Welcome to The Refresh, a weekly newsletter from Marketecture. Every Thursday we’ll bring you the latest advertising news, commentary, and memes.

• Elon Musk's X has signed up a new adtech partner as it looks to bring on more advertisers (Business Insider)

• Math Men: Should Amazon, Disney, Warner, Others Be Wary of Data-Focused Merger of Omnicom, Interpublic? (Variety)

• Advertising Isn’t A Major Growth Driver For Top News Publishers (AdExchanger)

• How much do 2025 Super Bowl commercials cost? Here's the price tag on ads this year. (CBS news)

• Stagwell CEO: Journalism is being drained by overzealous brand safety censorship (Fortune)

Big Tech’s Ad Systems Funded Child Exploitation—That’s Not Okay

The ad industry talks a big game about brand safety, but here we are - Big Tech’s automated ad systems have been caught funding websites that exploit children.

This isn’t just a minor mix up, it’s a massive failure. Programmatic advertising is supposed to be precise, yet bad actors are profiting while brands unknowingly fund the worst corners of the internet. If platforms can target consumers with accuracy, they can damn well stop this from happening.

No adtech company, advertiser, or brand should be okay with this. We need real accountability. No more excuses, no more shifting blame to algorithms. If the industry truly cares about ethics, it’s time to act like it.

Read BBC

Ari’s View: There are certain kinds of sites, like unmoderated image uploads, that should be unilaterally banned from all programmatic. Platforms need global bans.

AdTech’s Top Targeting Signals: Is First-Party Data Still King?

In a recent AdTechGod LinkedIn poll, we asked which signal is the most valuable for collecting, matching, and targeting effectively. With 200 votes in, first-party behavioral data led the way with 40%, showing just how crucial owned data has become in a post-cookie world. Right behind it, cross-device identity mapping (30%) shows the industry's focus on tracking consumers seamlessly across screens. Vote and let me know what you think?

Ari’s View: Ultimately no one signal is going to win, so it will be a mix.

AdTech God Linkedin Poll

YouTube Took Over Your TV And It’s Not Slowing Down

TV has officially taken over as the No. 1 way people watch in the U.S., beating mobile and desktop. According to Nielsen, YouTube now has the highest share of TV viewing among streaming platforms, even ahead of Netflix. In December 2024, YouTube viewing on connected TVs hit a record 11.1% of total TV usage—compared to Netflix’s 8.5% and Prime Video’s 4.0%.

CEO Neal Mohan says this shift is bringing in more advertisers, with new ad formats like QR codes and pause ads designed for the big screen. Meanwhile, creators are going all in, launching full-scale studios and producing premium content.

AdTechGod saw this coming. Seems YouTube isn’t just competing with social platforms… its competing with TV.

Ari’s View: I’ve never watched YouTube on a TV. I’m not sure I even know how.

Read Variety

Join hundreds of marketers, publishers, and agencies in New York City on March 17th.

We are confronting the chaos ahead for advertising and marketing.

Identity is in flux, AI is emerging, and consumer behavior is rapidly changing.

Get ready for Miami Lights the ultimate AdTech, marketing, and media event this April!

The exclusive After Party at Soho Beach House promises top-tier cocktails, networking, and electric energy. Marketecture’s live interviews bring industry insights straight from the experts, while the MadTech Blowout Bar offers female leaders a glam session before Possible Event.

Expect unforgettable entertainment, featuring a top DJ and a special AdTechGod surprise. Plus, Preach on the Beach, brought to you by The Advertising Forum, delivers real talk, big ideas, and oceanfront networking.

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