Do Ya Know?
Which of these animals will be joining the Clydesdales in Budweiser's 2026 Super Bowl commercial?
Trending Stories
SOCIAL
👀 TikTok’s US tenure begins with errors and uncertainty.
📈 And UpScrolled sees surge in downloads following TikTok’s US takeover.
📸 Instagram is testing an update to the profile display that could change app dynamics.
🛒 TikTok Shop sellers are pulling back ahead of the end independent shipping.
📧 Google says it’s fixed Gmail issues with spam and misclassification.
🧪 Google launches Experiment Center for improving campaign performance.
BRANDS
📣 US businesses break their silence on ICE.
🤯 LEGO x Crocs = Lego Brick Clogs.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
🤖 AI is now citing YouTube more often than Reddit.
💰 The CPM for ChatGPT ads is 3x the average Meta ad rate.
🧠 LinkedIn adds new gen AI qualifications for your profile.
🔁 Study: AI recommendation lists repeat less than 1% of the time.
What We Learned
Monday: Mediaocean released its 2026 Advertising Outlook, and it’s looking to be a transitional year. Marketers are confident about digital investment and the potential of AI, but there’s a persistent execution gap restraining real impact. Generative AI has moved beyond curiosity to become the top consumer trend cited by ~70% of marketers, but its adoption falls sharply the closer you get to actual campaign execution. So, what does this mean for us?
Tuesday: So, you may have noticed… Google’s AI Overviews can get it wrong sometimes. Egregious errors and minor mistakes have the potential to mislead users and misrepresent brands, which means marketers have a new reputation risk on our plates. Here’s how to get ahead of it.
- 💡 According to our poll, 12% of marketers say AI Overviews get their brand(s) wrong, 30% say the info is “kind of” accurate, and 59% are happy with the results.
Wednesday: Email service provider metrics have their place (like opens and clicks), but they don’t tell the full story of post-click engagement and conversion. GA4 lets you see how email-driven sessions behave on your site in the same analytics property where you track other channels. Here’s how to track email traffic in GA4.
Thursday: Apple and Google’s 2025 platform updates have quietly rewired how email and SMS perform. Now, inbox interfaces are more automated and filtered and less forgiving, which means we have to rethink visibility, measurement, and trust across owned channels. Here’s what that means for email and SMS in 2026.
- 💡 According to our poll, 17% of marketers no longer consider Open Rate a legitimate metric, while 42% say it can still be helpful to track over time.
The Conversation
This week, Ritz Crackers posted and later removed a Thread widely criticized and characterized as inappropriate for the brand.
So, how does this happen?
We’re in a moment where speed, entertainment, and “unhinged” brand personas are winning over the strict guardrails and lengthy approval processes of early social, with cultural resonance in the balance.
How do you and your team solve for this risk? What’s your recovery strategy? Drop us a line in The Daily Carnage Facebook group.
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Ads from The Past
McDonald’s, 1993
Did Ya Know?
Answer: Bald Eagle.
Spoiler alert.
