Remarkable life of Tony’s CMO | Do consumers HATE AI ads? | Ritson v Labubu
Sadira E. Furlow: the Tony’s Chocolonely CMO who’ll make you want to quit your job
In this week’s Big Interview, Jen Faull sits down with Sadira E. Furlow , the chief brand and marketing officer at Tony's Chocolonely , to learn what makes her tick.
Faull charts how Furlow, once a rising star at PepsiCo, walked away from predictable success to find more meaningful work. Something she has done now multiple times. Her journey through burnout, rest, and reinvention reveals the discipline and curiosity needed to excel at the top. “What is popular is not always right, and what is right is not always popular,” she says, a mantra that shapes how she now runs her modestly budgeted team.
At Tony’s, Furlow’s brief is simple but bold: sell more chocolate to fund fairer cocoa practices and invite competitors to join in. For marketers planning 2026, this may well be the piece that inspires you to look to new horizons and take the bold leap...
Consumers don’t know AI made the ad... and when we tell them, they don’t really care
Andrew Tindall takes a clear, data-driven look at how audiences actually react to AI-generated advertising, and his findings challenge much of the current industry noise. After testing 18 AI-made ads with 2,700 viewers across three markets, he found that most people simply could not tell when AI was involved. As he puts it: “Most said they looked like a typical, professionally produced ad.”
Tindall highlights a striking contradiction. Once viewers were prompted to consider whether AI had been used, many claimed to spot it, yet those same ads often created stronger emotional responses. “It works and consumers do not mind,” Tindall writes. The data shows that viewers respond to story, emotion, and fluency, more than the underlying production method.
The Labubu bubble is bursting but Pop Mart can still save the brand
Mark Ritson is back from Singapore with a suitcase full of Labubu dolls and a warning for Pop Mart. “Labubu is Lathroughthrough,” he writes, declaring the end of a craze that once generated half a billion pounds in six months. The marketing professor explores the hard path back to peak Labubu: restrict supply like Rolex, rebound like Abercrombie, or co-brand like Supreme. This is his 11th column on The Drum. He started with a sex toy and has peaked with a Labubu.
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‘I’d tell myself to be patient’: Post-merger agency leaders’ notes to past selves
With Omnicom and IPG’s landmark merger moving ahead and WPP signaling more consolidation, the timing matters for anyone in marketing preparing for a volatile 2025. Sam Anderson asked leaders what to expect from the agencies in the maelstrom of a merger.
Melissa Bouma captures the opportunity when she says, “sameness alone doesn’t unlock new enterprise value; diversity of experience does,” while Katy Hornaday reframes the whole exercise with the reminder that “a merger isn’t about blending, it’s about inventing.”
Tim Ringel cuts to the heart of it with, “post-transaction priorities are simple: it’s about your people and your clients,” underlining how much of the work sits in communication and reassurance.
Kraft Heinz’s Alessandra de Dreuille: ‘I came back to marketing with more love than when I left it’
Kraft Heinz’s marketing and commercial director Alessandra de Dreuille has worn many hats, from HR to head of baby food, but she's back in marketing. “I came back to it with even more love than when I left,” she tells Tim Healey .
Her career spans some of the world’s best-known food brands, from Danone and Bel to Heinz, giving her a front-row seat to transformation, innovation, and culture change.
Now leading a team of 30, she’s balancing short-term commercial results with long-term brand building. Her leadership mantra: never compromise on talent. Furthermore, she believes that every employee, not just the marketing team, contributes to brand strength.
‘It evoked the working-class fabric of New York’: Brian Collins and Marina Willer on Mamdani’s winning campaign design
Zohran Mamdani’s bold, city-rooted campaign captured the essence of New York and played a key role in his historic win as mayor. The Drum spoke with two design legends about the work and why it was so impactful.
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