Just briefly:
Jeopardy win: The first night of ABC’s “Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time” tournament delivered the network’s largest primetime audience of the 2019-20 TV season, writes Ad Age’s Anthony Crupi. The one-hour showdown averaged 14.4 million viewers Tuesday night.
Quibi at CES: Quibi, the new digital video startup founded by Jeffrey Katzenberg, showed off some of its new ad formats at CES, reports Ad Age’s Garett Sloane, with executives from PepsiCo and T-Mobile helping to demonstrate the platform’s features. Read more here.
Super Bowl update: Heinz’s Super Bowl spot will promote a new mashup condiment, HoneyRacha, which is a mix of honey and sriracha, while Bud Light and Bud Light Seltzer will run a combined spot at the game. Read all the latest news on the Super Bowl advertisers here.
Podcast of the Day: Jeremy Tucker, chief marketing officer of Planet Fitness, talks about making fun of internet “Fitspo culture” on the latest episode of Ad Age’s Marketer’s Brief podcast, and how the chain’s own marketing “promotes authenticity and acceptance.” Its new ad campaign pokes fun at rivals who make a competition out of a spin class. Have a listen here.
Wonder water: “Wonder Woman” star Gal Gadot is to be the new face of Smartwater, reports Ad Age’s Ethan Jakob Craft. She will promote four new flavored water varieties in ads by Anomaly.
Campaign of the Day: Panera Bread has enlisted Phyllis from “The Office” to soothe fans enraged by the absence of the chain’s Bistro French Onion soup, writes Ad Age’s Jessica Wohl. In an online ad, Phyllis Smith, the actress who played Phyllis on the U.S. series, reads out the mean tweets on social media that ensued after the soup was dropped from Panera’s menu. It promotes the fact that the soup is back.
Jobs for the Royals: Game restaurant chain Main Event jumped on the news that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are stepping back from the Royal Family with an offer for them to join the chain as “Royal Patrons of Fun.” In an email to Ad Age, the chain said: “We even took the liberty of creating your employee cards already.” Somehow we don’t think they’ll be taking up the offer.
