The Stranger Things Netflix is Doing With Advertising
'Stranger Things' is everywhere as more brands are jumping on the supernatural trend. Coca-Cola, Tide, and Baskin-Robbins are just a few to team up with Netflix. The streaming service has avoided advertising for years, but are they ready to cash in on the opportunity? Cheddar senior reporter Michelle Castillo breaks it all down.
Update: After publication of the story, Netflix clarified no company made direct payments to be featured in "Stranger Things," including Coke and Baskin Robbins. Many companies, like New Coke, were chosen because of their accuracy to the 1980s era and were written into the script before outreach to the brands, Netflix claims. Companies featured in the show were involved in marketing partnerships. They were allowed to use "Stranger Things" characters in certain products, which in turn helped promote the show.
Other companies like Nike, Lego and H&M participated in consumer product deals with Netflix. These companies paid a licensing fee to sell "Stranger Things" products.
For more details, please visit: https://cheddar.com/media/stranger-promos-netflix-teams-up-with-big-names-for-hit-show
Skype users are scrambling to find an alternative after Microsoft shut down the pioneering internet phone service which let people make cheap long distance calls and chat with other users. Google Voice lets users make calls from a smartphone or a desktop web browser but it's only available to people in the U.S. Viber users can call phone numbers but can't get a number to receive calls. Zoom offers phone options too. You could get a number from a low cost virtual carrier or try other internet phone services. Microsoft says some Skype features will migrate to Teams, but its Teams Phone feature is only for businesses.
Amid a backdrop of ongoing tariff uncertainty, more and more gamers are facing price hikes. Microsoft raised recommended retailer pricing for its Xbox consoles and controllers around the world this week. Its Xbox Series S, for example, now starts at $379.99 in the U.S. — up $80 from the $299.99 price tag that debuted in 2020. And its more powerful Xbox Series X will be $599.99 going forward, a $100 jump from its previous $499.99 listing. The tech giant didn’t mention tariffs specifically, but cited wider “market conditions and the rising cost of development.” Beyond the U.S., Microsoft also laid out Xbox price adjustments for Europe, the U.K. and Australia. The company said all other countries would also receive updates locally.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said Thursday that the majority of iPhones sold in the U.S. in the current fiscal quarter will be sourced from India, while iPads and other devices will come from Vietnam as the company works to avoid the impact of President Trump’s tariffs on its business. Apple’s earnings for the first three months of the year topped Wall Street’s expectations thanks to high demand for its iPhones, and the company said tariffs had a limited effect on the fiscal second quarter’s results. Cook added that for the current quarter, assuming things don’t change, Apple expects to see $900 million added to its costs as a result of the tariffs.
Visa is hoping to hand your credit card to an artificial intelligence “agent” that can find and buy clothes, groceries, airplane tickets and other items on your behalf.
Shares of Deliveroo, the food delivery service based in London, are hitting three-year highs on Monday after it received a $3.6 billion proposed takeover offer from DoorDash.
