Tag: advertising

Ad Titans Promise To End Censorship Bias To Gain Power

Two of the world’s most powerful advertising firms, Omnicom and Interpublic Group (IPG), have formally agreed to dismantle their involvement in politically driven advertising coordination, marking a major policy reversal amid a growing federal crackdown on viewpoint-based censorship in the media economy.

The firms, who are set to merge in a $13.5 billion deal approved Monday by the Federal Trade Commission, will be subject to rigorous compliance mandates and are now bound by a commitment to cease all current and future coordination aimed at directing advertising revenue based on political beliefs.

The consent agreement represents a rare and forceful rebuke of ideological collusion within the advertising sector and comes following allegations from media outlets that they were demonetized and blacklisted by advertisers over their political views or coverage.

Under the terms outlined by FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, Omnicom and IPG must fully cooperate with federal investigations into past practices and submit regular reports demonstrating compliance.

The proposed order “imposes restrictions that prevent Omnicom from engaging in collusion or coordination to direct advertising away from media publishers based on the publishers’ political or ideological viewpoints,” the FTC said.

We obtained a copy of the order for you here.

The new conditions prohibit the merged entity from participating in any initiative that influences ad placement based on ideological or political criteria. In addition to annual reporting, the companies must provide immediate documentation to the FTC upon request and support inquiries into previous coordination to blacklist media organizations.

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TV Networks Face Advertising Apocalypse After Trump Admin Mulls Pharma Restrictions

Last week independent Senators Bernie Sanders (VT) and Angus King (ME) introduced legislation that would ban pharmaceutical companies from promoting prescription drugs directly to consumers – including through television, radio, print, digital platforms, and social media. 

Today, Bloomberg reports that the Trump administration is now ‘discussing policies that would make it harder and more expensive for pharmaceutical companies to advertise directly to patients.’

The two policies the administration has focused in on would be to require greater disclosures of side effects of a drug within each ad — likely making broadcast ads much longer and prohibitively expensive — or removing the industry’s ability to deduct direct-to-consumer advertising as a business expense for tax purposes, these people said.

Although the US is the only place, besides New Zealand, where pharma companies can directly advertise, banning pharma ads outright could make the administration vulnerable to lawsuits, so it’s instead focusing on cutting down on the practice by adding legal and financial hurdles, according to people familiar with the plans who weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

If this happens, it would mark a major victory for Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr., who says he believes Americans consume more drugs than people in other countries due to the ability of US drug companies to directly advertise to consumers. 

While running for president, Mr. Kennedy said he would issue an executive order removing pharmaceutical ads from television, citing overmedication and industry influence on news coverage.

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FTC probes Media Matters over Musk’s X boycott claims, document shows

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has demanded documents from Media Matters about possible coordination with other media watchdogs accused by Elon Musk of helping orchestrate advertiser boycotts of X, according to a document seen by Reuters on Thursday.

The civil investigative demand seen by Reuters seeks information about Media Matters’ communications with other groups that evaluate misinformation and hate speech in news and social media, including a World Federation of Advertisers initiative called Global Alliance for Responsible Media. X has ongoing lawsuits against both organizations.

The probe marks an escalation in U.S. government scrutiny of whether groups like Media Matters helped advertisers coordinate to pull ad dollars from X after Musk bought the social media site formerly known as Twitter in 2022.

The demand seeks all documents Media Matters, a Washington, D.C.-based liberal advocacy group, has produced or received in the X lawsuit related to advertiser boycotts.

FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, who was appointed by President Donald Trump to run the agency, highlighted the potential for a probe in December.

“We must prosecute any unlawful collusion between online platforms, and confront advertiser boycotts which threaten competition among those platforms,” Ferguson said in a statement on an unrelated case.

The U.S. House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Republican member Jim Jordan, accused the Global Alliance for Responsible Media last year of coordinating an illegal group boycott. The initiative was shut down in August.

A spokesperson for the FTC declined to comment.

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Texas House OKs Bill To Sue Vaccine Makers for False Ads

In a major victory for accountability and informed consent, the Texas House of Representatives passed HB 3441 yesterday, a bill that would allow Texans to sue vaccine manufacturers whose advertising leads to injury or harm.

The unprecedented move comes as CDC data show there have been an alarming 2,665,796 adverse events linked to vaccines since 1990, the vast majority related to COVID-19 jabs.

But if fewer than 1% of adverse events are reported – as a 2010 HHS-funded Harvard analysis confirms – the real number could exceed 266 million, or roughly 7.6 million per year, or 20,800 per day.

First filed in February, the new bill passed yesterday by a vote of 88–31, moving the legislation one step closer to becoming law.

The pioneering legislation boasts a whopping 79 brave sponsors, 74 Republicans and 5 Democrats.

The bill is spearheaded by Representatives Shelley Luther (R-62), Jeff Leach (R-67), Marc LaHood (R-121), Oscar Longoria (D-35), and Mike Schofield (R-132).

If you want this kind of bill passed in your state or at the federal level, you can find your local, state, and U.S. representatives here and let them know.

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YouTube and Netflix Deploy AI and Behavioral Tracking to Intensify Targeted Advertising

YouTube and Netflix are moving aggressively to expand the ways they track and monetize viewer behavior, leaning further into AI-driven systems and behavioral profiling to fine-tune ad delivery.

YouTube’s latest experiment with intrusive advertising comes in the form of “Peak Points,” a format that leverages Google’s Gemini AI to dissect video content and identify the exact moment a viewer is most emotionally invested.

Ads are then served immediately after these moments. While the idea is to capture attention when it’s most focused, the reality for viewers could mean jarring interruptions right after an emotional payoff or a pivotal scene.

This development was announced during YouTube’s Upfront event in New York, where the company pitched it as a smarter way to keep audiences engaged with advertisements. But the concept is likely to be unwelcome news for users already frustrated by mid-roll ads. Now, even emotional immersion is being treated as just another metric for ad targeting.

Meanwhile, Netflix is unveiling its own strategy to transform user engagement into a high-resolution marketing blueprint. At its recent advertising presentation, Netflix rolled out a host of new tools that feed off detailed user data, facilitated by what it calls the Netflix Ads Suite. The platform is now operational in North America and will soon be deployed across all countries where the ad-supported model is available.

A key feature of the system is its “Enhanced Data Capabilities,” which allow brands to merge their customer data with Netflix’s audience data. This process, conducted through intermediaries like LiveRamp or directly through Netflix, enables highly targeted ad delivery. To support this, Netflix has granted data access to third-party giants including Experian and Acxiom, firms notorious for building detailed consumer profiles for advertisers.

Netflix is also introducing a “clean room” setup, a controlled data-sharing environment where outside partners can analyze combined datasets without directly accessing raw user information. However, such structures often do little to curb the broader privacy implications of the data they facilitate.

Another part of Netflix’s expanded toolkit includes “brand lift” measurement, essentially tying a user’s viewing habits to how they perceive particular brands. It’s a more aggressive step toward turning personal entertainment choices into commercially valuable behavioral signals.

In tandem with these tools, Netflix has previewed new ad formats powered by generative AI. These include interactive mid-roll and pause-screen ads that can include prompts, overlays, or even buttons to push content to a second screen. These formats are being framed as personalized and responsive, and are slated to be available across all ad-tier markets by 2026.

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Following the Money on RFK’s Top Targets, Pharma Ads & Soda

What do Big Pharma ads on TV and Diet Coke have in common? Both are targets of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the new head of the Health and Human Services department.

In his early efforts to press the “Make America Healthy Again,” Kennedy has singled out two seemingly different issues: those ubiquitous television ads for pharmaceuticals, and whether people on federal food assistance programs should be able to buy soda and junk food on the taxpayer dime.

Popping open a can of Diet Coke to open the latest episode of The Drill Down, host Peter Schweizer savors the taste of crony capitalism.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign to swiftly bar the use of food stamps to buy soda is fueling tensions between his team and the Agriculture Department. Of course, the American Beverage Association, a trade group that lobbies on behalf of “Big Soda,” is firing back, too.

HHS wants the Trump administration to approve petitions from the governors of Kentucky and West Virginia to ban soda purchases from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP) program for the first time. But the USDA controls the program, not HHS. So that sets up a conflict, and for the beverage industry the stakes are very high.

The SNAP program costs $100 billion per year and serves about 42 million Americans.

Co-host Eric Eggers says that Coca-Cola would see a 2.5 percent decline in worldwide sales if sugary sodas were no longer covered by SNAP nationwide. Coca-Cola is just one of many makers of soda. Moreover, about 25 percent of all SNAP program spending is done at the cash registers at Walmart, so its influence will be felt as well.

The show also takes on another perennial issue and MAHA target — pharmaceutical advertising on television.

Every American is used to hearing and seeing ads for miracle drugs when watching television, especially news programs and sports. They often show bright, happy old people whirling around in golf carts or briskly walking while a voiceover speed-reads a cocktail of terrifying potential side effects.

“I’m generally a free-speech guy, but what is the purpose of these ads? They are meant to create demand for new, expensive drugs,” Schweizer points out.

Here also is the brewing conflict with those who make money based on those ads — media companies that sell those ad spaces to Big Pharma. About 30 percent of the ads sold for any news show on TV are for pharmaceuticals. Many people have noticed how generally easy the news media at those networks go on pharmaceutical companies.

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Indiana Lawmakers Weigh Widespread Ban On All Marijuana Advertising, Not Just On Billboards

Indiana lawmakers could ban all marijuana advertising within state lines under an amendment adopted Monday in a transportation-focused committee. It goes beyond the billboard-specific prohibition taken in a Senate panel last week.

Rep. Jim Pressel (R-Rolling Prairie) said his community is “inundated” with billboards advertising illegal marijuana. The district is near Michigan, which has legalized it.

But that’s not all.

“My constituents, myself included, receive up to two—what would look like political mailers—a week advertising an illegal substance” at dispensaries in nearby New Buffalo, per Pressel. He chairs the House Roads and Transportation Committee.

He commandeered Senate Bill 73, dealing with utility trailer sales, for an amendment outlawing the advertising of marijuana and other drugs on Indiana’s list of Schedule I controlled substances. Indiana’s attorney general could sue for injunctions, civil penalties of up to $15,000 and “reasonable costs” incurred throughout the investigation and lawsuit.

“I’ve heard about [how] the First Amendment, I’m trampling on it. I don’t believe that to be true,” Pressel told the committee. He cited a federal appeals court decision that, “basically, if it’s a criminal activity, you have no First Amendment right to advertise. That’s my understanding.”

The ban would take effect upon the bill’s passage. Advertising from contracts entered into or renewed before the approval date would be exempt.

The committee accepted the edits by consent.

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Indiana Lawmakers Approve Bill To Ban Marijuana Advertising On Billboards

Tuesday discussion around a Bureau of Motor Vehicle (BMV) bill descended into impassioned debate over marijuana advertising, which Republican lawmakers said should be restricted.

In contention was House Bill 1390, authored by Rep. Jim Pressel (R-Rolling Prairie). The underlying legislation originally just dealt with BMV agency matters, like insurance verification, specialty license plates and registration stickers.

But among multiple changes adopted by the Senate Homeland Security and Transportation Committee on Tuesday—including a significant amendment addressing “predatory” towing—was a ban on “outdoor” marijuana advertising, notably on highway billboards.

Specifically, the amended bill language seeks to prohibit outdoor advertisements for products containing marijuana or a variety of other controlled substances, including heroin, LSD and ecstasy.

The bill now moves to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Pressel, whose district extends to Indiana’s northern border, described “billboards all over the place that say, ‘Come to my store and buy this,’” referencing dispensaries in Michigan, where recreational marijuana is legal.

“And we have trucks—mobile billboards—that drive around and sit in front of our parks. That’s unacceptable, and it sends a mixed message to the consumer that this product is legal in Indiana, which it is not,” said Pressel, who unsuccessfully attempted to add the provision to a separate House bill earlier in the session.

“I think that’s an unfair message,” he continued, “and I believe that we should get in front of this to say that if it’s an illegal substance, listed on our illegal substance list in the state of Indiana, you should not be able to advertise for that.”

Multiple advertisers pushed back.

Ron Breymier, executive director of the Outdoor Advertising Association of Indiana, cited First Amendment issues. He argued that policymakers can dictate the size and placement of billboards, but “not the actual advertisement itself.”

Phones and internet searches, Breymier said, are a “greater threat” than billboards.

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Elon Wins Again: Advertisers Who Boycotted X Have Returned

Remember when major companies including Disney pulled their advertising from X after Elon Musk took over, and then Elon told them to go fuck themselves?

Well, they’ve come crawling back.

Musk is suing Soros funded rabid leftist organisation Media Matters for suggesting that the ads were appearing next to “hate speech.”

In the meantime it appears that the huge companies involved have finally realised that shutting off their reach to half the planet on the world’s biggest platform isn’t the smartest of ideas.

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Kamala Harris Caught Red-Handed Running Contradictory Ads to Try and Win Both Jewish and Arab Voters – Pro Israel Ads in Pennsylvania – Pro Gaza Ads in Michigan

Kamala Harris got caught running contradictory ads to win over both Jewish and Arab voters.

Arab voters in Dearborn, Michigan are voting for President Trump. Arabs are supporting Trump because they believe he will bring peace to the Middle East.

Muslim protestors have been heckling Kamala Harris at her rallies over the Biden Regime’s support for Israel.

Harris may lose Michigan due to opposition from Muslim voters.

Pennsylvania’s Jewish voters could also decide the crucial battleground state.

Kamala Harris is so desperate to win the Arab and Jewish vote amid the ongoing Israel-Gaza war that she is running contradictory ads.

According to CNN: The Pennsylvania ads highlight Kamala’s ‘support’ for Israel’s “ability to defend itself,” and Michigan ads say “she will not be silent” about Gaza.

“Facebook advertisements aimed at voters in Pennsylvania play a video of her speech at the Democratic National Committee on defending Israel — but sliced together two sections by omitting the part where she talks about the suffering in Gaza,” CNN reported.

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