Chrissy Teigen May Just Be Adweek’s Most Unexpected 2019 Brand Visionary

Bono. Arianna Huffington. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Anna Wintour. Serena Williams. Those branding titans make up the last five Brand Genius Visionaries as icons with global brands. Chrissy Teigen joins that exclusive group as an author, entrepreneur, model and TV personality. Adweek will honor Teigen and the rest of the Brand Genius class during a gala at Brandweek, which began last night in Palm Springs, Calif. Between her candor and clapbacks, Teigen continues to grow a massive cultural following—to the tune of 26 million Instagram followers—even as she’s drawn the ire of the president. Teigen has multiple TV projects in the works, has produced two cookbooks (side note: her Dutch Baby pancake recipe revolutionized my breakfast game) and has created a line of cookware that’s sold at Target.

Read more: Teigen sat down with Adweek and explained her unorthodox road to branding superstar.

Adweek’s 10 Brand Genius Honorees Don’t Know the Meaning of ‘Status Quo’

A note from Adweek’s features editor, Kristina Feliciano: The 10 marketing executives on this year’s list see opportunities where others see obstacles. They help their brands stand out by uniting behind a common purpose. And they never lose sight of who they’re really working for—namely, their customers. But there is one thing these Brand Genius honorees don’t know: the meaning of the term status quo.

Read more: Meet this year’s honorees, which include AT&T’s Fiona Carter, New York Times’ David Rubin and Amazon Prime Video’s Mike Benson.

Grammy-Winning Producer Swizz Beatz on Disrupting the Art World and Building a Powerful Brand

Kasseem “Swizz Beatz” Dean, the cover star for Brandweek, spoke with Adweek’s executive editor Stephanie Paterik about creating a platform that allows artists to thrive. His business, the Dean Collection, develops new ways to connect creators with the next generation of art lovers through affordable art shows and an app brings the art market straight to your phone.

Read more: There’s more to Swizz Beatz than the Dean Collection. He’s a musician, has his own Reebok show collection and plans to develop a hub for artists that nurtures their creativity and helps them become more business savvy.

One of the Best Holiday Ads in Years Just Kicked Off Christmas Season

A few brands have already released their holiday ads—including Target and Cost Plus—but Argos, a U.K. catalog retailer, delivered one of the most brilliant Christmas ads in recent memory. Created by agency The&Partnership, the long-form spot is essentially a music video for 1985’s “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” by Simple Minds. This spot follows the story of a dad’s Christmas dream, which becomes even more special once it’s shared with his daughter.

Read more: Watch the ad and learn how the agency created the spot, including why casting the daughter was a monumental task.

Related: Asda launched its holiday ad campaign with a gorgeous, heart-warming campaign of its own.

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