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Twinings distances itself from Poundland's lewd £25 Christmas social campaign

Twinings has denied involvement in a controversial tweet from discount retailer Poundland in which an elf was pictured ‘teabagging’ a female doll.

The post, which appeared on the retailer’s Twitter account on Thursday (21 December), has sparked backlash from both social media users and Twinings, the tea brand which inadvertently found itself featuring in the ad.

Twinings has accused Poundland of “misusing” its product.

In a statement on Twitter it said: “We are aware of an image that is circulating that misuses our product. We had no involvement in this and it is obviously not reflective of our brand values.”

Shortly after Twinings’ tweet was posted, Poundland responded by reposting the image without the tea brand, alongside a tweet which read: “Spot the difference..”

It poked further fun at the controversey generated by the initial image with a tweet this morning (22 December) in which the elf is seen scrolling through the brand’s Twitter account and holding a mug with the caption “What a storm in a teacup”.

The tweet is the latest rendition of Poundland’s long-running #ElfBehavingBadly campaign that has been running throughout December. 

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has received a number of complaints about the posts which depict the elf in a series of sexually explicit positions.

Some users enquired if the account had been hacked.

Mark Pym, the brand’s marketing director, said he was proud of the campaign which cost a reported £25.53 to deliver, according to the International Business Times. 

There was also some marketing flattery chucked into the mix.

Further to this, there was a debate as to whether journalists should be pursuing this story. The jury is out on that one.

This story was updated on 22 December

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Twinings distances itself from Poundland's lewd £25 Christmas social campaign

Twinings has denied involvement in a controversial tweet from discount retailer Poundland in which an elf was pictured ‘teabagging’ a female doll.

The post, which appeared on the retailer’s Twitter account on Thursday (21 December), has sparked backlash from both social media users and Twinings, the tea brand which inadvertently found itself featuring in the ad.

Twinings has accused Poundland of “misusing” its product.

In a statement on Twitter it said: “We are aware of an image that is circulating that misuses our product. We had no involvement in this and it is obviously not reflective of our brand values.”

Shortly after Twinings’ tweet was posted, Poundland responded by reposting the image without the tea brand, alongside a tweet which read: “Spot the difference..”

It poked further fun at the controversey generated by the initial image with a tweet this morning (22 December) in which the elf is seen scrolling through the brand’s Twitter account and holding a mug with the caption “What a storm in a teacup”.

The tweet is the latest rendition of Poundland’s long-running #ElfBehavingBadly campaign that has been running throughout December. 

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has received a number of complaints about the posts which depict the elf in a series of sexually explicit positions.

Some users enquired if the account had been hacked.

Mark Pym, the brand’s marketing director, said he was proud of the campaign which cost a reported £25.53 to deliver, according to the International Business Times. 

There was also some marketing flattery chucked into the mix.

Further to this, there was a debate as to whether journalists should be pursuing this story. The jury is out on that one.

This story was updated on 22 December

[Read More …]

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The World's Most Creative Women: Pansy Aung, Salt & Pepper Creative

In a continuing drive for greater diversity and inclusion in marketing and advertising, a new feature by The Drum highlights conversations with top creative women in the industry. 

All were nominated for The Drum’s global Woman of the Year award at The Drum Creative Awards, sponsored by Facebook, One Minute Briefs and in partnership with Creative Equals. The award is designed to push equality boundaries within the creative industry to spark discussion and action.

From icons and pioneers to prominent creative directors and designers, we asked each of them how diversity creates better work, the positive changes the industry can make, what keeps these creatives going in an ever-changing world and how greater diversity can grow the business.

Leading into the new year, this series will reveal more of The Drum’s global Woman of the Year award nominees.

Today, we speak to Pansy Aung of Salt & Pepper Creative.

From your experience and point of view, how does a more diverse creative team create better work? 

A lot of our work are based on assumptions. Having a diverse team gets you insider’s knowledge that data simply can’t give you. That’s especially important for delicate emotional and cultural insights.

How are the conversations around creativity, and specific work/projects, different with a more gender balanced team?

You always get a more rounded view when you hear from both sides of the fence.

What changes around inclusion should the entire industry embrace today?

Now that we’ve started the talking, let’s start the doing. I’m looking forward to seeing diversity programmes set up in all agencies.

With all of the issues women face in this the creative sector, what keeps you in the industry?

I think what keeps most female creatives in the industry is that we simply love what we do. We rather work extra hard to proof ourselves than to give up.

Will greater diversity in the industry ultimately save/grow it?

Greater diversity in the industry is the only way to help us stay relevant in a increasingly cross-cultural world.

The Drum Creative Awards puts creativity back in the spotlight and flies the flag for creativity during the digital revolution. These global awards are open to advertising agencies, design consultancies, digital agencies, production companies, marketing agencies, PR and more.

To register your interest for 2018, go to the event website.

This years awards were sponsored by: Facebook Creative Shop and One Minute Brief and partnered with: Creative Equals.

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Huawei strengthens its fight with Apple after forming AI alliance with Baidu

Huawei has announced that it has entered into artificial intelligence (AI) alliance with Internet search provider giant Baidu.

The goal of the partnership is to foster a new mobile and AI ecosystem by leveraging Huawei’s hiAI platform and Baidu Brain, a compendium of the company’s AI assets and services, and combine hardware and software to provide global consumers with new smart service experiences.

According to Robin Li Yanhong, Baidu’s chairman and chief executive, the strategic cooperation with Huawei will kick off the AI-powered intelligent devices era,

Huawei is also hoping that the alliance will give it an important edge in competing against the likes of Apple, which is looking to bring on-board more AI capabilities over the next few years.

Chinese companies have been forming strategic alliances in recent times as competition intensifies in China, with Tencent and JD.com forming one recently, while Baidu and JD.com have also formed an AI alliance.

 

 

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Huawei strengthens its fight with Apple after forming AI alliance with Baidu

Huawei has announced that it has entered into artificial intelligence (AI) alliance with Internet search provider giant Baidu.

The goal of the partnership is to foster a new mobile and AI ecosystem by leveraging Huawei’s hiAI platform and Baidu Brain, a compendium of the company’s AI assets and services, and combine hardware and software to provide global consumers with new smart service experiences.

According to Robin Li Yanhong, Baidu’s chairman and chief executive, the strategic cooperation with Huawei will kick off the AI-powered intelligent devices era,

Huawei is also hoping that the alliance will give it an important edge in competing against the likes of Apple, which is looking to bring on-board more AI capabilities over the next few years.

Chinese companies have been forming strategic alliances in recent times as competition intensifies in China, with Tencent and JD.com forming one recently, while Baidu and JD.com have also formed an AI alliance.

 

 

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Are biometrics a safe way to speed up airport security?

Clear CEO Caryn Seidman Becker answers all your privacy questions on the latest Too Embarrassed to Ask.

If you’re reading this while stuck in an interminable TSA line at the airport: Sorry!

Everyone else: Caryn Seidman Becker wants to scan your finger. As the CEO of Clear, which she bought out of bankruptcy in 2010, she has overseen the company’s expansion beyond airport security into new venues, using encrypted scans of customers’ fingerprints and irises to authenticate them at several sports stadiums and — in some airports — at spots like the bag drop, airport lounges and the gate.

“You should take nothing out of your bag or your wallet when you go through the airport,” Seidman Becker said on the latest episode of Too Embarrassed to Ask. “You are you and that’s what you’re trying to prove 10 times over at the ticketing gate, at the agent. That’s what we’re building.”

Of course, using these biological traits, or biometrics, to verify a person’s identity makes some people nervous. Seidman Becker stressed that everyone’s data is securely encrypted and that no one other than Clear has access to it.

“We do not sell or share your data,” she said. “That is rule one. What your biometrics are in that case is a frequent flyer number. All we’re sending to Delta is your frequent flyer number, which is doing a match with all the other things they have, and they send back a ticket.”

You can listen to the new podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Overcast or wherever you listen to podcasts.

On the new podcast, Seidman Becker also talked about why the company uses fingerprint and eyeball scans, but not facial recognition, at airports. Although it’s testing or using 3-D volumetric scanning in some places, Clear doesn’t currently think that technology can match the 99.999 percent accuracy rate of fingerprints.

“Facial, for the highest security purposes, is not ready for the ‘five nines,’” she said. “In busy areas, depending on the lighting, depending on various things, you still need multi-factor authentication for facial.”

In other words: You might have to also pull out your ID or scan your fingerprint, which would defeat the convenience of just scanning your face.

Looking toward the future, Seidman Becker said biometric security will be crucial for a lot of different industries — not just travel.

“When you think about health care, when you think about vehicles, you think about ‘you are your driver’s license, you are your insurance, you are your payment,’” she said. “In the connected, shared or autonomous vehicle, identity is the key.”

Have questions about biometrics or Clear that we didn’t get to in this episode? Tweet them to @Recode with the hashtag #TooEmbarrassed, or email them to TooEmbarrassed@recode.net.

Be sure to follow @LaurenGoode, @KaraSwisher and @Recode to be alerted when we’re looking for questions about a specific topic.

If you like this show, you should also check out our other podcasts:

  • Recode Decode, hosted by Kara Swisher, is a weekly show featuring in-depth interviews with the movers and shakers in tech and media every Monday. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Overcast or wherever you listen to podcasts.
  • Recode Media with Peter Kafka features no-nonsense conversations with the smartest and most interesting people in the media world, with new episodes every Thursday. Use these links to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Overcast or wherever you listen to podcasts.
  • And finally, Recode Replay has all the audio from our live events, such as the Code Conference, Code Media and the Code Commerce Series. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Overcast or wherever you listen to podcasts.

If you like what we’re doing, please write a review on Apple Podcasts — and if you don’t, just tweet-strafe Kara and Lauren. Tune in next Friday for another episode of Too Embarrassed to Ask!

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Telaria To Sell Olympics-Related Streaming Video Packages

With premium TV-video inventory still in high demand, video ad-tech company Telaria — formerly Tremor Media — will offer exclusive streaming of the Winter Olympics ad inventory through a private
marketplace exchange.

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Google News To Delist Publications That Intentionally Mislead Readers, Mask Country Of Origin

Artificial intelligence will determine whether a publisher has broken Google News rules. An “algorithmic or manual spam” filter will determine the removal. The guidelines specifically address
misrepresentation, and would ban sites from serving up in Google news that intentionally mislead readers.

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Who Pays The Price For The Loss Of Net Neutrality?

Big digital video companies, among others, are concerned about the change — in particular its impact on traditional media/ communication owners now in the driver’s seat.