Every weekday we bring you the Ad Age/iSpot Hot Spots, new commercials tracked by iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. (Scroll down to watch them all.)

A few highlights: Meta tells the story of Team Amani, an East African cycling team, in a metaverse-focused spot. A mother has a talk with her daughter about “safe spending” in the latest from Amazon. And Regina King helps Vaseline promote its new line of lotions.

Notably, Groundswell scores the week’s highest iSpot Attention Index (117), meaning viewers were on average highly likely to watch its promos all the way through (vs. interrupting viewing by changing the channel, pulling up the guide, fast-forwarding or turning off the TV).

Brief by Promax has partnered with Broadcasting & Cable and iSpot.tv on weekly chart Promo Mojo, offering data revealing the week’s most-promoted programming ranked by TV ad impressions.

Alternative TV measurement providers, such as VideoAmp and iSpot, have made it their mission to compile large first-party data sets.

iSpot, the standard in TV ad measurement and analytics, unveiled in a new report that QSR and Pizza brands spent an estimated $836.1 million on national TV advertising during new-airing programming over the first half of 2022 – up 11% year-over-year. Even with that increase, however, these brands also witnessed a marginal collective decrease in share of TV ad impressions year-over-year, from 5.53% to 5.40%.

On Wednesday, September 7, 2022, VIZIO Holding Corp.’s (NYSE:VZIO) Chief Financial Officer, Adam Townsend, will participate in the BofA Securities 2022 Media, Communications & Entertainment Conference.

A live webcast of the event will be available on the Company’s Investor Relations website at investors.vizio.com on Wednesday, September 7, 2022, at 6:40 P.M. Eastern Time / 3:40 P.M. Pacific Time. An on-demand replay will be available shortly after the conclusion of the presentation.

Vizio and DistroTV say they are aligned in their missions to provide content and access for everyone; including movies and syndicated TV shows in the sports, kids and family, news, lifestyle, gaming, and music categories and more.

DistroTV claims to offer the largest, independent, free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) app in the US. Its channels encompass news, sports, movies, music and entertainment and lifestyle content. This includes original content and new channel offerings that cater to English, Southeast Asian / Indian and Spanish-speaking audiences, as well as a recently released channel bundle that targets the African community.

A campaign for DriveTime, the used car shopping site, submitted by iSpot.tv won the 2022 Advanced Advertising Award for Best Use of Data.

Conor Begley, co-founder of Tribe Dynamics and chief strategy officer at CreatorIQ, said, "We are thrilled to partner with True Beauty Ventures given their exclusive focus and deep expertise in beauty investing. TBV has a strong reputation, an incredible eye for brands, and the right expertise to help our customers grow their business. Brands that TBV have invested in are some of our top performers on Tribe today.”

“We are thrilled to join the Vizio family, particularly at a time when we are continuing to grow our viewership and channel content at a rapid pace,” said Navdeep Saini, co-founder and CEO of DistroScale, parent company of DistroTV. “By expanding our distribution via Vizio Smart TVs, we can continue to provide audiences with the content they crave, and all while maintaining our FAST no-sign up, credit card, or email required model.”

“We are thrilled to join the Vizio family, particularly at a time when we are continuing to grow our viewership and channel content at a rapid pace,” stated Navdeep Saini, co-founder and CEO of DistroTV parent company DistroScale.

DistroTV can further boost its viewership with Vizio. The TV maker recently noted 16.1 million of its users were actively engaged with Vizio’s SmartCast streaming platform in the second quarter.

Every weekday we bring you the Ad Age/iSpot Hot Spots, new commercials tracked by iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. (Scroll down to watch them all.)

A few highlights: Kevin Hart helps DraftKings promote its limited-time offer that gives new customers a $200 betting credit when they bet $5. FanDuel says that “every moment in life is a bet.” And Taco Bell hypes the return of its Double Steak Grilled Cheese Burrito.

Earlier this month, ISpot.tv Inc. reported that spending by major crypto firms in the US dropped 99.9% to $36,000 in July. This figure marks the lowest expense value in more than a year and a half and is notably below a peak of $84.5 million in February 2022.

As such, the deal between Blockchain.com and Dak Prescott comes at a critical period for the industry and could revive its presence in television. The partnership marks the latest in a series of big deals for Prescott, who previously worked closely with Apple, Nike, Campbell Soup and others.

A campaign for DriveTime, the used car shopping site, submitted by iSpot.tv won the 2022 Advanced Advertising Award for Best Use of Data; The Show Next Door, a program created by Roku sponsored by Maker’s Mark won the Advanced Advertising Innovation Award for Best Branded Content and a campaign for Pedigree pet food, executed by MediaCom and submitted by OpenAP, won the Advanced Advertising Award for Best Definition of Target Market

That’s no longer the case, even in Legacy Land, where companies such as iSpot.TV now are creating “alternative currencies” measuring NBCUniversal programming.

True Beauty Ventures (“TBV”), the leading beauty and wellness focused emerging growth fund, and Tribe Dynamics the most comprehensive influencer marketing analytics platform for passion-driven lifestyle brands, today announced a partnership to expand ways to collectively accelerate growth for beauty and wellness brands.

This partnership enhances the ways Tribe Dynamics can help customers not only grow their businesses through influencer marketing, but also provide access to potential capital investment. True Beauty Ventures will also apply Tribe Dynamics’ analytics and tools to evaluate potential investment opportunities and will extend these resources to TBV’s partner brands.

Starting on Tuesday, VIZIO smart TV owners will see a huge increase of free, ad-supported TV (FAST) channels on their streaming hubs as DistroTV — the nation’s largest, independent FAST provider — has launched its diverse content lineup which features over 270 channels and thousands of hours of on-demand content from around the world.

“Vizio appreciates DistroTV’s dedication to building personalized experiences for today’s streaming audience,” said Chris Tanquary, senior director of business development at Vizio. “Vizio strives to be a place where viewers have endless entertainment options across all categories and genres, so, there is something for everyone.”

Walmart topped the chart of retail brands who spent on new-airing programming in the first half of the year, according to iSpot, jumping ahead of Target and Macy’s with 10.1% of TV ad impressions. Retail brands spent $685 million, up nearly 8% year-over-year.

Against a possible slowdown of streaming growth, video streaming platforms bought or placed through TV network promos slightly more in national TV advertising — up 6% to $343.2 million this summer, according to iSpot.tv estimates.

For the most recent period (May 18 to Aug. 18), paid national TV spend was $202.4 million, with media value from TV network promotional ads at $140.9 million.

Every weekday we bring you the Ad Age/iSpot Hot Spots, new commercials tracked by iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. (Scroll down to watch them all.)

A few highlights: A talking cartoon car helps Chevron promote its Chevron with Techron gasoline. Visible says it’s “made for people who do everything on their phone.” And in a TikTok-style vertical-video explanatory ad, Mixtiles explains its repositionable-adhesive framed-photo product.