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Big launches lead this week: Meta has a new TV-scale ad format, Google has a cart that follows shoppers across Search and Gemini, and Pinterest has a plan for the week after Christmas. Here is everything that matters, plus the numbers behind it.
ADVERTISING
Meta launched Ads Super Burst, a new campaign type for big moments. You book a 3 to 24 hour window around a big event, internal like a product launch or external like the start of a sporting season, with guaranteed delivery and optional category exclusivity. Testers reached what Meta calls a “TV-like scale,” with a median 34 million people per flight. It opens to everyone in phases this month.
First Impression Ads are in a US test. They sell the first ad a user sees when opening Facebook. If you want the very first impression of the day, this is the format to watch.
Reels Trending Ads put your ad right after the most-watched content. Instead of competing for attention mid-scroll, you ride the wave of a clip people are already watching.
Aggregated view time measures attention across several video exposures rather than per view. It is a shift from counting single views to counting cumulative attention, which fits how people actually watch video ads.
Google Ads is rolling out channel prioritization, so your campaigns fund “High priority” channels first. You set the max share of daily budget that “Low priority” channels, like Search partners, can use. It lets you test a channel without going all in on it.
OpenAI is assigning human account managers to ChatGPT Ads advertisers. The news comes from an email Anthony Higman posted on X. Expect an intro strategy call, then biweekly performance reviews. Bring your optimization questions.
Streaming ad breaks got longer. The top nine premium streamers averaged 18% more ad minutes in August than in January. Paramount+ is the heaviest at around 9 minutes per hour. Netflix is the lightest, at 2.4, while churn sits around 4%. Viewers are not bailing, your spot just has more company.
Citizen Lab confirmed the first known case of government-backed hackers using online ads to plant zero-click spyware. Researcher Bill Marczak now tells potential targets to block ads or turn off ad tracking. That is not great PR for the targeting your campaigns run on.
GOOGLE AI
Universal Cart is rolling out across Search and Gemini in the US. Shoppers can save items from multiple stores, get price-drop and restock alerts, see promo codes, and check out fast at Nike, Walmart and more. You stay the seller of record, but more shopping happens off your site.
AI Mode and AI Overviews now show more inline links, higher up in answers. A test also gives the one or two official sites for some tasks their own top section. If you run one of those sites, it could be yours.
Google still will not share click data for AI answers. It promises only to “introduce additional metrics over time.” Until then, your own referral data is the only proof the links work.
The News AI pilot now pays 400+ publications for content behind AI article overviews and audio briefings. Axios, CNN, the FT and Forbes recently joined, but the rates are not public.
AI Mode is moving in on regular search. Its chat sidebar showed up on regular search results in a test, putting searchers one click from a conversation. SE Roundtable sees it as a step toward AI Mode becoming the default. Plan for more searches that never leave Google.
The week between Christmas and New Year, widely known as “Q5,” deserves its own creative refresh. Engagement stays high, but the mindset flips. Here is what to change.
Gifting is over. Selfishness is in. After weeks of buying for everyone else, shoppers turn to what they want. Beauty shifts to “new year, new me” upkeep. Fashion trades party outfits for January basics. Home moves from festive mood to comfort and function. Swap gift-wrapped product shots for the product in the buyer’s own everyday life. If it still looks like a wishlist item, it is December 24 creative.
Do not kill Christmas, point it at January. People are still celebrating, but also planning the reset. TUI’s Q5 creative in Germany paired Christmas cues with sunny travel imagery to sell early-booking offers. A new headline, overlay, or product selection can reposition an asset that is already live.
Urgency retires, utility clocks in. “Get it before Christmas” dies on Christmas. Shopping does not: 1 in 2 monthly Pinterest users keep buying in the weeks after. The reason to act shifts from a deadline to “what does this help me do next?” Show the product in use, inside a new routine or goal, and lead with an outcome.
Match the message to the goal. For awareness, sell the fresh start. For consideration, show how it fits people’s plans. For sales, go product-led and make buying quick. Pinterest’s data also ties ad groups running 5 to 10 ads to a 2.7% ROAS lift over the global average. That 2.7% will not change your year, but variety is cheap when you are remixing existing assets. Brief the Q5 tweaks in early December and your budget gets a second act.
DATA
WARC’s global ad spend forecast keeps going up. Its October update is the second upgrade in less than a year. For 2026, WARC now expects 11.9% growth, up from 9.7% last December, a 2.2-point upgrade. For 2027, it expects 8.4%, up from 7.9%. The first estimate for 2028 is 7.9%. Growth is expected to slow after this year, but single-digit growth on top of a double-digit year is still solid. The catch: WARC’s Suzy Young says growth, “particularly from the AI boom,” benefits “some companies, sectors and consumers more than others.” AI-powered ad platforms are taking in money faster than anyone expected, and the biggest platforms, with the most data and the best automation, are likely collecting most of that growth. More ad spend means more competition for the same audiences, and higher prices. Lock in 2027 budgets early, and test smaller channels before the big ones get even more expensive.
OTHER UPDATES
ChatGPT: links seem to have dropped the utm_source=chatgpt.com tag and now hide referral data. Adobe checked about 500 pages and found ChatGPT referrals down roughly 31,000 visits a day, while direct rose about 26,000. So if your direct traffic is up, do not thank your brand campaign yet. OpenAI has not said if it is intentional.
TikTok Shop: added live group deals for UK sellers. The update brings price cuts, a way to re-engage runner-up auction bidders, and streams that mix auctions with fixed-price items. You can also turn product images into shoppable carousels. Live shopping drives Douyin’s revenue in China, so TikTok keeps pushing it.
Microsoft Advertising: its Conversions API now supports restate and retract. Restate changes a conversion’s revenue but keeps the count, while retract removes it and zeroes its value. Both need a transactionId, so make sure your purchase events send one. If a customer returns an order, your conversion data can stop pretending otherwise.
WhatsApp: now lets you send a call link, and guests without an account can join from their computer browser once you admit them. Calls fit up to 32 people with no time limit. WhatsApp will add Google and Outlook calendar plugins later this year.
