• Heinz and Activision teamed up to put snack breaks into a Call of Duty map and will stream the map spots later this week
• KFC have started a year-long partnership with rapper Jack Harlow, a Kentucky native
• Instagram published their first edition of their Instagram Trends for 2022 report
• Google is settling two lawsuits accusing them of violating children’s privacy laws in New Mexico on a state and federal level

It’s recap AND trend predictions season. Advertising can be a tricky beast as it is, but now more than ever we can see what’s working from the data. So after see what’s been going on the past year, AdWeek put together their top predictions for 2022. Let’s dive in:

1. Shopping journeys will become more complex: Shopping journeys are already hopping between channels and we expect to see more of it. As consumers spend more time on social media, they also have multiple touchpoints with a brand before making a purchase. The year 2022 will be the year of diversification and implementing a true multi-platform social advertising strategy. This will allow brands to meet their customers at every step of their shopping journey.
2. Creative will be more critical than ever: Creative has been undervalued in terms of personalization, and it’s coming back with force. Expect to see brands investing in their creative strategy more heavily. And the key to finding the right creative direction and best-performing ads is a robust creative testing plan. Testing will go hand in hand with this emphasis on creative.
3. Brands will open the data privacy dialogue: With the new privacy regulations, brands will be boosting the transparency and conversation about their data privacy with users. When consumers click “opt-in” or “track cookies,” they typically don’t understand why and that’s gonna change. Smart advertisers are going to build more trust and loyalty by simply opening the dialogue more.
4. AI will dominate, but with human touch: AI is booming but human touch is still required to make it effective. For 2022, expect to see more AI innovation and adoption in ad tech, with human augmentation playing a critical role.

What do you think of these predictions? See the full post in more detail at AdWeek.

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Art really is everywhere you look. Auction Spotter makes it look like something right out of an A24 horror movie in their series of ads. The ads are dark, gritty scenes with a heavy synth soundtracking an intense focal frame on these masterpiece doppelgängers. Some of them are a little spooky. See all the uncanny resemblences at auction-spotter.com.