Edition #523
Apple video ads, ChatGPT ads and Bedrock raises a round.
Apple’s foray into video ads is coming. At least, this week they announced video in the podcasts app. A funny about loop, as Apple arguably invented the podcast. But others ran with video.
Although, I vaguely recall in the early days, you could offer video. But it was lost somewhere along the way.
The other neat thing Apple is doing, is they’re going to get F1 into IMAX. In a select few cities (and races) across the US. Love the idea/innovation. And kind of an interesting way to support the cinemas.
This keeps Apple Studios in the good books, offers a neat fan experience and enhances the value of their IP deal. Separately I do look forward to the Vision Pro race. We forget that Apple has this deep pipeline of tech that they’re always working on.
We’re starting to see the first ads in ChatGPT, and I bet will see a bit more. In chatting with a big advertiser last week, there was skepticism of the ad product. And an arising point – there is no video solution (and you can’t really see a path to one right now). But for a lot of advertisers, that is a pain, or at least will require some rethinking of their campaign planning.
A reader let me know I got a mention in TipSheet, for last weeks note on WebMCP. Thanks!
Notable stories this week
- Apple introduces a new video podcast experience on Apple Podcasts.
- ‘Agentic with a small a’: CMOs are adopting AI more slowly than it’s evolving.
- ChatGPT ads collapse the wall between SEO and paid media.
- The Knot joins OpenAI’s ChatGPT ad test as brands rethink AI visibility.
- Perplexity joins anti-ad camp as AI companies battle over trust and revenue.
- AdCP vs. IAB Tech Lab: Inside programmatic advertising’s agentic AI standards showdown.
- Apple TV partners with IMAX to show Formula 1 races live in theaters.
- ChatGPT ads in the wild.
- Netflix grows its dominance as an ads business.
- Substack partners with Polymarket.
- How Long Gone launches digital series.
- Apple TV partners with IMAX to show Formula 1 races live in theaters.
- AI Isn’t Cutting Marketing Jobs—But It Is Making Them Harder.
- The only taboo left is copyright infringement.
- Publishers explore selling AI visibility know-how to brands.
- Digitas Pictures teams up with Vox Creative and Free Association to rethink branded content.
- Axios CTO is living your coming AI reality.
- Google promises more focused deals with news publishers as FT joins AI pilot.
- Taboola taps ex-Amazon Exec Krishan Bhatia as its first Chief Business Officer.
- ATTN: Names Former BuzzFeed, Complex Executive Edgar Hernandez Its First Chief Commercial Officer.
- Index Exchange CEO outlines programmatic’s shift to impression-level AI.
- How brands can build real connection in a disconnected world.
- Snapchat launches creator subscriptions in the US.
- Disney sends cease and desist letter to ByteDance over Seedance 2.0.
- Hollywood’s copyright fight meets China’s AI boom.
- To ensure audiences return, invite one meaningful action early.
Deals/M&A
- Bedrock Platform Closes Seed Extension Round Led by FirstPartyCapital, with Aperiam Ventures Joining as Co-Investor.
- OpenClaw Creator Joins OpenAI: Meet Future Of Ads.
- Kana emerges from stealth with $15M to build flexible AI agents for marketers.
Campaign of the week
- Sea lions, surf and the steepest street—discover the best of Dunedin, New Zealand. Tourism New Zealand with National Geographic.
Smartest commentary
- “Culture right now is determined not by human teams of editors and producers picking and choosing what youth culture gets the spotlight, but, instead, by the unthinking algorithms that power YouTube and TikTok. Which means the only things that have the level of scarcity and danger required to be seen as cool by young people will, slowly, but surely, be whatever is unacceptable on those platforms.“ –Ryan Broderick, GarbageDay.
Datapoints of note
- Netflix is on track to win almost 10% of global CTV ad spend. The company is on track to win a rapidly rising portion of connected TV (CTV) spend – from 3.7% in 2025 to 9.2% in 2027, according to an Omdia Netflix forecast and WARC CTV spend data.
- Netflix global audience nears one billion.
- TBPN is charging $87,000 per month, around a million a year, for sponsorships.
Events
- Next breakfast is coming up, let me know if you’d like to join.
That’s it for this week.
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