For years, conversational AI sat outside the advertising economy — helpful, neutral, and commercially silent. That wall is now beginning to crack. OpenAI has confirmed it will begin testing advertising placements within ChatGPT, marking a pivotal moment not just for the platform, but for how brands may eventually show up
GrowthOps Asia has been appointed the lead creative, social media, and SEO agency for Volkswagen Singapore, following a competitive pitch concluded in December 2025. The appointment places GrowthOps at the centre of one of Asia’s most demanding automotive markets, where brand visibility, digital discovery and performance-led storytelling increasingly determine consideration
After ten years in advertising purgatory, Dos Equis has done something most brands are too timid to attempt. It has brought back its most famous asset and openly admitted that life has been rather dull without him. Yes, The Most Interesting Man in the World is back. And he returns
In Malaysia, a brand name is never just a name. It is a signal — sometimes cultural, sometimes religious, sometimes political — whether the brand owner intends it or not. The recent online backlash directed at Botak Nasi Lemak, a Chinese-owned eatery that does not hold halal certification and has
dentsu Malaysia has appointed Nick Drew as managing partner, data, and tech, reinforcing its ambition to integrate data, technology and media as Malaysian brands navigate an increasingly complex digital ecosystem more tightly. Drew will report to Bala Pomaleh, CEO of dentsu Media Malaysia, and will lead the agency’s expanded data
By 2026, marketing’s central problem is no longer attention. It is judgement. That is the quiet but consequential idea running through Kantar’s latest mapping of the forces shaping brand growth this year. After a decade obsessed with reach, scale and speed, brands now face a more uncomfortable question: are the
What does a runaway monkey in the United States have to do with Malaysian marketers? More than anyone would like to admit. Earlier this month, authorities in St. Louis went looking for a group of vervet monkeys spotted near a public park. It should have been a routine animal recovery
TikTok has been named FIFA’s “Preferred Platform” for the FIFA World Cup 2026, marking the first time a social media platform has been given this designation for the world’s biggest sporting event. The partnership positions TikTok as a central destination for behind-the-scenes access, creator-led storytelling, and monetised match-adjacent content across
Assembly has completed the rebranding of all former ADK Global offices across Asia, bringing the network’s regional operations under a single brand, platform, and operating model. The move follows Assembly’s acquisition of ADK Global last year and marks the completion of the first phase of the merger. From January 2026,
Malaysia is edging closer to a regulatory line many markets have debated but hesitated to draw. By mid-2026, the government wants all major social media platforms to cooperate in restricting access for users under the age of 16. The signal from Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil is unambiguous: this is no
