The Brief – Friday 12 December – Warc upgraded its adspend forecast, Disney and OpenAI partnership, AI backlash for McDonalds and more

💰 Warc has upgraded its global adspend forecast, now expecting 8.9% growth next year to $1.19tn. But, it warned, growth is being “concentrated” in Big Tech: Alphabet, Amazon and Meta are expected to take a combined global ad market share of 56.1%, excluding China, and this is forecast to rise to 58% next year. (Warc)

🏰 Disney has reached an agreement with OpenAI that will make the company the first major content licensing partner on generative AI video platform Sora. The three-year licensing agreement will allow Sora users to generate short AI videos that draw on more than 200 Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars characters. As part of the agreement, Disney will make a $1bn equity investment in OpenAI and become a “major customer” of OpenAI. (Disney)

🍟 McDonald’s Netherlands has taken down a Christmas ad made with AI after online backlash. The video was removed from YouTube on the 9 December, with McDonald’s Netherlands commenting the universally negative user feedback served as “an important learning.” (BBC)

📱 Since October, Meta has removed or restricted dozens of accounts belonging to abortion access providers, queer groups and reproductive health organisations. Meta has denied it has escalated a campaign of censorship against these groups, but campaigners say Meta is taking the Trump administration’s approach to women’s health and LGBTQ+ issues and applying it globally. (The Guardian)

📰 Mirror editor-in-chief Caroline Waterston has stepped down. Chloe Hubbard, currently UK editor at the Independent, has been named her replacement. (Reach)

🏜️ A new report by the Public Interest News Foundation has warned that 4.4m Brits are now living in “news deserts”, defined as areas without a dedicated local news provider. It claims that one in 10 local authority districts now qualify as news deserts, with 27 council areas now having no news provider at all and an additional 10 only covered by multi-district news outlets. (HoldtheFrontPage)

👃 Sandwich chain Subway has unveiled a “scratch and sniff” billboard in Blackfriars, London. The installation was designed by social creative agency Fabric Social, in partnership with Subway’s culinary and innovation team. (Marketing Beat)