Bad Ad of the Week: Jeep Crashes Paterno’s Memorial Service

Advertisers love “impactful” ads that grab attention. In the case of ESPN.com, that means rich-media units that break through or interrupt the content. There are plenty of readers who can’t stand it, but publishers have to pay the bills. ESPN might have wanted to pause its homepage rich-media “breakthrough” ad for its Jeep campaign when the site was running a story about Joe Paterno’s memorial service. The end result: a Jeep Wrangler rampages through the former Penn State coach’s casket. Yikes. Via NESW Sports.

More in Media

Mail Metro Media shifts ad strategy toward PMPs and fewer ads as it unifies stack

Mail Metro Media wants to drive 300% PMP growth over the next three years as part of plans to turn a high-volume digital direct business into an outcomes shop.

MrBeast’s creator platform signals a more programmatic creator economy

MrBeast’s first-ever Upfront revealed Beast Industries’ forthcoming creator platform, an infrastructure play that will elevate the company’s offerings.

The case for and against agentic media buying

Agentic media buying promises a reinvention of the programmatic ecosystem, but experts are divided on whether it could help – or hinder – accountability.