Digiday

By Seb Joseph and Michael Bürgi  •  June 12, 2026  • Publicis and The Trade Desk have made up, which is either a triumph of negotiation or a sign the whole thing was never quite as dramatic as it seemed. The resolution, announced earlier today (June 12) in a joint statement, came after months of public rebukes, audits and no shortage of background briefing from both sides.

This Future of Marketing Briefing covers the latest in marketing for Digiday+ members and is distributed over email every Friday at 10 a.m. ET. More from the series → Accenture’s acquisition of Whaler has triggered the usual speculation about consulting firms eyeing the agency business. But it’s only part of the story. The more interesting question is why now.

Sports sponsorships have long been reserved for big brands with big budgets to match. Increasingly, some marketers are looking for alternative routes onto the field. Take DUDE Wipes. Back in May, the flushable wipes brand became the “official backside partner” of the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL), placing its branding on the lower backside of every PLL jersey.

The entire retail media industry, from networks to agencies and tech platforms, is showing up in full force to promote brands during the World Cup and prove the effectiveness of the sector. The tournament is a big opportunity for retail media networks to prove their effectiveness after the sector has grown tremendously, advertising offerings have evolved and retail media networks want to prove they are more than just a lower-funnel solution.

This article is part of an ongoing series detailing the most important information readers need to know about the ad industry’s most complex topics. More from the series → AI clones are creating a new fault line in the creator economy. On one side are creators who are licensing digital twins to take brand deals, talk to fans and even show up to meetings on their behalf.

As agencies hustle to bring AI-powered platforms to market to keep up with the competition, the language surrounding those offerings has become nearly identical, while the actual capabilities, economics and accountability behind the claims are unclear. Marketers end up having to distinguish between marketing narrative and measurable capability — sorting through the growing convergence of agency claims around AI, agentic workflows, interoperability and more.

Despite the ubiquity of artificial intelligence in marketing materials over the past three years, its application within advertising is arguably much more established than many industry observers realize. However, what has changed is not the existence of AI itself, but the prominence of the language surrounding it (you may have noticed).

By Kimeko McCoy  •  June 11, 2026  • Dove Men is activating what could be considered a small army of content creators for the FIFA World Cup. The Unilever-owned personal care line has hired hundreds of creators from mega creators, like Marshawn Lynch and Jordyn Woods, to micro talent tiers (creators with 10,000 and 100,000 followers) to get in front of at least 150 million potential viewers — at least that’s the hope of Jake Hirsch, head of Dove Men, U.S. at Unilever.

This Media Briefing covers the latest in media trends for Digiday+ members and is distributed over email every Thursday at 10 a.m. ET. More from the series → This week’s Media Briefing will look at why publishers including The Wall Street Journal, Fortune and Bloomberg are testing putting video behind the paywall to drive and retain subscriptions and adapt to shifting audience habits.

Made-for-advertising websites have found a new way to lure users in: AI-generated “girlfriend ads.” According to a report from DoubleVerify, these sites are running suggestive creative featuring AI-generated women who promote personalized companionship and customizable AI personas. But when users click they’re funneled to paid search results and low-quality, AI-generated content: pages stuffed with ads from real brands.