Around the World: Musk threatens industry, A Face for Radio campaign, Adidas and Nike change tact

Antony Young rounds up media news from beyond Aotearoa in a regular column for StopPress. This week: Elon Musk puts pressure on global brands and media buying agencies, UK charity Changing Faces’ bid for more inclusivity and Adidas and Nike’s brand shift.

Elon Musk’s X: Pay up or else?

Global brands and media buying agencies are relenting to pressure from Elon Musk’s X to resume ad spending as it seeks to raise its valuation for a new funding round. Musk has threatened major brands like Unilever and Nestlé with legal action for pausing ad spend, leveraging his ties to the Trump administration. 

Interpublic Group (IPG), which is in talks for a $ 13 billion merger with Omnicom, reportedly faced direct pressure from X, with Musk’s team warning that failure to increase ad spend could put the deal at risk through the Republican controlled congress. Facing potential legal and political consequences, brands like Apple, Amazon, and Verizon are now returning to X, while IPG has signed an annual spending deal to mitigate risk. 

Campaign to promote visible differences in advertising

UK charity organisation Changing Faces that supports people with scars, burns or disfigurements has launched the ‘A Face for Radio’ campaign, asking brands and agencies to improve their representation of people with visible differences in their advertising.

The campaign features billboard ads showcasing Changing Faces ambassadors strategically placed near major brand headquarters to encourage inclusivity. While creative and casting agencies have shown their support, Changing Faces is now calling on the advertisers to sign their pledge and take the lead in featuring greater representation of talent.

Hey, what do you reckon, NZ agencies and brands?

For Adidas & Nike ‘winning’ isn’t everything  

A great analysis in The Drum by Andrew Tindall [paywalled]of how Nike and Adidas have shifted their brand strategies from high performance to a more casual sport-friendly positioning. For years, Adidas with “Impossible Is Nothing” and Nike with “Just Do It” emphasised ambition and achievement.

But with increased competition from brands like On Running and Lululemon, they have had to re-evaluate their brand messaging. Recently Adidas replaced its long-standing slogan with the softer, more encouraging “You Got This,” aimed at overcoming self-doubt rather than pushing limits. Meanwhile, Nike’s “Winning Isn’t for Everyone,” signals a more relatable and less elite tone.  

YouTube moves to television-first

YouTube is betting its future as a television-first platform with over 1 billion hours of content watched daily on TV screens. TV is also now the primary device for YouTube viewing in the U.S. On election day alone, over 45 million viewers across the U.S. watched content related to the election on YouTube.

YouTube has redesigned its TV app to mirror traditional streaming platforms, introducing features like episodic organisation, real-time live event commentary, and interactive comment displays. CEO Neal Mohan highlights how YouTube Shorts, podcasts, and live streams now sit alongside conventional TV content, redefining modern television. Meanwhile, YouTube TV has surpassed 8 million subscribers, and YouTube Premium and Music now have over 100 million users, fuelling its paid service growth. 

YouTube now offers auto multi-language dubbed audio via AI. For videos with dubbed audio, more than 40% of the total watch time comes from viewers choosing to listen in a dubbed language.  

When social media stunts backfire!

Social media campaigns can quickly turn sour when brands miscalculate authenticity and audience trust. Here’s a couple of recent examples. 

The Barbara Miller book signing stunt is a prime example, where an emotional viral video depicting an elderly author’s book signing at an empty bookstore turned out to be a fabricated marketing ploy, eroding goodwill despite increased book sales.

Similarly, Poppi’s Super Bowl vending machine campaign sparked backlash after the brand prioritised high-profile influencers over its grassroot supporters, alienating the community that helped fuel its early success.  

Meanwhile, bad news for brands that get it wrong as Instagram is now testing a new dislike button allowing users to privately downvote comments, potentially influencing engagement dynamics and shaping brand perception on social media.

PRs go into hyper drive!

If you thought PR speak was already at maximum hyperbole, think again – last year took it up a notch. Press releases are now more “thrilling,” “cutting-edge,” and “groundbreaking” than ever before, with mentions of these buzzwords soaring by over 30% last year, according to PR Newswire data. 

But here’s the twist: this linguistic arms race isn’t making headlines — it’s making journalists hit delete faster. Experts warn that endless corporate cheerleading risks credibility, turning what should be compelling news into white noise. 

Rather than claiming to be “revolutionary”, PR pros are being urged to prove it. As Syracuse University’s Anthony D’Angelo puts it: “Don’t make a claim; substantiate one.” Instead of “game-changing,” how about showing actual game-changing results? 

There is a glimmer of restraint — “passion” is on the decline, and “revolutionary” saw a modest dip last year. But if 2025 continues the trend, we may soon need a new adjective just to describe the adjectives.

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