Meta sees 12% rise in ad dollars

Welcome to August. And the first of two full moons this month—a.k.a., one definition of a “Blue Moon.”

Feast Like Your Feline (& Babish)

Cat food brand Fancy Feast's in-house chef Amanda Hassner and social media chef Andrew Rea (Binging with Babish) have teamed up to open the Fête du Feline this summer. The pop-up will appear for two days in New York City’s Madison Square Park and feature “‘a variety of sips and bites’ created for humans, but showcasing the flavors of Fancy Feast.”

Meta Ads Have Bounced Back

Since Meta's ad-targeting efforts have been augmented by artificial intelligence, it's regained ad dollars, reporting a 12% rise. Plus, Meta's short-form videos, Reels, have managed to entice both advertisers and new users.

The Viral ‘Grimace Incident’ Raises Sales

Proof no publicity is bad publicity, TikTokers recording their gruesome “deaths” after drinking the Grimace shake has propelled sales over 11%. “Happy birthday, Grimace,” indeed—unintended viral marketing pays off.

Layoffs at Anheuser-Busch

Anheuser-Busch continues to feel the fallout from its poor handling of its partnership with Dylan Mulvaney. After a significant dip in Bud Light sales, the brand is now laying off “roughly 380 positions.”

Around the Web

• How are the Hollywood strikes affecting media buyers in the TV business?

• X, formerly known as Twitter, is threatening to sue a hate-speech watchdog group for pointing out the increase in hate speech on the platform.

• Brands are using “franchise discovery, content experiences, and cross-category collaboration” to better engage audiences and foster “fandoms.”

• Encouraged by great results with Barbie, Mattel is now making a Polly Pocket movie.

• Ad spending for the July 6–7 Prime Day(s) increased by 409% compared to the previous 30 days.

Just Can’t Get Enough

Beige flags. Sometimes it pays to be boring but strange.

• First, comedian Bill Squire explains beige flags—“something that’s not good or bad, just kind of weird.”

• And the search for “beige flag” on TikTok has 286.6K views.

Will you be trekking to NYC for the human-cat food collaboration? Are you excited for the reinvigoration of Meta ads? Trying to hit that unintended viral marketing pay-off through Reels? Reply and let us know your thoughts!

Thanks for joining us, and we’ll see you Thursday!