Morning Bulletin: The internet reacts to Apple's AirPods, McDonald's shutters millennial YouTube channel and Sports Direct boss flashes the cash
As we reach the tail end of the week The Drum takes a look at some of this morning's top marketing and media stories from McDonald's shutting down one of its YouTube channels to those much-debated Apple earphones.
The Drum's morning bulletin
Apple’s iPhone 7 keynote predictably dominates headlines across the board today but one of the biggest talking points centres around what the tech giant left out. The omission of a headphone jack in its new range of phones was met with “bewilderment, outrage and parody” across social media, according to the Financial Times. In pushing users towards purchasing its $170 wireless Air Pods earphones, Apple’s propriety approach has upset the digerati, the FT writes, but “it may nonetheless be welcome on Wall Street, with accessories a high-margin part of Apple’s business”.
McDonalds has shut down its youth-focused YouTube project Channel Us. Launched last summer, the project was focused on grabbing the attention of millennials and had enlisted popular YouTubers Oli White and Hazel Hayes to host. The brand's chief marketing officer, Alistair Macrow has now admitted to Campaign that the channel has "run its course.
Mike Ashley is no stranger to negative headlines and the billionaire Sports Direct boss comes in for more criticism this morning after emptying wads of £50 notes from his pockets during a warehouse tour. As Sky News reports, Ashley’s PR faux pas came as he took journalists on a tour of the Shirebrook headquarters which had been slammed by MPs for being run like a “Victorian warehouse”. Following a comment about the amount of cash he’d placed into an airport-style security tray, the tycoon quipped: "Yes, I've been to the casino."
A tourism guide to London featured in Air China's inflight magazine has sparked a backlash after being dubbed "racist". A feature in the publication warned tourists to take precautions when "entering areas mainly populated by Indians, Pakistanis and black people." It continued: "We advise tourists not to go out alone at night," before telling women to make sure they were always accompanied by another person when travelling.
US-based Liberty Media has confirmed it is buying Formula 1 for $4.4bn (£3.3bn). The BBC reports that F1 figurehead Bernie Ecclestone will remain as chief executive but will be joined by a new chairman in the form of 21st Century Fox vice chairman Chase Carey. Liberty, which is owned by billionaire John Malone and also owns the Atlanta Braves Major League Baseball Club, is buying the stake from private equity firm CVC Capital and will complete a full takeover upon regulator approval.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise and UK-based Micro Focus are poised to create one of the UK's largest tech firms in a deal valued at around $8.8bn (£6.6bn), according to CityAM. The new company will be headed by by Micro Focus' executive chairman Kevin Loosemore who said to tie up will give costumers "more choice".