Google faced a setback on Thursday after an advisor to Europe’s top court agreed with Brussels regulators that the tech giant had used its Android mobile phone operating system to suppress rivals.

Juliane Kokott, advocate-general of the European Court of Justice, the EU’s highest court, said the court should uphold the multibillion dollar fine, €4.12bn, issued against Google.

The opinion about the Android case from 2018 is not legally binding, but precedes a ruling by the court in the coming months. It also provides a positive boost to the European Commission, which wants to enforce new rules aimed at holding Google accountable for monopolies or trying to hold back competitors.

In 2018, the EU accused Google of imposing illegal restrictions on Android device makers and mobile network operators to obtain and keep a dominant position in internet search. 

The document published by the Court of Justice of the European Union notes “In her Opinion delivered today, Advocate General Kokott proposes that the Court of Justice dismiss Google’s appeal and, therefore, uphold the judgment of the General Court.”

The full text of the opinion and case can be found on the InfoCuria websit e. The document summarizes the court’s case.

It reads that the “General Court set out the background to the dispute in paragraphs 2 to 72 of the judgment under appeal which, for the purposes of these appeal proceedings,” and summarizes each.

A Google spokesperson told the Financial Times it was “’disappointed’ with the opinion,” and that “Android has created more choice for everyone and supports thousands of successful businesses in Europe and around the world.”

The latest addition to the “RuPaul’s Drag Race” franchise, a new mobile game called “RuPaul’s Drag Race Match Queen,” partnered with LGBTQ+ advocacy and education organization PFLAG for its Pride Month launch.

Created by East Side Games Group and World Of Wonder, the product combines “match-3”  puzzle gameplay with fashion and drag elements inspired by RuPaul’s hit series. “This game captures the vibrant spirit of drag, by letting fans match, collect, and slay their way through fierce fashion challenges,” World of Wonder co-founders Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato explained in a statement.

The title leads players through an exclusive in-game season of the drag competition series starring fan favorite Trixie Mattel. Mattel is also lending her star power to promote the launch in her latest “Get Ready With Me” video, which incorporates gameplay footage alongside a recreation of her look for the “Drag Race All-Stars 3” promo.

As part of East Coast Games’ partnership with PFLAG, audiences can download the free-to-play game using a dedicated campaign link to ensure a $1 donation to PFLAG each time it’s installed, for a total of up to $25,000.

“At a time when so many companies and brands are moving back as partners to LGBTQ+ organizations, ESGG has come in with support for our mission to create a caring, just, and affirming world for LGBTQ+ people and those who love them,” PFLAG CEO Brian K. Bond said in a statement.

But the partnership goes well beyond Pride Month. The announcement claimed the initial promotion “marks the start of a broader collaboration across the two partners,” while alluding to further details to be announced at a later date.

PFLAG also recently announced its list of 2025  Pride Partners, which includes commitments to donate $50,000 from J. Crew Group, Nivea, and Ulta Beauty.

Ensueño Laundry, which markets its laundry care products largely to Hispanic-Americans, has partnered with regional supermarket chain H-E-B on the "Abuela Tag Reader": a mobile activation that translates the symbols on clothing laundry care tags into plain language, as well as providing tips for washing and drying, along with other info.

Developed by the VML agency, the tag reader experience is guided by real-life “abuelas” – Spanish for grandmothers.

"In Latino culture, there's an abuela way to do your laundry and a wrong way to do your laundry," states Cristina Mustieles, Ensueño senior brand manager. "These matriarchs have decades of experience, so what better way to share 'expert advice' than by having it come from the true, original source?”

“As far as we are aware, the laundry tag reader is the first of its kind that has meshed a digital experience like this with a unique cultural tie-in,” Mustieles tells Marketing Daily. “Your iPhone has a function that can direct you to definitions for each laundry symbol, but there is no personality, no real-life experience and no visual cues, which the abuelas bring.”

The tag reader lives not on an app, but on a landing page, a strategy that Mustieles says “allows us to reach more people. There is less of a barrier to entry when customers can simply click a link or scan a QR code and get started right from their phone browser with no need to download an app, set up an account, or take more steps.”

She adds, “The QR code to landing page funnel lends well to digital and physical promotion.”

In addition to the symbol translations and abuela advice, the landing page also includes a coupon for $2 off certain Ensueño products at H-E-B.

Select H-E-B locations are supporting the tag reader with retail media including pallet displays, Mustieles says, with additional brand support from “targeted media on Youtube, paid ads and organic content on Ensueño social media.”

Despite Ensueño’s large Hispanic-American audience, the tag reader is currently available only in English.

“With our audience primarily being in the US, English is the most accessible language,” Mustieles explains. “We also wanted (it) to be an opportunity for those who aren’t Hispanic to learn a little bit about the culture in a way that’s digestible.

The reader’s target audience?

Mustieles cites “everyone,” including “the college student learning to do laundry on their own for the first time, the mom who is juggling everything and needs a little reminder of what’s what, someone who is missing their own grandmother and wants a little nostalgia.”

But, particularly, she notes, “we hope this resonates with the Hispanic-American community and brings them a smile in a way that is light-hearted and personal. Ensueño…has strong ties to Mexican heritage, so it was important to us to stay authentic to that culture and demonstrate both the spice and support that abuelas bring to the family.”

For now, the tag reader is a limited-time activation, says Mustieles, “but depending on consumer engagement, we would consider expanding it into something more long-term.”

Houston-based Ensueño is part of the AlEn USA group, which markets Pinalen Multipurpose Cleaner and Cloralen Bleach in addition to Ensueno Laundry. In addition to H-E-B, retailers carrying the brands across the country include CVS, Walmart and Amazon.

Colin Behan, Head of CRM – Gaming at BetMGM, shares his insights on email marketing topics including subject lines, content, frequency, channels, and balancing technology with human connection.

Do you prefer brand awareness or performance? What is your preferred marketing channel? In this series, we get to know past Insider Summit attendees and ask about their preferences.

Colin Behan, Head of CRM – Gaming, BetMGM: 

• Emoji in Subject Line or No Emoji: Emoji’s are welcomed. If used wisely, an emoji helps subconsciously land the tone you are aiming for with your statement. 

• Frequency or Scale: Frequency. A higher frequency of properly targeted below-the-line campaigns allows the marketer to personalize offers to specific customers based on their interests, purchasing habits, and preferences without overcommunicating or spamming your contacts.

• App or Website: App. The world is mobile.  Consumers are holding their phone even while on their computer.  63% of global traffic comes from mobile devices. 

• GIFs in Emails or Static Images Only: Oh how I love a good GIF. While I do not recommend that all emails include GIFs, mixing up your content in fun and engaging ways could separate you from competitors.

• Gaining New Subscribers or Retaining Old Subscribers: Retain your subscribers! Retention keeps your costs down and allows your customers to get to know your brand at a deeper level. Do what you can to create lifelong customers.

• Always test or Stick to what works: Always be testing. Ask your marketers for new ideas and never say “no”. There is likely a situation where their campaign idea makes sense. 

• AI or Human Touch: Human touch is the core to your marketing, but AI may help! Rely on your marketing analytics, test and optimize your campaigns, and allow AI to help with any repetitive work. 

 If you’re interested in submitting content for future editions, please reach out to our Managing Editor, Barbie Romero at [email protected].

As part of its Win While You Wait Campaign, Molson Coors became one of the first brands to trial Uber Advertising’s ad platform Ride Offers to reward riders. The discount applies to the consumer’s next eligible ride.

The advertising division, which launched in 2022, has surpassed $1.5 billion in annual revenue run rate in the first quarter of 2025, up more than 60% year-over-year. Now the company is officially launching an in-house agency Creative Studio to partner with advertisers at Cannes Lions.

Creative Studio helps advertisers tell their story and create what Uber calls “culture-first campaigns” that integrate into its platform.  

Uber Advertising expanded its ad platform Ride Offers internationally on Tuesday, making it available in the U.S., CA, UK, BR, MX, AU and NZ, as the company. The discounts can be sent to and used on the mobile app.

Brad Feinberg, vice president of media, digital and ecommerce at Molson Coors Beverage Company, believes the offer improves performance. It provides Uber riders with a responsible way to get from one location to another safely.

The company also shared statistics from past campaigns for Blue Moon’s Baseball, and Miller Lite’s Football, where click-through rate (CTR) benchmarks grew by double digits. Miller Lite’s football campaign outperformed CTR benchmarks by more than 200%. Coors Light’s ad for a college basketball tournament drove gains in new and lapsed users.

Some 65% of Uber users across the U.S., U.K., Australia, France and Mexico agree that ads with direct discounts or a set amount of dollars off stand out and grab attention, while 64% say ads with direct discount or a set amount of dollars off make them feel more positively about the brand, according to new research from the National Research Group (NRG).

The NRG estimates these ads are 5% more likely to grab attention and over 10% more likely to lift engagement than those without a promotion.

According to the Trump Ventures website, Donald Trump’s family business is licensing the president’s name to a mobile phone service that later this year will release a series of gold smartphones with a $47-per-month cost. 

The announcement -- made by Trump’s eldest sons -- states that Trump Mobile will offer 5G service through AT&T, Verizon and T Mobile, with unlimited talk, text and data, device protection, roadside assistance, telehealth services, free international calls and more. 

Notably, the Trump family says the gold-colored smartphones will cost $499 and will be American made, giving consumers an alternative to mobile devices made internationally by Apple and Samsung. By putting down a $100 downpayment, consumers can reserve their phone now before its planned September launch. 

The phone is designed to run on the Android operating system, and will be unlockable via a fingerprint sensor.

The service will be owned and operated by a separate business called “T1 Mobile,” which will license the Trump brand. 

In its description, Trump Mobile resembles other MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) mobile companies, like Mint Mobile and an upcoming brand owned by the SmartLess podcast hosts.

Its potential, however, has already been doubted by experts. 

For example, David Pierce wrote in The Verge that the venture “seems utterly unfathomable.” 

Pierce “absolutely” doubts that the phone will be “designed and built in the USA,” citing the likelihood that the smartphone prototype shared on Monday “appears to be nearly 100 percent Photoshopped,” with specs “that don’t make a lot of sense together,” including the lack of information regarding a processor. 

Whereas a senior analyst at telecom research firm Counterpoint told The Washington Post that mass-producing a modern smartphone in the U.S. is “not possible” due to the development of tech components being based almost entirely overseas. 

Despite a history of failed “Trump” businesses,  the president has made hundreds of millions of dollars on his family’s ventures, reporting over $600 million in income and $1.6 billion in assets on Friday. 

Businesses have relied on Adobe Experience Cloud applications to manage and optimize their presence across major channels including web and mobile.

As of today, Adobe LLM Optimizer allows teams to stay ahead of shifting consumer behaviors.

A suite of features introduced Monday at Cannes Lions in France enables businesses to monitor AI-driven traffic and benchmark brand visibility, while receiving recommendations that marketers can deploy across their digital properties. The tools are intended to improve discoverability and performance, and to support engagement and conversions.

The LLM Optimizer aims to make it easier for marketers to track and boost visibility across chatbots that have begun to compete with Google search.

Loni Stark, vice president of strategy and product at Adobe Experience Cloud, believes generative AI (GAI) interfaces have become go-to tools for how customers discover, engage and make purchase decisions.

Adobe LLM Optimizer, an enterprise application announced today at Cannes Lions, enables consumers to have conversations with their favorite brands.

It was built to support the existing work of search engine optimization (SEO) leads, content strategists, digital marketers and web publishers — with dashboards, workflows and alerts for each persona.

Insights and recommendations are supported on AI-driven traffic, making the data accessible across an organization.

The application also supports enterprise-ready frameworks such as Agent-to-Agent (A2A) and Model Context Protocol (MCP). LLM Optimizer can also integrate with third-party solutions and agency partners.

Data from Adobe Analytics shows a 3,500% increase in traffic to U.S. retail sites and a 3,200% increase to U.S. travel sites from generative AI sources in May 2025. Those figures can be compared with July 2024 data that measures the traffic of users clicking on a link, despite some data suggesting otherwise.

The tool can monitor and increase AI-driven traffic being leveraged by interfaces to deliver query responses. This provides teams with real-time data on how brands are showing up across browsers and chat services.

Teams can better understand queries that consumers ask. Visibility into data identifies the most relevant parts of the company's business and how their product offerings serve up on their sites.

Side-by-side benchmarking allows teams to evaluate visibility against competitors across high-value queries — identifying gaps in areas where business should be more prominent.

Suggested changes can include technical fixes -- non-production URLs being indexed, pages returning 4xx or 5xx code, or missing/invalid page metadata.

LLM Optimizer also can project traffic value via dollars, allowing teams to understand and prioritize the optimizations that will drive the greatest increase in visibility across AI-powered browsers and chat services.

As if the creative advertising TV community wasn’t worried enough, the NBA Finals -- a major sports TV event -- witnessed its first AI-generated advertising spot, produced with some help from Google Gemini, its AI tech group. 

The basic Google Gemini was originally designed to perform tasks such as writing, brainstorming, summarizing and generating images. 

Now with Google Veo 3 -- launched last month -- it added in an AI video-generation model that produced a buzz -- and a loud, fan-centric commercial to spin NBA action excitement including images of the individual fans loudly talking and screaming for their favorite NBA Finals teams, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers.

The ad was for Kalshi, a  federally regulated exchange that allows trading on the outcome of future events -- including political elections, economic indicators, sports, and more.

While text-to-video AI models have been around for a while, the difference here is that Veo 3 can place realistic looking, lip-synced, spoken dialogue onto people and around big time cinematic video.

CNBC says this is the start of how advertising can be more fully disrupted -- with no actors, no location shoots, and no sound stage. 

Should TV viewers be alerted to this -- especially in the spot where a small, shirtless Pacers fan holding a dog exposes his not-so-appealing physique?

Does that guy really exist?

Consumers are probably well aware these days that certain images and short videos on mobile devices could be artificially produced and manipulated.

Now more than ever, we need to assume that some big-screen images -- especially in places where we don’t expect them -- could be revealed through AI technology.

If that isn’t enough, high-profile AI executive and CEO of OpenAI Sam Altman now says AI may already have surpassed human intelligence.

But can it drive downhill to the basket, and hit the big three to win the game with two seconds to go.. and then yell -- boo-yah?

Oh yeah. But not in real life.

Humans love excitement. AI already knows that.