If you had told me in advance what the latest installment of the TikTok saga would be, I wouldn't have believed you.

It seems fitting TikTok's U.S. destiny will be determined by a company called Oracle, since oracles make prophecies that can sometimes be ambiguous.

Facebook is sponsoring a new public service campaign designed to promote its biggest advertising base -- no, not the Fortune 500/ANA member class, but the small business owners that constitute the bulk of its ad buys.

When last we checked in with Dan Hodges, it was last September and he had just launched the latest version of his latest venture Retail Store Tours into New York City just before a global pandemic would shut down much of the world's retail establishments. As it turns out, it was one of the best things that ever happened to him.

After more than a decade navigating the future on Madison Avenue, the former Publicis Futures exec has turned her marketing skills to selling synthetic versions of real people.

A year ago, the White House's escalation of a trade war with China threatened to derail billions in ad spending by Chinese companies in the U.S. A year later, the White House is escalating the tension to explicitly include fast-growing and powerful digital media companies from China that have largely contributed to a boom in spending on U.S. media outlets.

When it comes to the fastest-growing segment of media-buying -- programmatic -- in-house is now the norm for most clients worldwide. That's the finding of a new report released this morning by the IAB. While the trend should not be surprising to anyone who has been following media buying for the past decade, the stat may be: Only 15% of advertisers say they have no plans to bring programmatic media-buying in-house.

Don't be shocked to see Facebook's advertising results expand, not contract, when it releases its Q2 earnings on Wednesday. In the middle of a pandemic. Amid an advertising boycott by the world's biggest brands. With rampant social unrest, much of which is pointing its finger at the social network.

Some of the most interesting -- and sometimes surprising -- insights charting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on America has come from media stats, but not necessarily the obvious ones. Sure, we all know by now that at-home media usage -- especially for linear TV, connected TV, OTT, and various streaming services -- soared following the beginning of stay-at-home orders in early March. And, according to a UBS analysis of Nielsen data, TV usage levels have already normalized -- and even fallen to pre-pandemic levels (likely mirroring normal seasonal usage trends) -- as America has begun to open up, ...

It's been a while since I've heard the old Wanamaker chestnut "half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half." And if a new initiative backed by the ARF works out, it's possible nobody will ever repeat it again.