The 10 ADWEEK Stories Readers Loved Most

Consolidation has been a hallmark of TV and media, and even Amazon — an upstart compared to broadcast giants like Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount — has had to make some adjustments. ADWEEK’s Mark Stenberg reported earlier this year that the Freevee, which had been the ecommerce giant’s established AVOD service before ads emerged on Prime Video, would soon shut down. 

The exact date at the time was unclear, but in November, Amazon followed through and confirmed that Freevee would be no more, adding it would move its programming into Prime’s Watch for Free tab.

1. Regulators Find a New Way to Ban Calvin Klein’s FKA Twigs Ad

In January, the U.K.’s Advertising Standards Authority banned a Calvin Klein billboard featuring musician FKA Twigs barely wearing a shirt, with the nanny-statish claim that the ad sexually objectified her. FKA Twigs herself protested, noting Jeremy Allen White’s beefcake poses in his famous Calvin Klein billboards.

Not to be deterred, the ASA came back in March with a refurbished reason to uphold the ban: it claimed the ad was simply too sexy, reported ADWEEK’s brand editor Rebecca Stewart.

This alternative explanation was a throwback to old-fashioned prudism that further underscored how women are often held to much different standards than men — and how language designed to seem protective of women often hides an ulterior motive. 

Check out more of 2024s controversial billboards here.