Just briefly
Fake crews: Facebook banned marketing firm Rally Forge for using more than 300 fake accounts to criticize Joe Biden and the Democratic Party on behalf of conservative advocacy group Turning Point USA. The accounts had been commenting mostly on news stories from mainstream outlets like the Washington Post, Fox News, MSNBC, CNN and the New York Times.
Ride along: Google-owned Waymo is, well, test-driving its driverless car ride-hailing service. Riders in Phoenix, Arizona can now hop into one of Waymo several hundred cars—alone—with no driver to potentially spread the coronavirus. The company will still have cars in its fleet that use human safety operators who don’t drive but act as a backup for the AI.
It’s TikToks all the way down: TikTok’s latest ad is a recursive loop, inspired by a video that went viral on the platform that featured Ocean Spray, which has seized on the unexpected attention with its own PR moves. “The new 15-second spot highlights the original video from Nathan Apodaca, known as 420doggface208 on TikTok, who filmed himself sipping Ocean Spray while skateboarding and grooving to Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Dreams,’” writes Ad Age’s Garett Sloane. Surrounding Apodaca are viewers who made their own versions of the video, including Mick Fleetwood himself.
VP debate ratings up: Wednesday’s Kamala Harris-Mike Pence clash drew more than 57 million viewers, up from the 37 million people who watched the 2016 debate between Pence and Tim Kaine, according to CNN.
That does it for today’s Wake-Up Call. Thanks for reading and we hope you are all staying safe and well. For more industry news and insight, follow us on Twitter: @adage.
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