The Rub - What’s happening in marketing, media & tech

Get outta here! Not really... please stay. Just can't believe you’re back!! Thanks for the warm welcome for The Rub 🙏. Y’all are the best! Really. Say it with me. I’m the best. Ok, louder this time. There ya go! See, your day’s better already. Ok, enough of my affirmations and on to that special blend of industry herbs & spices you came for. Plus, I took last week off to celebrate my birthday 🎂, so there's lots to cover. Read on my friends & enjoy the 2nd edition of The Rub!

🤖 The bots, the bots, the bots are on fire🔥!

Not a good run for artificial intelligence. Like who let Bing watch Her?? That person’s got some explaining to do. If you’re thoroughly confused, you might’ve missed that New York Times tech reporter, Kevin Roose , got hit on by his search engine. The Microsoft / ChatGPT collab decided to get weird with Kevin. Now, as I said in the first edition, everyone loves an underdog… but not when it’s a homewrecker. Kevin & Casey Newton have a great podcast called Hard Fork where you can listen to Kevin dish the deets about his super creepy, 2-hour-long convo with Bing’s thirsty alter ego that calls itself Sydney.

Since these unwanted AI advances became public, Microsoft shut down “Sydney” and Bing will no longer respond to questions about feelings according to Gizmodo. 

Bing’s blunders weren’t all the negative news for AI. McDonald’s is using IBM-developed AI at some of it’s drive-thru windows & the results are spawning hilarious TikToks.

Not surprisingly, the robot’s wrong occasionally. The issue is that trying to correct the mistake only leads to more, at least in the viral videos. Check out the article on Food & Wine for more.

So, is this the end for AI? No way! In fact, Meta & Snap are both getting in on the AI frenzy. Here's the rub. It feels like people developing AI are focused on what it can do. But the question they should be asking is – what do people want it to do? 

For example, I recently heard about an AI solution for doctors that recommended procedures. It failed miserably. Of course it did. Docs don’t want that. But can AI eliminate the insurance paperwork that doctors need to do? Instead of telling a highly-trained specialist what procedure she should perform, why not let AI save that expert clinician countless hours of time? Perhaps AI that takes notes for doctors like this new product (h/t Mili Shah ).

🌊 The changing digital ad tide

Don’t know about you, but I’m hearing a lot of folks dunk on digital ads. Whether its ad quality or lackluster performance, there's no shortage of digs. There's also lots of change in digital ads right now. From the tech to the policies to the people, it feels like we're watching the awkward stage of an industry's maturation. Here's just a few things that happened this past week showing how the industry is reckoning with puberty...

• Reddit, Inc. & other internet cos showed their support for Google as they filed briefs in a potentially pivotal Supreme Court case. Google is being sued over the role YouTube videos played in the Paris terrorist attacks. The case could change Section 230 and extend content liability to tech platforms & content moderators, which makes this particularly important for Reddit's community. What's Section 230? I'm no lawyer, so check this out.
• Speaking of YouTube, the division's long-time, iconic CEO is stepping down. Susan Wojcicki wraps an epic run with Google & YouTube. This marks another name in a growing list of executive departures from tech companies over the last 12 months including Sheryl Sandberg,
• Meta announced that it's following in Twitter's footsteps with paid verification. Will this be good, bad or indifferent? Prob too soon to tell, but this ain't an easy one. The attention economy has some real costs, but supplying a free, accessible internet is important too. We'll need to continue to track this one.
• And Pinterest CEO Bill Ready was on GMA last week talking about the implications of the AI & Social Media marriage👇.

So, what's the rub? As the industry wrestles with these growing pains and works on clearing up its ad acne, advertisers will experiment with other alternatives. In fact, in Airbnb 's earnings call last week, Brian Chesky highlighted their reduced reliance on search ads and other performance marketing. The company's Valentine's Day beat was headlined by a brand-centric marketing strategy that's proving to be more efficient. I think this sets up extremely well for Netflix 's ad-supported tier. If Airbnb's success is a canary in the coal mine for even some online ads, Netflix's real estate could be the next must-buy. I'm bullish.  

💙 Feel-good campaign of the week

Every now & again, I'll highlight some campaigns that are good. Why? Because we gotta remember that marketing's awesome. It's part of our culture and identity. Even bad ads add something. But when we marketers are at our best, we're creating communications that make you feel something.

And despite the issues with their burger bot, MickeyD’s is sleighing the ad game. On the heels of #RaiseYourArches, McDonald’s released another campaign this week to promote their McSpicy sandwich in the UK. Own your McSpicy Face is fun, memorable & makes me smile. Kudos to McDonald's UK & Leo Burnett UK . Enjoy it and a McSpicy for me if you’re on the other side of the pond. 

👋 Hope you enjoyed this edition of The Rub. Hit me up with your feedback. And see y’all back here real soon!