What are the top marketing and advertising stories of the week? We’re glad you asked. Catch up on the news you need to know with our Weekly Must Reads.

Exclusive Colleges Face Admissions Scandal

In case you haven’t heard yet, last week federal prosecutors uncovered the largest college admissions scam in the history of the United States. William Rick Singer, CEO of a college prep company called The Key, admitted he helped wealthy parents cheat on standardized tests and bribe sports coaches to get their children into elite colleges. As a result, a group of students rejected from these schools have filed a lawsuit against the universities, alleging that they were not given a fair chance in their “warped and rigged” application process.

The universities now face a PR crisis as they try to save their tarnished reputation. Most of the schools have dismissed the coaches implicated in the case, but will they struggle to attract a diverse group of prospective students in the coming years? Catch up on all the facts and let us know your thoughts: https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/13/us/what-we-know-college-admissions-cheating-scandal/index.html

MLB May Shorten Ad Breaks

For years, baseball fans have voiced their frustration over the ever-slowing pace of play. The average MLB game takes just over three hours – and that’s before any extra innings. As a potential solution to shorten games, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has given the OK to shorten each commercial break by 25 seconds, or about one whole commercial. Implementing such a rule would shorten games by an average of 7 minutes. However, the jury is still out on whether or not networks will agree to MLB’s terms.

Baseball fans have widely praised the proposal on social media. However, it does bring up the question of how advertisers might otherwise infiltrate the game. In Canada, broadcasts have shown ads in foul ball areas, behind the catcher and in the batter’s eye beyond center field. Do you think more audiences will want to watch baseball if it has fewer commercials? Find out more here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/maurybrown/2017/03/04/if-mlb-went-to-shorter-commercial-breaks-for-pace-of-play-could-on-field-ads-be-far-behind/#19faf7c611d2

The Facebook and Instagram Blackout

The Facebook and Instagram outage was annoying for many brands and consumers, but some companies are claiming major losses in revenue from the disruption. Advertisers reported that the outage on Wednesday cost them thousands of dollars, between lost exposure and fewer click-throughs. Although Facebook anticipates problems like this and only charges advertisers when their ad actually reaches users, the outage still resulted in lost opportunities for companies to reach their audience, especially for time-sensitive campaigns.

In today’s digital-first world, many companies rely on Facebook, Instagram and other social networks as their main source of advertising. Do you think Facebook has a responsibility to prevent these incidents? Should advertisers make themselves less vulnerable to technical problems? Read on about the blackout here: https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/14/18265002/facebook-instagram-outage-ad-revenue-lost

Coors Light Claps Back with Free Beer

If you watched the Super Bowl this year, you surely remember Bud Light’s corn syrup commercial, where they called out their competitors, including Coors Light, for using corn syrup in their beer. Bud Light has continued the campaign over the last month, and Coors Light has finally had enough. In response, Coors has installed “smart taps” in select bars across the US that will light up any time Bud Light publishes an ad attacking their brand. What does the light mean? A free round of beer for the bar.

Coors Light says this campaign shows that consumers care more about enjoying their drinks rather than seeing fights between brands. To back it up, they recently revealed a survey of consumers they conducted. Coors found 80 percent of consumers would rather just enjoy a beer than worry about its ingredients. Check out more details about the campaign here: https://www.marketingdive.com/news/coors-lights-smart-tap-dispenses-free-beer-when-bud-light-goes-negative/550357/