Welcome to the new month! Black History Month, the Super Bowl, Valentine’s Day, President’s Day—it’s going to be a big one.

Automation is coming for—HR and engineers?

It’s no secret tech’s had mass layoffs and many are attributing it to fear of recession. But while Microsoft let go 10,000 employees, they also announced plans to invest $10 billion in OpenAI (ChatGPT’s creator). Similarly, Google’s parent company let go 12,000 employees to focus on their “highest priorities” and is working on its own AI-powered answer to ChatGPT.

But marketers may be in the clear, here, despite historically being one of the first departments to be affected by budgeting layoffs. Forbes’ analysis of 365 Data Science’s data found, “While HR and talent sourcing were most affected at Microsoft and Meta, at Google and Twitter, it was software engineers who took the brunt of the cuts.”

It seems AI is coming for human jobs, but not in the way we imagined. And, at least in big tech, a recession-proof job might not be as stabilizing as an AI-proof job. Luckily for marketers, it seems creativity falls into the latter category—keep generating those savvy, revenue-rich campaigns.

Super Bowl’s ad-game is exciting viewers

Who is the real star of the big game, again? A recent Marketing Brew and Harris Poll survey shows 75% of respondents were excited for the ads. Considering the normal hate for advertisings interrupting your chosen program, this makes Super Bowl ads an anomaly.

Respondents also signaled they enjoy “humorous or heartfelt” ads, and marketers should save sappy content for the trash. It seems advertisers have picked up on this:

• Busch Light and Sarah McLachlan collaborated to both poke fun at McLachlan’s infamous ASPCA ads and donate to a great cause.

• Sam Adams and Kevin Garnett of the Celtics rib Bostonians by imagining a reality where they’re “actually nice.”

• And Kevin Bacon and Budweiser team up on a “six degrees” campaign making fun of the actor’s connection to any other actor in fewer than six relationships.

Now we just have to wait and see USA Today’s picks for the most-liked Super Bowl spots post-game day.

While successful Super Bowl ads show us how we should be thinking of our own advertisements, it’s also important to consider the goal of our marketing efforts. Many of the big name brands putting out funny content in conjunction with famous names are looking to introduce a new product from a legacy company or reaffirm brand identity. Don’t let a fun production cloud your ad’s end goal.

Around the Web

• Colleen Hoover's It Ends With Us can thank #BookTok for its movie deal.

• Movie trailers will be back during the Super Bowl—but in fewer numbers.

• Ariana Grande will acquire her beauty brand for an estimated $15 million from Forma Brands.

• Inflation is treating McDonald’s well—it’s set to open 1,900 locations in 2023.

• In 2023, Instagram is leaning back into what it’s known for: photos.

Just Can't Get Enough

Live streams. Millennials stress about them on Instagram, Gen Zers eat them up on TikTok, and ecommerce is seeing all of the benefits.

• In fact, 80% of consumers would rather watch a live stream than read a blog.

• Live streams were the 4th most popular video type in Q2 of 2022.

• Despite a lack of an official show date from Shudder, Darcy the Mail Girl is already creating hype for The Last Drive-In Valentine’s Day live special—a TikTok-approved move.

Are you more excited for the Super Bowl or the Super Bowl ads? Also—if you have 2 minutes, please fill out our super quick reader survey.

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