Pornhub’s parent co. seeks a “fresh start”

Welcome to the latter part of August. Even if the summer’s winding down, that doesn’t mean the heat is off the brands.

Häagen-Dazs Met $1.5M Diversity Commitment

The ice cream brand pledged to support diverse creators in 2021 and proceeded to give $1.5 million over three years. The money went to various nonprofits across industries like music, fashion, art, and culinary.

Pornhub’s Parent Company Rebrands

MindGeek, parent company to Pornhub, is now Aylo. This comes after Visa and Mastercard stopped processing payments for the advertising division last year following unwanted involvement in a harrowing court case. A federal court denied Visa’s request for removal from a case suing MindGeek’s Pornhub for “allegedly distributing child pornography.” The rebrand might mitigate the bad press and urge Visa and Mastercard to process Pornhub advertising payments again—Aylo hopes.

Influencer Marketing Works—But With a Caveat

Influencer marketing has shown returns, but only if brands “nail the experience” first. Having a cool or engaging product or in-store experience “captures the imagination of the audience” and creates a positive brand association. You can’t rely solely on the influencer’s clout.

Marketing Group Warns Against Google Ad Product

“Client-first, consulting-led, community-driven group of 13,000 media and marketing specialists” IPG Mediabrands has advised clients to pause the use of Google's ad product Performance Max on campaigns. A report came out stating ads on YouTube “could have led to the improper tracking of children online.”

Around the Web

• The “girl trends” on TikTok are repackaging womanhood for advertisers.

• Sweetgreen has hired Michael Kotick as head of marketing.

• This Free Marketing Career Roadmap has the tools you need to advance your career, hone your marketing expertise, support your team, and elevate your leadership in a new way.*

• Joe Burrow and Joe Montana are promoting the non-alcoholic Guinness 0 in a new commercial spot.

• In Q2, Walmart Connect’s ad sales grew 36% year-over-year.

^{*This is sponsored advertising content.}

Just Can’t Get Enough

Another “girl” trend—this time, it’s “girl math.”

• Sometimes, you just have to gaslight yourself into self-care.

• The search “girl math” on TikTok has 108.3M views.

• But it does highlight Gen Z’s financial stress.

Do you think MindGeek’s rebrand to Aylo will save its advertising division’s business? Do you have “no comment” on the situation? Reply and let us know, even if you’re thinking, “Who really reads the comments, anyway?”

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