At the North American International Auto Show on Monday, BlackBerry CEO John Chen unveiled "Jarvis," a new security platform for connected and autonomous cars. The software scans the cars' inputs and outputs for both standard and manufacturer-defined protocols, and automatically identifies any bugs, potential exploits and nonconforming code. "Future cars will have half a billion...
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BlackBerry Introduces ‘Jarvis,’ a New Security Platform for Connected Cars
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The Secret to Retail Tech Success Isn’t the Tech. It’s the Planning and Training
Kicking off the tech industry calendar, the Consumer Electronics Show is a prime opportunity for innovators to make their mark on often-crowded marketplaces, or to introduce their goods to valuable new audiences. So it was surprising to me that this year, retail innovation was a somewhat underwhelming affair in comparison to the buzz around other...
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Voice Reigned at CES 2018, but Diversity Was Still Elusive
Every year, the Consumer Electronic Show sets the agenda for the biggest trends and gadgets. Thousands of marketers descend into the desert to discuss the tech that consumers will soon get their hands on--and what it means for brands. As technology weaves more intricately into our daily lives and consumer adoption continues to grow, CES's...
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YouTube Is Finally Addressing Brand Safety Fears With These 3 Changes
After nearly a year of complaints from advertisers concerned about their ads appearing alongside questionable content and a slew of its biggest influencers going rogue on the platform, YouTube is revamping its policies for how creators make money off of their videos. Over the past year, YouTube has tweaked several of its policies, upping the...
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Kevin Durant’s Thirty Five Media Will Work With Athletes on YouTube Content
Creative development and media company Thirty Five Media, owned by National Basketball Association superstar Kevin Durant and his business partner, Rich Kleinman, announced that it will work with YouTube to help athletes create their own YouTube channels, as well as to create new sports programming, as a YouTube development partner. This partnership follows the launch...
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9 Ways Networks and Streaming Rivals Are Fighting Back Against Netflix This Year
The Television Critics Association's winter press tour comes to a close today, capping 14 days in which approximately 40 broadcast, cable and streaming outlets presented their early-2018 shows to hundreds of TV journalists. But a company that never set foot inside Pasadena, Calif.'s Langham Huntington dominated most of those two weeks. Netflix once again skipped...
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FCB/Six Turned the Pride Flag Into a Data Slider to Help LGBTQ People Travel Safely
Global travel can be a complex undertaking for anyone, but it's especially challenging for members of the LGBTQ community. Many destinations welcome them with open arms and offer ample social and legal protections. But in some nations, same-sex relationships are still frowned upon, or against the law, or in extreme cases, punishable by imprisonment or...
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Old Spice’s ‘Sweat Mop Boys’ Are Here to Deodorize College Basketball
Branded integrations at sporting events are usually forgettable affairs, with the sponsors seeming interchangeable and often unrelated to whatever they're slapping their name on. But it would be hard not to notice or remember Old Spice's "Sweat Mop Boys," who clean college basketball courts midgame using mops designed to look like sticks of Old Spice...
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Life Is Good, the Apparel Brand, Built a Machine Powered by Happy Thoughts
Apparel brand Life Is Good pours on the power of positive thinking in an unusual stunt that harnesses happy thoughts--well, brainwave patterns, actually--to turn on a tap and fill a glass of water. Hey, people. Advertising might not be rocket science. But sometimes, it's neuroscience. Or something. Anyway, the brand, renowned for its T-shirts emblazoned...
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These Adidas Sneakers Double as a One-Year Pass to Berlin’s Mass Transit
To get a whole bunch of people to change their habits and do the right thing, it helps to make the right thing sexy ... or at least provide a sexy incentive. That's the logic behind Adidas' limited-edition EQT Support 93/Berlin shoe, the fruit of an unlikely partnership between the brand and the city's public...
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Lexus Is Returning to the Super Bowl, This Time With a Marvel Spin
Toyota-owned luxury carmaker Lexus will return to the Super Bowl on Feb. 4, a company representative confirmed to Adweek. The spot will be tied to the release of Marvel Studios' new superhero movie, Black Panther, which is slated to hit theaters on Feb. 16. The company said additional details will be revealed later. Last year,...
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NBC Will Air Winter Olympics Live in All Time Zones; Katie Couric Will Co-Host Opening Ceremonies
With the Winter Olympics just three weeks away, NBC has made a surprise-yet-familiar pick--Katie Couric--to co-host the opening ceremony in the wake of Matt Lauer's departure from the network. The network also announced that the Feb. 9 opening ceremony in Pyeongchang, South Korea will be livestreamed for the first time, ahead of its time-delayed linear...
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Nielsen Social Content Ratings, Week of Jan. 8: NFL Playoffs, College Title Game Rule
Football, of both the professional and amateur variety, dominated the Nielsen Social Content Ratings for the week of Jan. 8. This past weekend's four National Football League playoff games accounted for four of the top five spots on the sports chart, with the other going to the College Football Playoff National Championship game. The Minnesota...
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Pornhub Says Traffic Went Limp During Missile Scare, Then Surged With Relief
Here's one light-hearted insight from Hawaii's rather traumatizing incoming-missile scare this past weekend: It made people stop watching porn. Briefly. And then they really wanted to watch porn. Pornhub, a surprising leader in data visualization, crunched its traffic in Hawaii from the day of the false alert and revealed the results today. As one might...
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How Fox Is Using the Post-NFC Championship Slot, Its Most Valuable Real Estate in 2018
As broadcast networks roll out new series each season, some of them rely on tried-and-true launching pads on their schedule, usually following their biggest shows. CBS uses the post-Big Bang Theory slot to debut hits like Young Sheldon, Kevin Can Wait and Scorpion, while NBC relies on The Voice to funnel viewers to the premieres...
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Bill Hader Stars in Pringles’ Very First Super Bowl Ad
Pringles has released a short teaser to its first Big Game ad, revealing Trainwreck actor Bill Hader as the star. He'll be showcasing "flavor stacking" in the Super Bowl LII 30-second spot on Feb. 4. "More people will see me in this than they have in the past three movies I've been in," Hader jokingly...
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KFC Made Some Very Weird Relaxation Videos to Help You Deal With Life in America Today
Remember when Don Draper's had his epiphany at the meditation retreat? It inspired him to dream up a famous commercial, but it could easily have led to something like KFC's "Comfort Zone," a hallucinogenic new campaign by Wieden + Kennedy that suggests--by playing around with the tropes of meditation--that KFC's Pot Pie is just the...
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Taco Bell Made the Perfect Trailer for a Fake Movie About Why They’ve Never Sold Fries
Ever wonder why Taco Bell doesn't sell fries? That question sets off Josh Duhamel on a epic quest in the brand's new faux movie trailer for a thriller called Web of Fries, which looks like the perfect plane movie. The 90-second spot, from Deutsch, hits every thriller trope with aplomb, and making the big bad...
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Huge President and CMO Jumps to Mattress Company Casper
Jeff Brooks, formerly president and chief marketing officer of digital agency Huge, has gone client-side, joining mattress company, and Huge client, Casper as CMO. Casper named Huge as its creative agency of record late last year. "I've appreciated the product as a customer, admired the brand as a consumer, and can't wait to take the...
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Mars Puts $1.4 Billion-Plus Global Media Business in Review, Looks to Consolidate With One Agency
Mars, the confectionery, pet care and food conglomerate behind brands like M&M's, Snickers, Orbit and Pedigree, is placing its global media business in review as it looks to consolidate all planning and buying duties, currently handled by three agencies, with one entity. Since 2014, WPP's MediaCom has handled global media planning for Mars, with the...
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