Between milestone anniversaries and a social media outage heard ‘round the world, the marketing world was full of action this week. Catch up on all the latest news in our Weekly Must Reads.

Take a Walk Down “NBA Lane”

The NBA kicked off its 75^th anniversary celebration in true sports advertisement fashion – with nostalgic references and famous stars. The league’s new two-minute ad, called “NBA Lane,” features actor Michael B. Jordan as he drives the “Hoop Bus” through streets bursting with NBA legends, including Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Lebron James, and many others. There are plenty of subtle references for NBA superfans will appreciate, along with a moment of silence for Kobe Bryant and the things that are “bigger than basketball.”

According to NBA CMO Kate Jhaveri, the players coming together was essential to tell the league’s story. They also included many historic basketball locations in the ad, such as South L.A., Springfield, Massachusetts and Bloomington, Indiana. Check out the full list of hidden references and the ad itself here: https://www.adweek.com/agencies/the-nba-with-michael-b-jordan-at-the-wheel-just-made-one-of-the-best-sports-ads-ever/?itm_source=parsely-api

Disney Hopes to Boost Parks Sales with 50^th Anniversary Events

The NBA isn’t the only mega-brand celebrating an anniversary this year. Walt Disney World has also begun celebrations for its own 50^th anniversary, with a full slate of events and new attractions scheduled to roll out over the next 18 months. The promotions include new roller coasters, a high-end hotel, and even a new theme song, The Magic Is Calling. Already, Disney fans from around the globe are flooding into Orlando, ready to spend the cash they saved during the pandemic on airlines, resorts, and Disney merchandise.

This milestone anniversary comes as a much-needed boost for Walt Disney World, which lost billions of dollars in 2020 when the parks were temporarily shut down. According to Bob Chapek, CEO of Disney, park reservations for the rest of the year have been holding steady. They also expect to see even more visitors returning in 2022 as anniversary celebrations continue. Dive into all the Disney details here:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/01/business/disney-world-anniversary-pandemic.html

Louis Vuitton Gets in on the Squid Game

Louis Vuitton wasted no time capitalizing on the recent popularity of Netflix’s new hit show Squid Game. Last week, the fashion brand signed star Jung Ho-Yeon as its newest global ambassador. Though Squid Game is Ho-Yeon’s first acting appearance, the show’s massive success has already helped the young star become the most-followed Korean actress on Instagram. Since September 17, she ha garnered 12.5 million new followers. Ho-Yeon has also seen record engagement on her account. She’s currently averaging about 1 in 5 followers liking or commenting on her photos.

The deal with Louis Vuitton will likely be the first of many for Ho-Yeon and her co-stars. Netflix expects Squid Game to become its most-watched show of all time, and its controversial subject matter will keep audiences talking long after they finish binge-watching. Learn more about the new partnership here: https://www.thedrum.com/news/2021/10/08/louis-vuitton-signs-netflixs-squid-game-star-jung-ho-yeon-global-ambassador

Brands’ Responses to the Great Facebook Outage

In case you didn’t hear, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp went down last Monday thanks to a router update gone wrong. For other social platforms, like Twitter, the outage was a chance to get some laughs, jabs, and increased traffic at their rival’s expense. Shortly after Instagram went down on Monday afternoon, @Twitter tweeted “hello literally everyone.” Other brands joined in on the fun, with @Snickers suggesting, “maybe Facebook just needs a SNICKERS,” and @BurgerKing asking “u okay bestie?”

However, for many marketers and advertisers, the outage was not all fun and games. Millions of businesses run ads through Facebook and Instagram each day, averaging $233 million in total daily ad revenue. With the ad platform down for nearly six hours, Facebook and its advertisers lost countless sales. Find out more about the consequences of the social media outage here: https://adage.com/article/digital-marketing-ad-tech-news/how-brands-advertisers-and-even-instagram-responded-facebook-outage/2370416