The 10 ADWEEK Stories Readers Loved Most

It’s a tricky dilemma for publishers, because on the one hand, money. On the other hand, at what cost will this ultimately come? 

Meanwhile, for those building and hoping to profit off of their large language models, the race was on in 2024 to gobble up as much data as possible.

6. Solo Stove and Snoop Dogg: A Once Lauded Partnership Now Up in Smoke

By contrast, Solo Stove’s high-profile partnership with Snoop Dogg did not end in a whimper. It ended with an ousted CEO. 

At least, that was the popular narrative. Especially after interim CFO Andrea Tarbox said that the campaign drove brand awareness, but not sales. 

But the connection between awareness and sales, especially for a product as expensive as a Solo Stove, isn’t always a straight line. ADWEEK contributor Sam Joseph, from Kyra, ripped apart the conventional wisdom on whether the Solo Stove-Snoop collab was truly a failure.

5. Oracle Is Shutting Down Its Ad Business

This was big. Over the last decade, Oracle invested billions in its ad business, snapping up startups at huge multiples, and making a big splash touting its capabilities and pitting its marketing cloud against the likes of Salesforce and Adobe. 

And then, during an earnings call in June, CEO Safra Catz calmly mentioned that Oracle had exited the ad business, Catherine Perloff reported. What began with a succession of bangs ended in a whimper.