Fraudsters impersonated WPP’s CEO using a fake Whatsapp account, a voice clone and YouTube footage used in a virtual meet The head of the world’s biggest advertising group was the target of an elaborate deepfake scam that involved an artificial intelligence voice clone. The CEO of WPP, Mark Read, detailed the attempted fraud in a recent email to leadership, warning others at the company to look out for calls claiming to be from top executives. Fraudsters created a WhatsApp account with a publicly available image of Read and used it to set up a Microsoft Teams meeting that appeared to be with h ..read more

Advert featuring huge hydraulic press crushing cultural objects struck wrong note with many Apple has apologised after an online backlash to an advert for its new iPad that features an industrial-sized hydraulic press crushing a collection of creative objects including musical instruments and books. The ad, launched by Apple’s chief executive, Tim Cook, on Tuesday, shows the machine squashing various items – ranging from a piano and a metronome to tins of paint and an arcade game – before a single iPad Pro then appears in their place. A voiceover then states: “The most powerful iPad ever is al ..read more

Strikes dented performance of ITV Studios but advertising starting to recover, broadcaster says ITV has blamed the knock-on effects of the US actors and writers strike for a hit to its revenues – but expects the Euro 2024 football tournament to contribute to a bounceback later this year. The UK’s largest free to air broadcaster said last year’s Hollywood strikes had dented the performance of its ITV Studios division, which has made shows such as Love Island and Mr Bates vs the Post Office ..read more

Ads to be removed from London transport network amid criticism of mayor Sadiq Khan’s ‘baffling’ decision to allow them The online casino company 888.com will withdraw adverts from locations including London’s transport network after a backlash against their tone, prompting criticism of the capital’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, for allowing them to appear in the first place. With less than a week to go before Londoners vote for their next mayor, Khan’s Conservative rival, Susan Hall, joined a leading clinician and a group of peers in questioning Transport for London’s “baffling” decision to accept the c ..read more

Exclusive: Liz Bonnin’s face used on insect repellant ads after faked message ostensibly granted permission There was something strange about her voice, they thought. It was familiar but, after a while, it started to go all over the place. Science presenter Liz Bonnin’s accent, as regular BBC viewers know, is Irish. But this voice message, ostensibly granting permission to use her likeness in an ad campaign, seemed to place her on the other side of the world ..read more

Celebrating advertisers with scale, influence and integrity, the ceremony recognised brands including Nurofen and Google Pixel The inaugural Guardian Advertising Awards, launched to celebrate scale, influence and integrity across the publisher’s platforms, have recognised brands including Nurofen, Google Pixel and Charlie Bigham’s. The Grand Prix award was given to Nurofen for its See My Pain campaign, which was praised by judges for its real-world impact in tackling awareness of the gender pain gap and the brand’s “commitment to addressing complex health challenges”. The campaign also won in ..read more

Exclusive: Man whose uncle died in 2017 disaster describes ad for pain relief gel Voltarol as ‘insulting’ Grenfell Tower has been edited out of a TV advert in a move described as “insulting” by a family bereaved by the June 2017 disaster. Karim Mussilhy, whose uncle Hesham Rahman was among 72 people who died as a result of the fire, noticed the edit while watching the Channel 4 streaming service on Monday when an advert for the pain relief gel Voltarol showed people playing football on the Westway football pitches close to the council block ..read more

Rules governing political campaigning on terrestrial television don’t apply to streaming or online – and parties are starting to play dirty One of my favourite jokes in The Simpsons concerns the unhinged nature of US political advertising. “Mayor Quimby supports revolving-door prisons,” a growly voice narrates over footage of exactly what you imagine. “Mayor Quimby even released Sideshow Bob, a man twice convicted of attempted murder.” And then, a final disclosure at a noticeably faster pace: “Vote Sideshow Bob for Mayor.” This was a great joke – but it wasn’t entirely a joke. The real revolvi ..read more

Exclusive: ITV is considering taking paid ads from parties on its streaming platform where ban does not apply Some viewers are already irritated by the adverts interrupting shows on the ITV catchup service. But they could soon yearn for the halcyon days of shampoo or insurance commercials after being presented with the faces of Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer. ITV is considering taking paid ads from political parties for the first time during the upcoming general election thanks to a loophole in broadcasting law ..read more

Scientists say an overreliance on sight and sound is having a detrimental effect on people’s wellbeing and that our devices should deliver a multisensory experience “Wait a minute, wait a minute. You ain’t heard nothing yet.” So went the first line of audible dialogue in a feature film, 1927’s The Jazz Singer. It was one of the first times that mass media had conveyed the sight and sound of a scene together, and the audience was enthralled. There have been improvements since: black and white has become colour, frame rates and resolutions have increased and sound quality has improved, but the m ..read more