The ongoing threat of a TikTok ban just got more serious.

Today (Dec. 5), a U.S. federal appeals court upheld a law that requires TikTok’s owner, Chinese tech firm ByteDance, to divest itself of the app in the United States by early next year, or face a ban.

Unless the Supreme Court intervenes, the decision leaves TikTok’s fate to President Joe Biden, who must decide whether to grant a 90-day extension of the Jan. 19 deadline before passing it to President-elect Donald Trump on Jan. 20.

It’s not yet clear how the ban will play out for users, creators or brands. But given the uncertainty, creators who rely heavily on TikTok are starting to diversify their content and connect with their communities across new platforms.

Diversifying content

Creators foster a genuine community through entertainment or education. But to remain resilient to platform changes, it’s essential that content doesn’t solely depend on one platform for distribution. Platforms can come and go, like Vine, or change significantly, as seen with X (formerly Twitter).

@scrubhacks Go follow your favorite creators / businesses on other platforms to support them! #tiktokban #nursetok ♬ original sound – Scrubhacks | Lindsey Shelton

Creators must ensure they’re providing value across numerous platforms. For example, a TikTok creator known for sharing business strategies might start forming a community on LinkedIn, or start a Substack to extend their following to other places.

“You should be wanting to get yourself recognized on as many platforms as possible,” said creator Abby Fridman, highlighting the importance of scaling an audience, which can lead to brand partnerships or sales.

Look out for what’s next

As one popular video platform fades away, another emerges. From Vine to TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts, there are many relevant platforms to reach people with video. Creators should be early adopters, bringing their community and audience to these new spaces with them.

TikTokers might want to repurpose their most viral content for other short-form video platforms. Creators such as Eric Sedeño and Golloria share their content not only on TikTok, but Instagram pages and other video platforms, for instance.

“And if they do go viral again, then your audience is gonna have an easier time finding you,” says creator Coco Mocoe in a video about repurposing TikTok videos to new platforms.

Build community through broadcast

People most love TikTok for its sense of community. No matter your interests—whether you’re into musical theatre, gaming, sports, or teaching—there’s a TikTok niche. By discovering creators who share their passions, users on the platform feel understood and connected.

Creators can bring this engagement to new places using broadcast features on platforms such as WhatsApp, Instagram, and Discord. Through these channels, creators are actively engaging their followers on everything from advice on new video themes to exploring ideas for product launches.

“Audiences are looking for real connections with their favorite creators,” said creator Jow Howley. “Broadcast channels give you a chance to connect with your core followers on a more personal level,” she added, highlighting features like voice notes, and pictures.

While TikTok is currently stable and its creators are succeeding, creators need to start preparing now for potential future changes and set them up for a success long-term.

Local news site Patch recently asked its readers to submit their worst Thanksgiving dinner fails, and—no surprise here—most of them stemmed from screwups in the kitchen. There was the cook who forgot to add sugar to the pumpkin pie, the grilled turkey that absorbed lighter fluid, and the neglected oven that set a house on fire.

No wonder that, according to an Escoffier survey, 66% of us secretly wish we could just order the whole meal out.

But there’s good news for those saddled with cooking this year. If you really get into a fix with an undercooked bird, dry stuffing, or lumpy gravy, a bunch of major food brands have experts on hand to help you out. (To find out why they go through all the trouble and expense, read the full-length story here.)

Below is ADWEEK’s selection of this year’s best Thanksgiving helplines.

The Butterball Turkey-Talk Line

Now in its 43^rd year, this call center has a staff of 50 cooks on hand, and it’s open on Thanksgiving until 7:00 p.m. ET.

By phone: 1-800-BUTTERBALL (800-288-8372)

By text: (844) 877-3456

By live chat via the contact page.

Reynolds Turkey Hotline

This household-name maker of aluminum foil is on hand to help until 8:00 p.m. ET on weekdays and 4:00 p.m. ET on Thanksgiving.           

By phone: (800) 433-2244

By email via the contact page.

King Arthur Baker’s Hotline

Need help with bread or cookies? There’s flour power aplenty from a staff of 13 professional bakers.

By phone: (855) 371-2253

By email or chat via the contact page.

Ocean Spray Consumer Helpline

Help with everything pertaining to cranberries awaits on this hotline.

Text “holiday” to (508) 691-7736.

Campbell’s Soup Customer Line

C’mon, admit it: You’ve used a can of cream of celery to help with those scalloped potatoes.

Campbell’s customer service will be on hand until 7:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

By phone: (800) 257-8443

Nestle Toll House Baking Information Line

Ipsos data says 77% of us will be eating cookies, and pros are standing by to help with baking them.

By phone: (800) 851-0512

By email via the homepage.

Fleischmann’s Yeast Baker’s Hotline

In a baking bind? Need to holla about your challah? Call the pros at this 156-year-old yeast brand.

By phone: (800) 777-4959 until 5:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday

By email via the contact page.

Darrel Lieze-Adams has been promoted to president and general manager of WBBH and WZVN serving the Fort Myers/Naples, Florida, television market.

Lieze-Adams was the vice president and station manager of the NBC affiliate.

“Darrel knows Southwest Florida intimately and has been instrumental in helping build WBBH and WZVN into the respected brands they are today,” said Michael J. Hayes, Hearst Television president. “His leadership, especially in times of crisis as demonstrated through severe weather events in recent years, distinguishes him as an invested executive serving the Gulf Coast and our teams in Southwest Florida.”

Lieze-Adams came to the stations as news director in 1997 when it was owned by Waterman Broadcasting, and added the title vice president, news, digital, marketing and production in 2019. He was promoted to vice president and station manager in 2021.

Befor joining WBBH, he worked at Hubbard Broadcasting’s KSTP in Minneapolis-St. Paul, where he held a number of positions before ultimately becoming senior executive producer of broadcasts. Before KSTP, Lieze-Adams served in various news roles at Cedar Rapids, Iowa CBS affiliate KGAN.

ADWEEK opened the 2025 Media Agency of the Year Awards for entry.

The program seeks to recognize media agencies demonstrating innovation and excellence in media planning and buying,

Nominations are due Dec. 23, 2024.

Media agencies can apply for recognition in three categories:

Breakthrough: For this award, ADWEEK considers agencies founded five or fewer years ago, whether independent or within a holding company network. It also welcomes older agencies to apply, provided that within the past five years, they’ve launched media practices with demonstrated business impact.

Global: Competitive candidates will have demonstrated excellence managing media at scale across all geographic regions. Those without a presence in every region may still apply, but they must draw a significant portion of billing from work done outside of the U.S.

U.S.: Media agencies with a significant presence in the U.S. market may apply. This category is the most competitive of the three, given the large contribution of the U.S. to the advertising economy relative to other geographies. Impressive candidates are industry disruptors with stellar new business records, compelling work, and demonstrated commitments to social good.

Last year’s winners included Mediahub for U.S. Agency of the Year; PHD for Global Agency of the Year; and Exverus Media as Breakthrough Media Agency of the Year.  

Rules and considerations

Holding company agencies may not submit applications for their consolidated media group. ADWEEK intends for the awards process to be fair and unbiased for independent agencies and holding company subsidiaries alike. Group-level applicants present consolidated offerings that cannot be reasonably compared with individual agencies’ business models.

Agency applicants must answer every question thoroughly. Past winners provided comprehensive answers to ADWEEK’s questions.

Go beyond new business and awards. This year, ADWEEK will strongly consider agencies that can prove they’ve invested in these vital categories: diversity and inclusion; employee satisfaction; sustainable business practices; and emerging technology, including artificial intelligence.

Applying is free. This award is not a pay-to-play opportunity. We consider all applicants equally.

ADWEEK will notify the winners by late January, and publicly reveal them in its March 2025 print issue.

Apply by Dec. 23 to be considered for ADWEEK’s 2025 Media Agency of the Year awards.

If you have questions, please reach out to Alison Weissbrot or Alexia Marrache.

Happy Friday to all who celebrate! In this week’s edition of stories we didn’t get to for one reason or another, we get a little more info on the Tegna layoffs and how our friend AI may start to impact our professional lives. We also see a few heavyweights hang up their lav mics in favor of retirement.

Let’s make the dough:

The Changing Industry:

• Tegna lays off local station marketers in favor of centralized marketing: Anne Bentley, Tegna’s chief communications officer: “The [marketing] team will oversee key areas including the growth of our stations and audience, digital marketing, consumer insights, community engagement, commercial production and strategic initiatives like sponsorships and sports.” Click here for more.

• Our good friend over at FTVLive had this to add: Like the rest of the Tegna stations, the entire marketing team was cut at KXTV in Sacramento. But the cuts did not end there at the NorCal station. Also whacked were a Meteorologist, special projects Photographer and all the Directors at the station.

• And over on Reddit, one local station employee talked about what’s happening. We asked them about it, but haven’t heard any details:

For context I work production in local news. Recently there’s been developments in AI driven systems that can do 100% of the production side of things which is, direct, audio operate, and graphic operate -all of those jobs are all now gone in one swoop. This has apparently been developed by the company Q ai.

For the last decade I’ve worked in local news and have garnered skills I thought I would be able to take with me until my retirement, now at almost 30 years old, all of those job opportunities for me are gone in an instant. The only person that’s keeping their job is my manager, who will overlook the system and do maintenance if needed. That’s 20 jobs lost and 0 gained for our station.

We were informed we are going to be the first station to implement this under our company. This means that as of now our entire production staff in our news station is being let go. Once the system is implemented and running smoothly then this system is going to be implemented nationwide (effectively eliminating tens of thousands of jobs.) There are going to be 0 new jobs built off of this AI platform.

There are people I work with in their 50’s, single, no college education, no family, and no other place to land a job once this kicks in. I have no idea what’s going to happen to them. This is it guys. This is what our future with AI looks like. This isn’t creating any new jobs this is knocking out entire industry level jobs without replacing them.

Click here to see the post

• Tegna’s WKYC in Cleveland, Ohio, is canceling its sponsored lifestyle talk show “Good Company” as part of a larger restructuring of the marketing teams within the group. The station announced the show will end in mid-January 2025, ending a nearly 20-year run that started in 2005. Here’s that story.
• Anchors for Gray Television owned KTVF Channel 11 and KXDF Channel 13 (pictured) signed off the Fairbanks airwaves for the last time on Saturday after the stations’ parent company pulled the plug on the local news broadcast. Click here for more.

• From Newscast Studio: The appointment of Brendan Carr as incoming FCC chairman signals a potential seismic shift in the broadcast television landscape. With his track record of advocating for deregulation and his stated intention to revisit ownership limits, the industry appears poised for consolidation. Click here for more.

The Revolving Door:

• After more than a decade, a beloved KENS 5 TV anchor is making moves. Morning show anchor Sarah Forgany is leaving her early shift and is heading to a more “normal” shift. Click here for more.

• Meet Erika Gonzalez, CBS News Miami’s new morning show co-anchor. Click here for the video.

• Eric Kelly left his FOX 44 KWKT Waco-Temple-Killeen sports director role and apparently TV in September 2024. Click here for more from Mike McGuff.
• KCRA 3’s new weekend evening anchor Cecil Hannibal made his on-air debut at the station on Wednesday. Hannibal comes to KCRA 3 from our Hearst Television station in Jackson, Mississippi, where he was the morning anchor at WAPT. He is an Emmy Award-winning anchor and reporter. Here’s the story.

The End of An Era:

• After 30 years as KDKA-TV’s political analyst and 23 years as the station’s full-time money and politics editor, Jon Delano will retire from the station Dec. 1, with his last day on-air next Monday. Click here for the story.

• Steve Horstmeyer, Cincinnati’s longest-tenured meteorologist, says he will retire in March after 48 years in television. “It’s time. You know when it’s time,” says Horstmeyer, 71. Click here to see the story.

True Crime:

• TV anchor Jodi Huisentruit vanished nearly 30 years ago. A fresh search reignited hope – but only briefly. Click here for more.

Some Good News:

• Three years since he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, KARE 11’s Boyd Huppert says he is cancer-free. Here’s more.

A Fox in the White House: Fox News has been finding itself in the unique position of seeing its on-air talent—most notably Pete Hegseth—potentially move into President-elect Donald Trump‘s administration. The latest outgoing FNC personality is Sean Duffy, who Trump nominated as transportation secretary. Duffy hosts The Bottom Line on Fox Business and is married to Fox & Friends Weekend co-anchor Rachel Campos-Duffy.

On Monday, Fox News Media issued a statement about Duffy’s nomination, noting that he is no longer with the network. “We wish him the best of luck in his return to Washington,” the statement read. “Moving forward, The Bottom Line will continue with Dagen McDowell, joined by rotating co-hosts.”

Meanwhile, Larry Kudlow—another Fox Business anchor—has turned down the opportunity to join the Trump administration as treasury secretary. Fox News Media confirmed in a statement that Kudlow instead decided to remain in his current role, writing: “[He] has no plans to leave his current role helming one of the highest-rated shows on the network.”

The ripple effects of Fox News talent entering government are extending beyond who appears on the network. Following Hegseth’s nomination, Sean Hannity was enlisted as the new host of Fox Nation’s Patriot Awards Ceremony, taking place Dec. 5 at Long Island’s Tilles Center for Performing Arts. (Hegseth’s nomination was potentially imperiled this week by reports of sexual assault allegations.)

“It honors the really great Americans. Not like Hollywood.”

The 2024 Patriot Awards will be hosted by @seanhannity on December 5 at 8p ET.

For tickets, go to https://t.co/D5jsPSzwCY pic.twitter.com/NxAekB7Uww

— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 20, 2024

Weekend Debut: Not all FNC anchors are leaving the network for the White House, of course, NewsNation announced that former FNC anchor Laura Ingle will be the network’s new weekend anchor. Based in New York City, Ingle will anchor NewsNation Live on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. She originally joined NewsNation in 2023 as a freelance correspondent and was officially hired as a senior correspondent this past May.

Staying Put: James Rosen is sticking around Newsmax, signing a multi-year contract to remain the network’s chief White House correspondent covering the Trump presidency. “James’s reporting over the last three years has raised the standard for White House coverage, and his talent and hard-driving work ethic form a perfect match for Newsmax,” network CEO Christopher Ruddy said in a statement.

Jennifer Hancox has been named director of Creative Services for New York NBC-owned station WNBC.

In her new role, Hancox will lead and manage WNBC’s Creative Services team, overseeing the day-to-day functions and creative execution for the department. She will also collaborate with sister station Telemundo 47, as well as with NBCUniversal Local, NBC network and NBC syndicators. 

“Jen Hancox is a dynamic leader who has created and led successful promotional campaigns for more than two decades – all in the nation’s largest and most prestigious media market,” said Gina Oliva-Pinto, vice president of Creative Services and Marketing. “She is also a terrific manager who has deftly navigated our industry’s multi-platform evolution with a very human touch. I know that Jen will be an amazing leader for our Creative Services team and a valued partner for our Telemundo 47 family.”

Hancox worked at New York CBS station WCBS for more than 16 years. She was the director of Multi-Platform Promotion – Creative Services. Before that, she held production roles with WNYW/Fox 5 in New York City and WWOR/My 9 in Secaucus, New Jersey.

“WNBC has long been one of the most iconic brands in all of television. It is also a trusted platform for millions, delivering breaking news, accurate weather forecasts and local community information around the clock. I am incredibly honored to join the WNBC Creative Services team and cannot wait to get to work,” said Hancox.

Guinness has hired Uncommon Creative Studio New York as its strategic and creative agency partner in the U.S. as the Diageo-owned stout brand continues to grow its sales and consumer base globally, the brand confirmed exclusively with ADWEEK. 

Uncommon’s one-year-old New York office won the business after a competitive pitch that also involved Forsman & Bodenfors. Uncommon declined to share the size of the account in billings.  

Joyce He, U.S. brand director for Guinness, confirmed the appointment to ADWEEK. Philadelphia-based Quaker City Mercantile previously worked on the Guinness business in the U.S.

London agency AMV BBDO remains Guinness’ global creative agency partner across the U.K., Ireland, Africa, and Southeast Asia. The brand and agency have worked together for 26 years and the relationship is unaffected by the Uncommon hire, an AMV BBDO spokesperson said. 

Lovely day for a Guinness

The new agency appointment comes as Guinness drives momentum at Diageo.

While the drinks giant’s overall global sales declined for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic in the 2024 fiscal year, its beer brands increased sales by 18% globally, primarily driven by Guinness.

Guinness grew in markets including Great Britain, Ireland, and North America. In the latter, it reported a 6% year-on-year sales increase and was also the fastest growing imported beer in U.S. on-trade over the past 12 months. 

Diageo’s stout has a solid reputation in the U.S. According to 2024 survey data from business intelligence company Morning Consult, no beer brand has a higher net favorability score than Guinness.

Guinness has been bolstered in the U.S. by marketing including its “Lovely Day” campaign starring actor Jason Momoa that began running in March, per Diageo’s 2024 earnings report. 

In August, Guinness also launched the largest global campaign in its history to mark its partnership with the Premier League.

Guinness’ campaign for soccer fans is an example of how it has been trying to reach a wider audience and modernize its image. Through recent marketing, Guinness has appealed to younger people, women, and summertime occasions.  

So far, it’s working. Guinness increased sales in the U.K. with its last summer campaign, which mirrors global growth across the stout category. Insights firm IWSR attributed the recent rise in stout to an “expanding consumer base,” particularly among women and young people, driven by effective marketing from brand leaders like Guinness. 

Uncommon’s star rises

Winning Guinness is a coup for Uncommon, which expanded to New York last year following its sale to Havas. 

Since setting up shop, Uncommon New York has won business from broadcaster SiriusXM and grooming brand Harry’s.

It also hired Sam Shepherd from Leo Burnett Chicago as chief creative officer and Lindsay Cole from Droga5 as president. 

Heineken wants people to put down their phones.

In its latest bid to foster IRL social connections, the beer brand hacked two music events — Mexico’s Live Out festival and Amsterdam Dance Event’s opening party — to discourage phone use on the dance floor. With its creative agency LePub, Heineken installed technology that delivered a hidden message that only became visible on phone screens via infrared lighting.

When people held up their phones to film the performance, the message was revealed, telling attendees to keep the moment in their memories, not on their devices. Heineken has made the hidden infrared technology publicly available for any music artist to implement it at their own live shows. 

The brand also launched The Boring Mode app, which blocks smartphone features such as other apps, notifications, and the camera for a set period of time. The goal is to encourage people to enjoy nights out without the distractions of technology and live in the moment.

The campaign is a follow-up to Heineken’s Boring Phone activation in April, in which the brand partnered with Nokia manufacturer Human Mobile Devices (HMD) to produce a limited-edition, basic phone that could only send and receive calls and text messages. Heineken collaborated with streetwear retailer Bodega to drop the Boring Phone during Milan Design Week and threw a party inviting people to ignore technology and focus on socializing. 

The Boring Phone garnered buzz, with 14,000 people registering to attend its launch party and 70,000 people entering to win the device, according to the brand. And it worked: Heineken calculated that 3,600 smartphones were shut off during the event in Milan.

Heineken has embraced the tech detox movement because the brand is “about creating good times,” Bruno Bertelli, global CEO of LePub and chief creative officer of Publicis Worldwide, told ADWEEK. “But today, barriers are getting in the way of those moments, and we’re on a mission to break them down.”

Its latest campaign focuses on live music amid a trend of performing artists and DJs adopting no-phone policies at tours, festivals, and club nights. For example, at Amsterdam’s No Art festival last summer, organizers Bora Güney and Ruud Boymans required attendees to drop their smartphones in envelopes for the duration of the event. 

A 2024 survey by OnePoll, commissioned by Heineken, found that 41% of Gen Zers and Millennials find it frustrating to see a crowd of phones in the air at concerts, and 35% say they check their phones more often than they should when socializing.

“Today it feels like tech always comes first, leaving the enjoyment of real life in second place,” Nabil Nasser, global head of Heineken, said in a statement. “While technology grants us endless conveniences, it also comes at the cost of not being able to stop and embrace what’s happening around us.”

Heineken is not the only brand highlighting the downsides of smartphone overuse. Last year, tequila brand Jose Cuervo held a sweepstakes with White Lotus star Haley Lu Richardson giving out hundreds of flip phones, so people could focus on time with friends. And Squarespace’s Super Bowl ad, directed by Martin Scorsese, poked fun of people’s fixation with their phones, to the point where the entire world misses an alien invasion.

Opportunities to reach undecided voters are becoming fewer and fewer for the presidential candidates and their running mates. With early voting already underway in some of the battleground states, TVNewser has the following round-up of where you can watch interviews with Democratic candidates Kamala Harris and Tim Walz and their Republican rivals Donald Trump and J.D. Vance. (All times ET.)

Friday, October 18

Trump made an unannounced appearance on Fox & Friends this morning, joining the central quartet on the couch. The former president created a mini stir during his time in the studio, saying the jokes he made during Thursday night’s Al Smith charity dinner were written by “a couple of people from Fox.”

Doocy: Your material at the Al Smith dinner “was real funny, who helped you with it?” Trump: “I had a lot of people helping, a lot of people, a couple people from Fox – actually, I shouldn’t say that, but they wrote some jokes. For the most part, I didn’t like any of them.” pic.twitter.com/hQSFzPNDkd

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) October 18, 2024

According to Semafor’s Max Tani and Shelby Talcott, it was Nick Di Paolo—a right-leaning radio host and comedian who has contributed jokes and made appearances on FNC’s late night show Gutfeld!—was the responsible party for helping Trump with the jokes.  

In a statement to the publication, the network said: “Fox News confirmed that no employee or freelancers wrote the jokes.”

Meanwhile, Harris spoke with NBC News’ Peter Alexander earlier today after a campaign stop in Grand Rapids, MI. Portions of the interview streamed on the afternoon edition of Meet the Press Now on NBC News Now, with more to come on tonight’s Nightly News with Lester Holt newscast at 6:30 p.m.

Sunday, October 20

Rev. Al Sharpton will sit down with Harris for a one-on-one interview airing on MSNBC’s PoliticsNation at 5 p.m.

Post by @msnbc

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Wednesday, October 23

CNN will host a live town hall with Harris moderated by CNN anchor Anderson Cooper at 9 p.m. from Delaware County, PA. The presidential candidate will take questions from Cooper and a live audience of voters.

Post by @cnnpr

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Thursday, October 24

NewsNation will host an 8 p.m. town hall with Vance moderated by Chris Cuomo from Detroit, MI.  In addition to its NewsNation airing, the town hall will also be live-streamed exclusively on X, formerly Twitter. Viewers will have the opportunity to pre-submit questions on the platform.

NewsNation’s town hall with VP candidate @JDVance is streaming exclusively on X, and we want to know: What would you ask JD Vance? Reply with #VanceTownHall and @ChrisCuomo may use your question. Follow @NewsNation for updates. pic.twitter.com/I3KtS2eLWc

— NewsNation (@NewsNation) October 18, 2024