Morning Bulletin: Bud’s can-do attitude, Cadbury descendant eyes sweet success & Gawker Media founder files for bankruptcy
We streamline your daily news diet with a varied collection of items sourced from locations around the web. On today’s menu is a new hyper local NFL branded can design from Bud Lite which will give individual American football clubs their own designs. A new venture from Cadbury desce James Cadbury and Gawker founder Nick Denton’s descent into personal bankruptcy.
The Guardian states that Gawker Media founder Nick Denton has been forced to file for personal bankruptcy, following on from the news agency itself, after losing a $140m lawsuit against former wrestling star Hulk Hogan. The paper calls Denton the victim of a ‘proxy war’ waged by PayPal billionaire Peter Thiel who provided funding for Hogan’s case.
Ad Week reports that Bud Light’s well-received NFL team branded cans have been given a minimalist revamp to mark the brewers ‘most local’ campaign to date which will see 27 NFL teams given their own distinctive limited edition cans.
Chocoholics will perk up with news that James Cadbury, descendant of the original founders of the namesake confectioner, is to follow in his family’s footsteps with the launch of his own sweet toothed enterprise, Love Cocoa – a mail order chocolate business.
Retail Week relays news that flourishing budget supermarket chain Lidl is putting the finishing touches to a new own label baby brand, Lidl’uns, which will begin UK trials next month.
Reuters reports that embattled car manufacturer Volkswagen has suffered a fresh blow with South Korea announcing that it intends to suspend the sale of most models pending an investigation into the alleged forgery of emissions and noise level tests.
Ad Exchanger meanwhile carries a report that GroupM has been forced to lower its global ad spend projections for 2016 from 4.5 to 4 per cent on the back of slowdowns in the Chinese and Brazilian markets.
The Guardian also notes the growing pressure being placed on the BBC by MPs calling on it to divulge the pay of all stars earning more than £143,000 per year, as part of a fresh commitment to ‘openness’ as outlined in its updated royal charter.
Over at The Times meanwhile comes news that Uber is to beat a tactical withdrawal from China after agreeing to a takeover offer mounted by local rival Didi Chuxing. This will see Didi assume the rights to Uber’s Chinese brand, operations and data in exchange for a 17.3 per cent stake in Didi and a $1bn investment.
The Times also relays news of a fall in the share price of both Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland after both were named as the weakest UK performers in a Europe-wide ‘stress test’.
Lastly Ad Exchanger comments on the enduring appeal of Pokemon Go which far from being a flash in the pan appears to show no sign of abating. Analysts at App Annie suggest the Pokemon Go's total downloads have now topped 100m and is still adding one million new users every day, generating $10m in daily revenue.