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As electric vehicles enter the mainstream, Volkswagen subsidiary Electrify America is pouring more than $10 million into a campaign that seeks to bring in new EV buyers. “As Seen on EV,” released today, hypes up electrification by playing on TV show tropes ranging from Western to reality, where a contestant lists the qualities of a car as if it was a true love. Execs framed Electrify America’s campaign, created by the brand’s agency of record Praytell, as “brand neutral,” including keeping a distance from its owner VW’s brands.

Best Livestream Tourney: DoorDash, Battle of the Brands Sept. 24-25, Twitch OS Studios, Wavemaker, Edelman. This year, Twitch streamers tuned in to a two-day melee Battle of the Brands, hosted by esports broadcaster Chris Puckett, where 10 of their favorite players took up arms in defense of a variety of national QSR chains. Playing on the MultiVersus battleground, the participating brands (including Dunkin’, KFC, Taco Bell and Wendy’s) duked it out in round-robin and then double-elimination tournaments. More than 25,000 Twitch streamers tuned in to see the last round, where Chili’s got business done. “Everyone gets super loyal and passionate toward restaurant brands, and it's a hoot to watch the rivalry—like KFC swearing it's better than McDonald's,” said John Higgins, CEO and chief creative officer of the gaming agency OS Studios. “Battle of the Brands was the first to address this culture as an actual fan base while using the incredibly interactive Twitch platform.”

GPJ has been working on high-profile launch events with Gulfstream for years. In 2021, when Gulfstream had not one – but two – new aircraft to launch, they looked to past successes and once again selected GPJ to help bring their evolving innovation story to life. They were confident that GPJ would quickly onboard and partner to create an industry-leading customer launch event. Not one for following standard industry trends, Gulfstream asked GPJ for a bold and creative solution – a hybrid solution – for this launch event, which would increase the reach of the event beyond the physical location at their Savannah, Georgia world HQ to a global audience. Working closely with the Gulfstream marketing team, broadcast partner NOMOBO, and sister agency Spinifex Group, GPJ designed, built, directed and broadcast Gulfstream’s worldwide show reveal of the all-new Gulfstream G400 and Gulfstream G800 aircraft LIVE to both in person and virtual audiences.

Dreamforce, the largest annual consumer-facing event from tech giant Salesforce, returned to San Francisco this year and celebrated 20 years of the event. With a reported in-person attendance of 40,000 (attendees are playfully known as "Trailblazers"), it was the largest trade event in the city since the onset of the pandemic. Dreamforce 2022—held Sept. 20-22 at the Moscone Center and produced by experiential marketing and design company George P. Johnson—spanned more than 1,000 sessions and 60 keynotes, including high-profile speakers like Bono, Jane Goodall, Matthew McConaughey, and Jennifer Hudson.

In 2020, Praytell suddenly did not feel like the best place to work (even though the New York public relations firm had just won a seventh Best Place to Work prize). When the pandemic hit, burnout was high, and employees began to leave. To deal with burnout, something had to give. While the four-day workweek had been on founder Andy Pray's radar for some time, it never seemed viable for a firm in the service industry. Now, it looked like low-hanging fruit. Seven months in, 98% of Praytell employees reported wanting to see the four-day week become permanent. And 90% strongly agreed that teams operate as “efficiently and respectfully” as before while still meeting deadlines.

The first wave of social media platforms—MySpace, Facebook, Reddit, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, Snapchat—created the landscape we all now live, work, communicate and play in. But more and more platforms have been popping up in recent years, outpacing their more established competitors in relevance and challenging the nature of how we experience social media. Another platform quickly gaining speed is Whatnot, the community marketplace app geared toward fans and collectors. “I think the rise of Whatnot is a great example of how culture is reciprocal—Whatnot is basically eBay livestreamed,” said John Higgins, CEO and chief creative officer at OS Studios. He explains that apps like Whatnot were created for mainstream culture to gain access into niche culture—rather than platforms that simply allow niche culture to connect, like YouTube and Twitch. “To that end, I think we are going to see how social media starts to trend into other realms, like the metaverse,” Higgins said. “In a few years, it will be normal to metaphysically explore someone’s timeline via headset or smart device.”

Advertising Week and Warner Bros. Discovery are thrilled to reveal the women of this year’s Future is Female Awards judging panel. Our 23 hand-picked judges come from a colorful scape of experience and backgrounds and represent the core values of the Future is Female Program. The panel includes Sharon Napier, Executive Chair & Founder, Partners + Napier.

Marketing and ad agency Motive, a member of the Project Worldwide agency network, welcomes Lixaida Lorenzo as the new VP Group Creative Director out of Motive’s LA office. The new hire serves as a catalyst for the agency’s business growth, offering current and future clients new perspectives on creative solutions that are in tune with what is happening in culture while remaining true to their brand.

In just 77 days from idea to execution, Destination Canada and Praytell brought one of the Great White North’s most iconic cold-weather experiences—the Aurora Borealis, or northern lights—to New York City. The immersive experience gave visitors the perspective of walking through the northern lights, thanks to a floor-to-ceiling mirrored light display that incorporated interactive visuals to emulate the mesmerizing beauty of the northern lights. The limited-time exhibit also honored the deep connection between the northern lights and the Indigenous population of Canada through native storytelling and an audio partnership with Inuit throat singing group, Tarniriik. A targeted local ad buy, social media campaign and win-a-trip sweepstakes complimented the immersive experience so New Yorkers couldn’t miss it.