Adweek - 02.09.2019

With its 2018 revenue at

$55 billion, Facebook is the

800-pound gorilla of online

advertising—but it wasn’t

always this way. Fourteen

years ago, Adweek (which

is celebrating its 40th

anniversary this year) stood

aghast at the soaring growth

of a social network called

MySpace. You remember

MySpace, don’t you? Well,

you should. In 2005, as we

reported, the platform signed

up a gang of heavy-hitting

brands including McDonald’s,

P&G, Sony Pictures and

Boost Mobile—no small part

of why News Corp decided

it was worth plunking down

$580 million for the site.

“For advertising dressed up

as in-demand content,” we

observed, “MySpace members

eagerly interact.” Or, at least,

they did interact. MySpace’s

reign was a brief one, its

audience siphoned off by

another platform you might

have heard of: Facebook.

—Robert Klara

IN ADWEEK

HISTORY

OCTOBER

2005

YEARS

BOLD

The Animal Legal Defense Fund has brought a class-action lawsuit against Oregon dairy

company Tillamook, alleging that the firm engaged in deceptive marketing practices by

conveying its products as being supplied by small family farms. The complaint, filed in

the Circuit Court of the State of Oregon on Aug. 19 on behalf of several residents of the

state, contends that Tillamook “misrepresents the nature, source, characteristics, and

production practices of its dairy products.” While the company’s traditional home is in

the lush environs of the Oregon Coast in Tillamook County (its corporate headquarters

are in Portland), it has emerged that a majority of the milk for its products comes from

industrial farms in the more arid, eastern part of the state. The complaint contends that

the company violates Oregon consumer protection laws and common law by implying its

products come only from small farms in bucolic Tillamook County. —Erik Oster

$

MILLION

LE TOTE

ACQUIRES

LORD & TAYLOR

IN DEAL WORTH

BIG NUMBER

SPOTIFY

TESTS A NEW ‘CREATE PODCAST’

FEATURE TO LET PODCAST FANS

BECOME CREATORS.

DORITOS

DROPPED ITS NAME AND

LOGO FROM ITS LATEST

AD CAMPAIGN.

APPLE

WILL BEGIN SELLING IPHONE

REPAIR PARTS TO INDEPENDENT

SHOPS FOR THE FIRST TIME.

MOOD BOARD The Week in Emojis

RALPH LAUREN’S TIKTOK CAMPAIGN

AROUND THE US OPEN IS A FIRST FOR

THE PLATFORM. BY ANN-MARIE ALCANTARA

As the U.S. Open ramps up with brand activations, Ralph

Lauren is rolling out a new campaign tied to the sporting

event on TikTok. Ralph Lauren is using both the sponsored

hashtag challenge offered on TikTok and the platform’s

latest offering, which lets consumers buy products within

the app, called Hashtag Challenge Plus. This marks the

first time a luxury brand has rolled out a campaign on the

platform—and one that’s specifically tied to a sporting event.

The luxury brand’s campaign comes in layers: first, a series of

three videos with Booksmart actress Diana Silvers; a call to

action with a hashtag campaign dubbed #WinningRL asking

users to participate and show off a time they won a real-life

challenge; and a shoppable aspect, in which consumers can

shop U.S. Open-branded Ralph Lauren products.

HASHTAG

CHALLENGE

6 SEPTEMBER 2, 2019 | ADWEEK

UPFRONT

BRAND

MARKETING