Media expert Antony Young rounds up media news from beyond Aotearoa in a regular column for StopPress.
This week:
- The US midterms is turning into an expensive and technology-fuelled election campaign.
- Brands are moving away from traditional SEO content and towards creating original content in order to be found by AI.
- A powerful cinema ad has confronted Meta over teen safety.
- WPP’s AI push has sparked backlash.
- US retaillers and brands are embracing a recent windfall from tariff refunds.
- The rise of the ‘marketing engineer’.
US midterms: billions, billionaires and bots
While the battle of the Chrises and kingmaker debates occupy our screens, the sheer scale and intensity of the midterms in the US are another level. The battle for control of the US Senate and House of Representatives is turning into the most expensive and technologically charged midterm election in American history.
They are fuelled by billionaire donors, massive advertising budgets and a flood of AI-generated political attack ads. Advertising spending has already topped $10 billion and is projected to surpass even the 2024 presidential election cycle. Nowhere is the spending more extraordinary than Texas, where the bitter Senate contest between Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico has attracted more than $500 million in advertising. Elon Musk has personally poured $158 million into the Republican-aligned Senate campaign to counter a close run by the Democrats which seemed so unlikely until this year.
Meanwhile, generative AI is adding another dimension to campaign tactics. According to research reported by The New York Times, over 200 video political ads powered by AI are flooding the internet and TV screens, with 80% originating from Republican campaigns or aligned groups. Nearly half feature synthetic depictions of real politicians with negative messages, and around 70% carry no AI disclosure.
Brands turn to content for AI visibility
As AI assistants reshape how consumers discover brands, marketers are shifting their attention from traditional SEO to creating original, authoritative content they are banking AI platforms are more likely to reference. A new Kantar survey found 75% of marketers plan to increase investment in AI search visibility next year.
Rather than producing keyword-heavy blog posts, brands are investing in richer owned content, from documentary-style videos to fashion editorials. Guitar maker Fender has overhauled its website into a storytelling platform, featuring videos about its musical heritage, iconic artists like Jimi Hendrix and the craftspeople behind its guitars, giving AI assistants more detailed brand information to draw on when answering product queries.
Meanwhile, Marshall’s Dead Venues YouTube series showcases emerging bands performing in legendary music venues, reinforcing its association with live music while creating distinctive content that AI search tools can reference. Creative agency Happylucky says it’s seeing growing demand for this approach from brands and its CEO Emily Stutzman argues that this approach serves a dual purpose: building brand credibility with human audiences while increasing the chances of appearing in AI-generated answers.
Cinema ad confronts Meta over teen safety
A powerful 30-second cinema ad by teen safety campaigner ran last week in UK screenings of The Social Reckoning. The ad featuring Ian Russell, whose 14-year-old daughter Molly died in 2017 after exposure to harmful Instagram content. He tells viewers: “Instagram helped kill my daughter. Too little has changed.”
The ad, calling for donations to the Molly Rose Foundation, screened across major cinema chains, with media space donated by cinema advertising contractor Pearl & Dean. The placement is deliberately contextual, appearing before a film examining Meta’s approach to online safety, based on whistleblower Frances Haugen’s revelations.
A 2022 inquest found that harmful online content contributed to Molly’s death, while Meta maintains it has since strengthened protections for teenagers.
WPP’s AI production push sparks backlash
WPP is betting big on AI-powered production, but its ambition to bring more creative work in-house is raising questions about client choice and creative quality. The holding company has folded Hogarth and its wider production teams into WPP Production, a global operation of nearly 10,000 people, supported by AI workflows, virtual production and connected studios.
Its first flagship facility, the 34,000 sq ft Devon’s Point in East London, opened in September, with more planned worldwide. CEO Cindy Rose outlined in WPP’s strategy update: “WPP will emerge as a simpler, lower-cost, AI-enabled business.”
Production was the only one of WPP’s four divisions to show growth in Q2. Campaign’s podcast discussed the implications of this move, noting that leaked internal comms encouraging staff to steer clients towards in-house production and replace traditional competitive bidding with three WPP-supplied bids sparked an industry backlash, prompting WPP to withdraw the guidance. AICP chief Matt Miller argues the model risks prioritising keeping WPP’s production facilities busy over finding the best creative partners for each project.
Tariff refunds fuel marketing budgets
With the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Trump’s tariffs, $136 billion in refund claims have been lodged. The advertising industry could benefit from a sizeable cash injection and US brands are funnelling millions in refunds into advertising.
Retailers including Levi Strauss, Macy’s, Warby Parker and e.l.f. Beauty are promising to reinvest windfalls into brand building and promotions. Levi’s is directing around $20 million into marketing, including campaigns featuring Beyoncé, while Warby Parker plans to use much of its $11.8 million refund to promote AI-powered eyewear developed with Google and Samsung. E.l.f. Beauty has said it is putting some of its $50 million refund towards international marketing, with annual spend expected to reach 23-25% of sales. Macy’s is using much of its $116 million refund to support its turnaround strategy, including brand advertising.
Marketing engineers: are you hiring?
Forget digital ninjas, data scientists and culture anthropologists, the latest trending job title gaining traction in advertising is the ‘marketing engineer’ that combines AI expertise with traditional marketing skills.
LinkedIn job listings using the term rose 29% last year, while the number of people starting marketing engineer roles increased from 98 to 173 in the 12 months to August. AI marketing platform Profound is championing the role, describing it as part technology builder, part marketer, capable of deploying AI agents to automate competitor analysis, media buying, personalised advertising and AI search optimisation.
At blockchain platform Optimism, the marketing team is being rebuilt to automate around 80% of its output, with humans reviewing the results. Figma is even measuring marketing engineers by the number of AI agents deployed, hours saved and revenue generated.
Critics argue the title is simply old marketing functions dressed up for the AI era, borrowing the credibility of engineering to make the profession appear more rigorous. Profound co-founder James Cadwallader insists human judgment remains essential, saying marketers must still determine “what the agents should build.” Whether the title sticks or not, the emerging expectation is that marketers will increasingly need to build and manage AI systems, not just use them.
The post Around the World: Cinema ad confronts Meta over teen safety appeared first on stoppress.co.nz.
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