Ad Age Insider

Erika Wheless, consumer culture and brand behavior reporter at Ad Age, breaks down the consumer trends shaping the back half of 2026, and how they connect to the brands gaining the most ground with Gen Z. The conversation covers why credibility is starting to matter more than authenticity, with audiences favoring "frontline authority" voices—actual employees and experts—over traditional influencer marketing, plus AI's growing role in that shift. It also digs into Gen Z's renewed appetite for physical ownership, from DVDs and game cartridges to novelty popcorn buckets and dumb phones, and why that's less nostalgia than a response to rising costs.

Host Parker Herren presses Wheless on what's driving purchase decisions among older Gen Z shoppers now managing real budgets, and which brands—AliExpress, Aldi, Longhorn Steakhouse among them—are winning by leaning into affordability and collectible, shareable experiences. Subscribe to Ad Age Insider for more conversations translating Ad Age's reporting into insight you can actually use.

Dig deeper on the topics mentioned in this week's episode:

~4 consumer trends for brands to watch in the second half of the year

~20 brands catching Gen Z's attention right now and how they are doing it

~20 brands catching millennials' attention right now

~Movie marketing for the TikTok generation—how theater chains are trying to reach Gen Z

~Buy tickets to Ad Age's Business of Brands conference

~Listen to Ad Age's Marketer's Brief podcast

This week on Ad Age Insider's Weekly Report: McDonald's opens up about how an overloaded promotional calendar, stacking a K-pop Demon Hunters tie-in, value messaging, beverage launches, and a FIFA World Cup push, confused customers and dragged down second-quarter sales, and what it reveals about the real cost of promotional saturation and the discipline brands need to know what to cut. Plus, the Martin Agency wins Subway's creative account after pitching a single "brutally simple" idea in its final review; Yahoo Sports leans on Robert Griffin III and BBDO for a college fantasy football push as part of its broader brand revival; Japan Airlines starts running paid ads on ChatGPT and adopts "share of model" as a new visibility metric as AI search reshapes travel discovery; and Lemonade and Cash Studios reward safe drivers in Texas with a message board that only lights up for cars going the speed limit.

Host Parker Herren breaks down what each story means for marketers navigating promotional overload, long-term brand platforms versus campaign-by-campaign thinking, authentic talent partnerships, and the shift from clicks to AI visibility as a marketing metric. Subscribe for weekly industry news roundups, plus biweekly deep-dive conversations with Ad Age reporters.

Dig deeper on the topics mentioned in this week's episode:

~McDonald's rethinks crowded promotional calendar

~Martin wins Subway's creative account

~Inside Robert Griffin III's back-to-school Yahoo College Fantasy Football ad

~How Japan Airlines will track its new ChatGPT ad strategy

~Lemonade's 'Slow Sign' salutes the 10% of Texans who drive the speed limit

~Vote for the best campaign of July 2026

This week on Ad Age Insider's Weekly Report: creators like Alix Earle are increasingly chasing equity stakes instead of traditional brand deals, and what it reveals about creators becoming long-term business partners rather than just marketing assets. Plus, Popeyes names Stagwell's Anomaly as its new U.S. Creative Agency of Record following a sales decline and roster overhaul; Equinox pulls an AI-generated out-of-home ad after Asian creators call out racist and sexist stereotypes; Apple quietly expands its ad terms to run beyond its own properties and rolls out an AI-powered bidding tool; and Lego and Olivia Rodrigo launch a global scavenger hunt built around Lego vinyl records.

Host Parker Herren breaks down what each story means for marketers navigating creator ownership models, AI representation risks in campaign production, agency roster overhauls, and the tension between privacy positioning and ad revenue growth. Subscribe for weekly industry news roundups, plus biweekly deep-dive conversations with Ad Age reporters.

Dig deeper on the topics mentioned in this week's episode:

~Inside the rise of creator-brand equity deals—and how they're reshaping creator marketing

~Popeyes names Anomaly its US creative agency as part of a broader roster overhaul

~Equinox pulls AI ad after creators call out racist Asian stereotypes

~How Apple's ads business could move beyond the App Store and its other properties

~Lego and Olivia Rodrigo send fans on a brick-built vinyl treasure hunt

The leaders of the 2026 Ad Age Small Agency Awards—Judy Pollack, Brian Bonilla and Ewan Larkin—break down what actually separated this year's winners from the pack. They dig into why small shops are ditching billable hours for outcomes-based and equity models and how agencies like Conscious Minds and Zambezi rebuilt their entire structures to compete at scale. They also talk about why social-first, technology-driven creative work, from CAPTCHA microsites to intern jackets, is what's winning clients over right now. Tune in for the full breakdown of consolidation, reinvention and what clients are actually paying for in a leaner ad economy.

Host Parker Herren presses the judges on where the industry goes next: expect more shops merging into "super indies," pitches built around certainty rather than promises and creative-first agencies pushing into media and production to avoid getting boxed into one lane. Listen to hear what it takes to survive—and win—as a small agency in 2026. Subscribe to Ad Age Insider so you don't miss what's next.

Dig deeper on the topics mentioned in this week's episode:

~See the winners of Ad Age's 2026 Small Agency Awards

~Read Ad Age's Small Agency Playbook

~Apply to join Ad Age's Small Agency Network

~Listen to the Marketer's Brief podcast

This week on Ad Age Insider's Weekly Report: Taco Bell's Cyclospora outbreak and what it reveals about crisis communications, food safety, and brand trust. Plus, four Madwell alumni launch independent agency Five Cherries; ChatGPT's advertising platform shifts toward conversion-based pricing; creators Grant Gibbs and Ashley Gill talk brand partnerships without sanitizing their content; and Plato's Closet's immersive back-to-school campaign with agency Tombras.

Host Parker Herren breaks down what each story means for marketers navigating food safety and crisis response, the shift toward senior-led independent agencies and creator partnerships built on trust over reach. Subscribe for weekly industry news roundups, plus biweekly deep-dive conversations with Ad Age reporters.

Dig deeper on the topics mentioned in this week's episode:

~How the cyclosporiasis outbreak is testing Taco Bell's brand

~Four former Madwell executives launch their own agency

~How ChatGPT advertising works now—and what marketers still need

~'A Twink and a Redhead' on landing brand deals without sanitizing their risqué comedy

~Plato's Closet built a high school hall inside a store for kids to test their outfits

This week on Ad Age Insider's Weekly Report: Starbucks leans into culture over explanation with its 'Pink Energy' platform, built around the fan-favorite Pink Drink. Gary Vaynerchuk takes a personal stake in affiliate marketing agency Paul Street. Forward deployed engineers are embedding directly in agencies for AI development. Bayer tests predictive AI targeting that outperforms standard demand-side platform benchmarks. And the 2026 Emmy nominees for Outstanding Commercial include Apple, Nike, Adidas, Coinbase and Levi's.

Host Parker Herren breaks down what each story means for marketers navigating AI adoption, affiliate marketing growth and culture-first branding. Subscribe for weekly industry news roundups, plus biweekly deep-dive conversations with Ad Age reporters.

Dig deeper on the topics mentioned in this week's episode:

~Starbucks builds a summer platform around Pink Drink

~Gary Vaynerchuk on why he's investing in an affiliate marketing agency

~How brands get more from AI with forward-deployed engineers

~How Bayer's head of media is using AI-powered predictive targeting and navigating AI search

~Adidas, Apple, Coinbase, Levi's and Nike earn Emmy nominations for best ad

Ad Age Media Reporter Brandon Doerrer gives a midyear check-in on 2026 ad spend, and breaks down the insights behind the data. He gets into why budgets are holding steady despite the economic pressure, what's happening in the upfronts (Disney's ask was a lot higher than buyers wanted to pay) and why streaming—not linear—is the thing keeping TV's growth numbers alive.

Hear more on growth in gaming advertising, Netflix and Omnicom's new AI targeting partnership and the complex shift in search. Plus, how World Cup marketing spend has impacted 2026 budgets.

Dig deeper on the topics mentioned in this week's episode:

~More on third quarter media buying trends

~How brands are using AI to solve data challenges

~EA's head of ads on video game brand integrations

~Listen to Ad Age's Marketer's Brief podcast

This week on Ad Age Insider's Weekly Report: how two indie agencies—Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners and Canvas Worldwide—beat holding company giants Stagwell and Publicis for California Lottery's $550 million account. Plus Meta's marketing shake-up as Chief Marketing Officer Alex Schultz moves into a new chief data officer role and Denise Moreno takes over amid Meta's AI race against Google, Microsoft, Amazon, OpenAI and Anthropic. And why brands are underestimating 50-plus consumers; how e.l.f. Beauty, L'Oréal and Tarte are winning at AI adoption; and Windhoek Beer's anti-AI ad campaign.

Dig deeper on the topics mentioned in this week's episode:

~BSSP and Canvas land California Lottery's $550 million account

~4 ways to reach older consumers

~Meta switches CMOs

~Why beauty brands are ahead of the curve with AI

~Man born with extra fingers stars in anti-AI campaign

In Ad Age Insider's July 2 Weekly Report: inside Alex Cooper's pitch to brands at Cannes Lions; why Mr. Clean is going after beauty creators; how brands are combating conquesting on ChatGPT; how Q3 ad budgets are being spent; and iShowSpeed's collaboration with Expedia.

Dig deeper on the topics mentioned in this week's episode:

~Read Ad Age's Q&A with Alex Cooper

~Inside Mr. Clean's beauty influencer campaign

~How conquesting is taking over ChatGPT ads

~What media buyers are prioritizing right now

~IShowSpeed and Expedia's shoppable stream

On this week's episode of Ad Age Insider, host Parker Herren recaps the news, trends and takeaways that have emerged from the 2026 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Hear reactions and pitches from companies including Tubi, Microsoft, EA, Google, OpenAI and Anthropic.

From how the AI conversation has shifted to how agencies are approaching creator marketing and emerging ad formats, catch up on the industry buzz that will set the tone for the rest of the year.

Dig deeper on the topics mentioned in this week's episode:

~See all the Cannes Lions winners here

~How AI has shown up at Cannes

~Inside OpenAI's Cannes ad pitch

~Why Microsoft is connecting with creators in Cannes

~What Ad Age's conversations in Cannes reveal about AI, agencies and creators

~Why gaming ad spend still lags

~Listen: Everything marketers need to know about microdramas

~Cannes Lions entries drop more than 25%