Too Tired and Tuning Out the News

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This week we're covering:

• 😴 Viewers are Getting Tired of The News

• ⚖️ Nielsen Gets Kicked Out of Court, Again

• 🎥 Creative Spotlight: Twix: “Two Is More Than One”

• 🌭 Hellmann’s Creates Ketchup Currency Exchange

News Fatigue Drives Down Consumption

A growing "news avoidance" trend is forcing media organizations to radically rethink how they deliver content to increasingly exhausted audiences. According to recent data from the Reuters Institute, 39% of people now actively avoid news to some degree - a 10 percentage point jump since 2017.

The exodus spans all age groups, with three distinct categories emerging:

• Former news consumers who are now deliberately cutting back

• Those who never engaged with news content

• Young people who've lost trust in traditional news brands

"The biggest challenge right now that's keeping me awake is the under-35 audience," says Caroline Waterston, Daily Mirror's editor-in-chief, echoing an industry-wide concern about reaching younger demographics.

How news organizations are adapting

Media outlets are deploying various strategies to combat this trend:

• Increased curation through targeted newsletters and focused podcasts

• AI-powered personalization (showing early promise of double-digit retention increases)

• "Constructive journalism", emphasizing progress and solutions

• Greater transparency about editorial processes to build trust

• Video content featuring journalists as influencer-style presenters

The decline is happening across all age groups, with many citing mental health concerns, negativity fatigue, and a sense of powerlessness as key reasons for tuning out.

While newsrooms scramble to adapt, one thing is clear: the traditional firehose approach to news delivery is no longer sustainable in an era where audiences increasingly prioritize their mental wellbeing over staying constantly informed.

Read More:

• ‘I can’t cope with it any more’: newsrooms scramble to retain audiences amid the big switch-off - The Guardian

TV Industry Updates

• Patent lawsuit dismissed: Nielsen’s suit against VideoAmp was dismissed by a federal court, marking the company’s second courtroom setback this year.

• NFL flexed its options: The NFL nearly locked in its opt-out from media rights deals, seeking greater value following record Super Bowl viewership.

• Data meets reach: Nielsen and Acxiom teamed up to sync their ID systems, enabling better cross-platform audience targeting and measurement.

• FCC regulations reformed: A bipartisan group of 73 lawmakers urged the FCC to modernize outdated broadcast ownership rules hampering local TV stations.

• UFL inks deal: The sports platform DAZN secured global rights to stream the newly merged UFL's 2025 season across most markets.

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Creative Spotlight: Twix: “Two Is More Than One”

Twix’s "Two is more than one" campaign turned the traditional Left Twix vs. Right Twix narrative on its head with a high-octane TV spot featuring a mind-bending car chase that cleverly reinforced the candy bar's dual nature.

The Details:

• The 60-second ad showed a driver in a dramatic car chase that ended with him saving himself, revealing he was driving a car stacked on top of another car

• The campaign marked a strategic shift away from the previous "Left Twix vs Right Twix" positioning to embrace maximalism and togetherness

• The platform rollout included a Super Bowl tie-in featuring the Ying Yang Twins that engaged over 10,000 participants in a second-screen staring contest

• The campaign extended across 75 markets with multiple touchpoints, including TV, social, AR experiences, and out-of-home elements

What We Loved: The surreal, action-movie style creative brilliantly transformed Twix's signature two-bar format from a choice between options into a celebration of having it all, tapping into a younger audience's maximalist preferences.

Marketing Mix

• Ketchup currency: Hellmann’s launched an app turning ketchup packets into currency for mayo coupons in a campaign promoting the mayo-and-fries combo.

• Meta's new market: Meta revealed plans for principal-based trading with agency holding companies, selling them inventory in bulk and resale at a markup.

• Office nostalgia: Chili's announced plans for a Scranton location themed after "The Office," complete with 2005 décor and the return of the Awesome Blossom.

• Privacy chaos: SafeGuard Privacy launched a new MSCA tool to simplify compliance with the growing patchwork of state privacy laws.

• Influencer influx: Nearly 60% of marketers plan to partner with more influencers in 2025 than they did in 2024.

• Gaming together: Google and Roblox have partnered on an ad deal that will allow advertisers to buy Roblox items through Google's ad-buying platforms.

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