, released on Tuesday.The 30-second ad—the betting platform’s first in the Big Game—is the work of Fanatics Studios, an in-house venture between the brand and entertainment studio OBB media.If part of the Kardashian women’s…
Palmer Luckey’s eyes light up, and he talks a mile a minute, when discussing his company’s new recruiting event: the AI Grand Prix. This is a drone flying contest with a twist. Rather than humans operating drones, the drones must operate autonomously. The humans will be tested on their software-writing skills that cause the drones to outfly their competition. There are prizes ranging from a $500,000 pot to be spilt amongst the highest-scoring teams, to jobs at Anduril, and a chance to bypass the company’s standard recruiting cycle. “It was something that I decided we should do,” Anduril founder Luckey said in an interview with TechCrunch. Luckey…
“Alexa+ is significantly more capable than the original Alexa, so we’re working to make it available to as many customers as possible,” said an Amazon spokesperson. “We notified customers of the upcoming update, including how to return to the original version.”Amazon says it’s only upgrading Prime members with supported devices to Alexa+ Early Access in this new push. Alexa+ is currently free, and Prime members will continue to get it for free when it launches into the first full version, but it will cost $20 a month once it officially launches for non-Prime members. The list of supported devices is…
Lady Gaga is lending her voice to Rocket and Redfin’s Super Bowl 60 campaign. The pop star appears in a teaser spot, released Tuesday, that offers an early look at the brands’ upcoming Big Game commercial.The black-and-white, nearly four-minute video features Lady Gaga singing a reimagined version of “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”—the iconic theme from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood—in an intimate, behind-the-scenes studio performance. The teaser leans into restraint rather than spectacle, capturing Gaga as she records a stripped-down, emotionally charged version of the song.The candid and unpolished spot, shot with handheld camera work, gives the performance a sense of…
Anthropic has doubled the amount of VC funding it aims to raise, the FT reports, increasing the target from $10 billion to $20 billion. The round, expected to close soon, will give the company a valuation of $350 billion, sources told the FT. Anthropic, which makes the popular AI Claude and the equally popular Claude Code, decided to double its funding target due to booming investor interest. Backers in this round are expected to include Sequoia Capital (which also invests in its rival OpenAI), Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, and investment management firm Coatue, per the FT. Late last year, it…
HBO Max may not have the shine it once did, but the streaming service (previously just Max) is still home to some of the best TV shows of the past 25 years, from The Sopranos and The Wire to Game of Thrones and The Leftovers.Whether you’re a longtime fan of the “it’s not TV” cable network or an HBO Max newbie trying to figure out where to start, the shows below should give you plenty upon which to feast your eyes.Looking for more recommendations? Head to WIRED’s guide to the best TV shows on Netflix, the best TV shows on Amazon Prime, the best TV shows on Disney+,…
Minneapolis’ agency community is no stranger to crisis. The Twin Cities have been repeatedly thrust into the national spotlight in the last few years, from the 2020 murder of George Floyd and ensuing protests, to ongoing debates over policing and racial justice. But the past several weeks have felt uniquely destabilizing for local agencies.Since late 2025, thousands of federal immigration agents have been deployed to Minneapolis as part of the largest enforcement operation in U.S. history. Two U.S. citizens—37-year-old poet Renée Nicole Good and 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti—have been fatally shot by federal agents during the operation, sparking widespread…