Amazon tried a unique approach to marketing a new Prime Video show about space. The company beamed the first episode of sci-fi series “Night Sky" out of earth's atmosphere, enlisting two satellite services companies for what it is calling it "the first-ever intergalactic premiere for a TV series.” The broadcast is available to “anyone open to receiving satellite signals 384,000 kilometers away from earth and beyond — the equivalent distance from earth to the moon.”

The U.S. Senate voted against the bipartisan $48 billion Small Business COVID Relief Act, which included a $40 billion replenishment of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. “This is likely the death knell for the replenishment bill, which was first proposed last summer and would have funded the 265,000 restaurant and bar operators that applied and were denied funding (more than two-thirds of total applicants),” per Nation’s Restaurant News.

Bob Iger, former CEO and chairman of The Walt Disney Company, is investing in Gopuff and will serve as an advisor to the instant delivery firm’s executive team. “Gopuff said it is looking to tap Iger’s background in leading a company focused on developing relationships with consumers,” according to Grocery Dive. The announcement comes as the convenience e-tailer looks to refocus its operations amid fierce competition in the instant needs space and a challenging fundraising environment for tech companies.

Amazon sent an email to some customers on Thursday with the subject line “Protect yourself from scammers.” The online retailer gave tips to help users identify impersonators. "After many reports of scams and phishing attempts, Amazon said last week that it changed the look of its order confirmation emails to now include a 'Smile' logo next to emails as a way to verify that the email is legitimate,” according to the Detroit Free Press. “The smile logo in Amazon emails is only enabled for customers who use email services with supporting technology — including Gmail, Yahoo! and AOL.”

Apple is releasing a timely ad about privacy and data tracking. The 90-second spot, “Data Auction,” aims to inform viewers about how their personal data is traded by powerful data brokers all day long. The Irish Council for Civil Liberties recently published a report on real-time bidding, the process brokers and advertisers use to track you and sell data. The ICCL’s report reveals that “a person in the U.S. has their online activity and location exposed 747 times every day,” and that in total, U.S. internet users will see their location and online behavior data “tracked and shared 107 trillion times” …

Ace Hardware at the top of the J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Home Improvement Retailer Satisfaction Study for the 15th time in 16 years “Overall customer satisfaction with home improvement retailers is 849 (on a 1,000-point scale), up a significant 22 points from the 2021 study,” per Chain Store Age. “Ace Hardware continues its long streak of highest-ranked performance in the home improvement retailer category, but the big box stores—Lowe’s and Home Depot—see the biggest year-over-year gains in customer satisfaction."

Wednesday's Grubhub  promo appeared to bomb in NYC,  according to Buzzfeed, which reported that the free lunch offer, available during a three-hour window, left "restaurant workers stressed and customers hangry." Service workers said "they were 'exhausted' trying to keep up," with GrubHug "averaging 6,000 orders per minute" at some points during the promotion. Customers were "frustrated at the delays," and many canceled their orders. Still, MarketWatchreported that at least one restaurant owner was anticipating "getting plenty of new customers because of the promotion." And "Grubhub said it would assist customers who experienced any issues," issuing $15 credits.

McDonald’s is leaving Russia after more than 30 years in the country in response to the country’s invasion of the Ukraine. “The departure carries huge symbolic as well as economic weight because the fast-food chain was one of the first Western brands to set up shop in Russia when it opened a branch in Moscow’s Pushkin Square in 1990, just before the fall of the Soviet Union,” per Bloomberg. “A reported 30,000 people lined up at the restaurant on its opening day.” The company is seeking a buyer after temporarily closing its restaurants, the company said in a statement. It expects to take …

Starbucks will pay travel costs for employees seeking safe abortions who live in states where they are being restricted. “Employees would be eligible for travel reimbursement to get an abortion if the services are not available within a 100-mile radius of their home,” per Nation’s Restaurant News. “This benefit would also extend to spouses and dependents of employees and apply to those that need to travel for gender-affirming healthcare procedures as well.”

Floyd Mayweather, Kim Kardashian and Justin Bieber are among the athletes and celebrities reportedly on Ferrari’s no-no list. “The Italian luxury car maker has not formally announced that they have a ‘list,” but there is a list,” reports AllHipHop. “They do reserve the right to restrict purchases on their vehicles. They have stated explicitly that they do not allow for anyone to modify or “pimp out” their vehicles.”