This summer, Maybelline took over public transportation in London and New York with giant mascara wands swiping larger-than-life eyelashes at Tube stops and long, purple buses roaring down Broadway. The videos went viral, with people calling them “top notch” and “the best ad[s] ever.”

Thing is, none of it actually happened.

The videos were created for Maybelline by CGI artist Ian Padgham as part of his production company, Origiful. Padgham has worked with other brands like Burberry, Gucci, Jacquemus, and Château de Cérons on what he calls “FOOH” (pronounced faux) or fake out-of-home content.

“I’ve been copied a lot on styles I’ve created, but I’ve never had one where it’s become so popular so fast,” Padgham told us.

Brands like Adidas, Mattel, and Truff have also used CGI to create seemingly real activations for social media. In addition to creating buzz online, marketers told us that FOOH provides a way for brands to save money and test new ideas without some of the hurdles of traditional OOH.

Read the full story here.—KH

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Holiday cheer is so back, at least according to Deloitte’s 2023 Holiday Retail Survey.

The past few winters have been marked with uncertainty—from the OG Covid year to subsequent variants and travel turmoil. This year, though, holiday participation is expected to be back to pre-pandemic levels, and consumers seem to be willing to spend as they celebrate—with a few caveats.

From a national sample of more than 4,000 consumers, almost all of them (95%) said they’re planning on shopping for the holidays this year. That’s up from 92% last year and 88% in 2021, and is on par with the share from 2020.

Consumers expect to spend an average of $1,652 this holiday season, passing pre-Covid levels for the first time and up 14% year over year. While slightly more people are planning on participating in holiday spending this year than last, the increase in average spend may also be due to inflation: About three in four (72%) said they’re considering higher prices when making that estimate.

A big portion of spending is expected to happen around Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which are also set to experience something of a revival after a dip the last few years, according to Deloitte. More than half (54%) of holiday shoppers plan to make purchases during the week of Thanksgiving, up from 49% last year, 47% in 2021, and 53% in 2020.

Keep reading here.—AM

Despite recent drama in Washington, DC, Google continued to print money last quarter.

The company reported almost $77 billion in revenue during Q3 thanks to a digital advertising market that’s starting to pick up. That’s up 11% year over year, marking its first double-digit increase in a year.

Google executives credited growth to the company’s search and YouTube advertising business, which rebounded after a “period of historic volatility,” CFO Ruth Porat said during an earnings call. YouTube made nearly $8 billion during the quarter, a 12.5% increase compared to the same time last year.

The company reported nearly $60 billion in total advertising revenue in Q3, up from $54 billion in Q3 last year. Still, its stock dropped on missed revenue expectations in its cloud business.

Earlier this year, the company invested in a slew of AI tools for users and advertisers, like generative search. During its earnings call, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said the company will “experiment with new formats” for advertisers interested in generative search, but didn’t elaborate.

Google’s chief business officer, Philipp Schindler, confirmed that yes, seriously, Google Chrome is on track to begin phasing out third-party cookies in the second half of 2024, something it has delayed in the past.

“We’re overall encouraged by the ecosystem engagement on Privacy Sandbox. We’ll continue to work with industry and regulators [on] how these technologies can support the transition to, frankly, a more private web,” he said.

Anxious investors will have to wait until Q4 to get a more comprehensive look at the company’s bet on NFL Sunday Ticket, which YouTube TV has the rights to for the first time this season, Porat said. We wonder how many new subscribers are rooting for the Kansas City Chiefs.—RB