‘The tragedy!’: Cookie Monster endorses ad tech, sort of

On a recent tour of the new “Sesame Street” set, Digiday ran into Cookie Monster, a central character of the show for its entire run. As the program prepares to enter its 46th season, the set has been upgraded, along with a few other updates that will be announced later in the year.

“Over the years, lots of changes,” said Cookie Monster, apparently pleased with the new look of his old home.

Not that the formula is broken: A recent study of the public television juggernaut has shown that “Sesame Street” leads to improved early educational outcomes for children across demographics.

But that’s not what’s on Cookie Monster’s mind at the moment. The social media phenomenon — upwards of 37,000 followers on Twitter and nearly 9.5 million Facebook fans — has a message for his fans: “Maybe they can each send me a cookie,” he suggested.

A brief interview threatened to turn contentious, however, when the topic of deleting cookies came up. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the furry blue monster came out strongly against the practice. “That tragic!” he said, in disbelief. “The tragedy! You no delete cookies! No, you send cookies to me.”

More in Media

The Rundown: AI clones split the creator economy

Unauthorized AI voice clones and authorized digital twins are splitting the creator economy in half as brands, lawyers, and talent take stock.

The World Cup is a big chance for retail media to prove itself to advertisers

The World Cup, being much longer than other sporting events with more opportunities for campaigns, will likely serve as a case study for future retail media activations.

AI ‘girlfriend ads’ are fueling a new wave of MFA sites

AI-generated “girlfriend ads” are driving traffic to made-for-advertising sites filled with low-quality content and ads.