The Brief – Thursday 12 March – IPA reveals new Pricing Playbook, effectiveness of junk food ban questioned & more

💰 The IPA has unveiled a new Pricing Playbook, which aims to provide agencies with practical tools, real-world examples and actionable advice on how to align their pricing strategies. It follows the IPA’s 2025 report, The Price Isn’t Right. (IPA)

🍔 A new report estimates the UK’s junk food ad ban will only impact 1% of the £2.4bn spent annually on advertising food and drink. Ministers have been told the policy may prove to be “mostly ineffective” after the ban was watered down by lobbyists in the food and advertising industries. (The Guardian)

🎫 Revenue from Time Magazine’s events business is on pace to represent 50% of the company’s total revenue, up from 28% in 2023. Within its advertising business specifically, events comprise nearly 80% of revenue. (Adweek)

🗨️ Paramount CEO David Ellison made his first appearance in front of Warner Bros Discovery employees ahead of its impending acquisition of the conglomerate. Ellison spoke about the power of storytelling and the need to come together, and dismissed reports of the likelihood of significant layoffs, but at least attendee said they “didn’t believe him”. (The Hollywood Reporter)

🤖 Meta’s own Oversight Board has said it should be doing more to address the “proliferation” of fake content made with artificial intelligence (AI) tools on its platforms. This comes after the company left up an AI generated video that claimed to show extensive damage in Haifa, Israel by Iranian forces without a label. (BBC)

🗯️Amid conflict with the Pentagon, which has seen Anthropic blacklisted and now engaged in a lawsuit, the company has now announced its launching a new internal think tank. Titled the Anthropic Institute, it combines three of Anthropic’s current research teams and will focus on researching AI’s large-scale implications. (The Verge)