Meta launches Super Burst ads, Google lets you rank ad channels, and more

This roundup follows a good TV show formula: big launches up front and a dark twist in the end.

First, Meta launches Ads Super Burst, a new campaign type.

How it works: lets you book a 3 to 24 hour window during big events—internal like product launches and external like start of sporting season—with guaranteed delivery and optional category exclusivity.

Testers reached a “TV-like scale,” with a median 34 million people per flight. It opens to everyone in phases this month.

The company also announced some additional stuff, including:

• First Impression Ads: A US test selling the first ad a user sees on opening Facebook.
• Reels Trending Ads: Allowing you to show ads right after the most-watched content.
• Aggregated view time: A feature that measures attention across several video exposures rather than per view.

Take time to test it all.

Time to play favorites: Google Ads is rolling out channel prioritization, so your campaigns fund “High priority” channels first.

You set the max share of daily budget that “Low priority” channels, like Search partners, can use. Test them without going all in.

Human in the loop: OpenAI is assigning human account managers to ChatGPT Ads advertisers, per an email Anthony Higman posted on X.

Expect an intro strategy call, then biweekly performance reviews. Bring your optimization questions.

Ad breaks, extended edition: The top nine premium streamers averaged 18% more ad minutes in August than in January.

Paramount+ is the heaviest at around 9 minutes per hour. Netflix is the lightest, at 2.4, while churn sits around 4%. So viewers aren’t bailing, your spot just has more company.

The dark twist: Citizen Lab confirmed the first known case of government-backed hackers using online ads to plant zero-click spyware.

Researcher Bill Marczak now tells potential targets to block ads or turn off ad tracking. Not great PR for the targeting your campaigns run on.

Now back to your regularly scheduled holiday planning.

Universal Cart arrives and AI answers get more links, but still no click data

Mountain View pulled an Oprah this week. You get a cart! You get a link!

Click data? Nobody gets click data.

Move over, abandoned-cart emails: Universal Cart is rolling out across Search and Gemini in the US. Shoppers can:

• Save items from multiple stores
• Get price-drop and restock alerts
• See promo codes
• Check out fast at Nike, Walmart and more

You stay the seller of record, but more shopping happens off your site.

Links, links everywhere: AI Mode and AI Overviews now show more inline links, higher up in answers.

A test also gives the one or two official sites for some tasks their own top section. Run one? It could be yours.

Does anyone click them, though? Google still won’t share click data, promising only to “introduce additional metrics over time.”

Until then, your own referral data is the only proof they work.

Some publishers get a consolation prize: The News AI pilot now pays 400+ publications for content behind AI article overviews and audio briefings.

Axios, CNN, the FT and Forbes recently joined, but the rates aren’t public.

AI Mode is moving in: Its chat sidebar showed up on regular search results in a test, putting searchers one click from a conversation.

SE Roundtable sees it as a step toward AI Mode becoming the default. We’d plan for more searches that never leave Google.

At least Oprah’s cars came with a dashboard.

Your festive ads expire on December 26, but here's what replaces them

Every holiday campaign has a sell-by date.

Your ads spend late December shouting "order before Christmas" at people who already unwrapped everything.

The Pinterest Business team argues that the week between Christmas and New Year's, which is now widely known as “Q5”, deserves its own creative refresh.

Engagement stays high and it’s the mindset that flips. Here’s what to keep in mind.

1) Gifting is over. Selfishness is in. After weeks of buying for everyone else, shoppers turn to what they want. Beauty shifts to "new year, new me" upkeep.

Fashion trades party outfits for January basics. Home moves from festive mood to comfort and function.

What to do: Swap gift-wrapped product shots for the product in the buyer's own everyday life. If it still looks like a wishlist item, it's December 24 creative.

2) Don't kill Christmas, point it at January: People are still celebrating, but also planning the reset.

For instance, TUI's Q5 creative in Germany paired Christmas cues with sunny travel imagery to sell early-booking offers. It’s an example of how a new headline, overlay, or product selection can reposition an asset that's already live.

3) Urgency retires, utility clocks in: "Get it before Christmas" dies on Christmas. Shopping doesn't. 1 in 2 monthly Pinterest users keep buying in the weeks after.

The reason to act shifts from a deadline to "what does this help me do next?"

Show the product in use, inside a new routine or goal and lead with an outcome.

4) Match the message to the goal: For awareness, sell the fresh start. For consideration, show how it fits people's plans. For sales, go product-led and make buying quick.

Pinterest's data also ties ad groups running 5 to 10 ads to a 2.7% ROAS lift over the global average.

2.7% won't change your year, but variety is cheap when you're remixing existing assets.

After Christmas, shoppers will change direction but won’t stop shopping. Brief the Q5 tweaks in early December and your budget gets a second act.

The ad spend forecast keeps trending up

Most forecasts get cut as the year goes on.

However, WARC’s global ad spend forecast keeps going up. Its October update is the second upgrade in less than a year:

Here’s how WARC’s forecast for global ad spend growth has changed:

• 2026: 11.9%, up from 9.7% last December, a 2.2-point upgrade.
• 2027: 8.4%, up from 7.9%. The upgrade is smaller, but it’s still an upgrade.
• 2028 (first estimate): 7.9%.

Growth is expected to slow after this year. Even so, single-digit growth on top of a double-digit year is still solid.

The catch: WARC’s Suzy Young says growth, “particularly from the AI boom,” benefits “some companies, sectors and consumers more than others.”

The overall market is growing, but the gains aren’t spread evenly.

AI-powered ad platforms are taking in money faster than anyone expected. The biggest platforms, with the most data and the best automation, are likely collecting most of that growth.

More ad spend means more competition for the same audiences, and higher prices.

Lock in 2027 budgets early, and test smaller channels before the big ones get even more expensive.