Between the champagne cheers and weird serenades, it seems some in the airline industry were eager to say goodbye to Covid restrictions the minute a federal judge struck down the mask mandate for public transportation last week. Perhaps no company seemed as eager as Delta Airlines, which described Covid as an “ordinary seasonal virus” in a statement released a few hours after the mandate was lifted.

“We are relieved to see the US mask mandate lift to facilitate global travel as Covid-19 has transitioned to an ordinary seasonal virus,” the original version of the statement read.

• While the mask ruling is being appealed by the DOJ, the verdict on Delta’s choice of words was more concrete.
• As soon as the news made its way to Twitter, backlash ensued, with public health experts and government officials stepping in to challenge the statement.
• A TikTok parody of Delta’s PR team noted that calling it a seasonal virus “lacked a certain element of truth” and predicted that it would end up taking it back. And it did.

Big picture: It also sparked a conversation on how companies frame Covid, which continues to infect more than 44,000 people in the US per day.

Why words matter

The morning after publication, Delta’s statement was amended with an editor’s note to say it had been “updated for clarity and accuracy,” but did not specifically say what had changed. The statement now reads, “as Covid transitions to a more manageable respiratory virus—with better treatments, vaccines, and other scientific measures to prevent serious illness.”

• In March, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky predicted that Covid would “probably” become a seasonal virus. But as the agency’s acting principal deputy director, Debra Houry, recently told Politico, although we’re moving into the endemic stage, “​​doesn’t mean that Covid is gone. That means we’ve learned to live with Covid, so it’s not disrupting our daily lives.”

Getting it right

Earlier this month, Delta CEO Ed Bastion spoke on a call with analysts and reporters, saying, “We really do believe that the pandemic has moved to a seasonal virus.” Delta did not respond to Marketing Brew’s requests for comment.

“I don’t blame the copywriter. I blame the corporate culture,” brand and content strategist Margot Bloomstein told us. “A lot of that starts from the top. It starts from the CEO and the kind of messaging that they use, the tone that they set, the values that they espouse, but then it certainly filters down through the rest of the company.”

Josh Rangel, executive director and SVP of social media at Golin, agreed that the marketing and communications team shouldn’t be thrown under the bus either. He said he could see Delta leaders rushing to move past Covid after the airline industry’s last two years. “But as far as declaring it has moved to a seasonal virus, that, in my opinion…is poorly worded and wrong,” he said.

Click here to keep reading.—KH

Despite Google blocking “Russian state-funded media” from advertising revenue, a loophole involving a popular Russian media platform caused US advertisers to run ads alongside stories from those same publishers, including stories calling the massacre of Ukrainian civilians by Russian soldiers in the city of Bucha fake.

Days after Russia invaded Ukraine, Google announced that it had blocked what it called Russian “state-owned media outlets,” including RT, TASS, and RIA Novosti, from making money via ads. But stories from those publishers were still running this month on the popular Russian media platform, Mail[dot]ru, which is partially monetized by Google’s advertising services.

• Mail[dot]ru is one of the most popular websites in the world, according to Similarweb, with roughly a billion total visits per month.
• It hosts a news platform with a homepage that resembles Yahoo or MSN, where headlines and news articles are shared.

What we saw: A story about the Ukrainian army shelling residential buildings ran alongside an ad for United Airlines. A story claiming that Russian forces have only attacked military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops above a Marriott Bonvoy ad.

• Other advertisers seen by Marketing Brew include Frontier Airlines, StockX, Shinola, and Fiverr.

Despite Google preventing these publishers from running ads on their own sites, their content was still being monetized on Mail[dot]ru, though Marketing Brew doesn’t know where that revenue went. Petr Komarevtsev, VK’s press secretary, declined to comment when contacted by Marketing Brew.

The loophole was first noticed by ad-fraud researcher, Braedon Vickers, in March.

Google told Marketing Brew that it has demonetized news[dot]mail[dot]ru, and Google ads stopped appearing as of April 18. But mail[dot]ru is still running this content while running ads in other sections, like on a story about Timothée Chalamet at Coachella, which ran alongside a Peacock advertisement.

“Whether those ads are on the articles or not, the money is going to the same place,” Vickers told Marketing Brew, explaining that even if the articles are no longer being monetized, ads are still running elsewhere on a platform that is “publishing this type of war propaganda.”

Read the full story here.—RB

Our friends over at HR Brew cover a lot of ground that’s relevant for marketers. We’ve rounded up some of our favorite HR Brew stories below, but you can also subscribe here.

• The $6.8 billion dollar wellness industry is in need of a checkup, some experts say
• One-way interviews are impersonal, candidates say, and raise privacy concerns
• People with autism seek allies in the workplace. Advocates say HR can help
• Q&A: GitHub’s Senior Director of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging, Demetris Cheatham

Morning Brew Leadership (MB/L) has officially launched! And we put the Morning Brew spin on it, giving you actionable lessons in a fun, engaging environment—unlike what some other leadership programs offer.

So, what is MB/L? In this 8-week education program, students will learn about the tactics of leadership, including hiring, delegation, strategy, and execution. This might sound like what you’d get from a run-of-the-mill leadership course, but MB/L is designed to make topics that can feel overwhelming feel approachable instead.

What’s more, MB/L helps you build authentic relationships with your fellow students that go beyond the virtual classroom. To top it all off, access to alumni benefits means your professional growth won’t stop at graduation.

Download the syllabus now to find out everything you’ll learn in Morning Brew Leadership. (Psst: You can also save $500 on tuition if you join our founding cohort!)

There are a lot of bad marketing tips out there. These aren’t those.

Knowledge is power: A step-by-step guide to crafting a social media proposal.

Statistics: Check out how your Instagram metrics measure up against Later Blog’s Industry Benchmark Report.

Reel life: Instagram is testing out longer, 90-second reels in what seems to be a race to become YouTube?

Get up close and personal: Whether in store or online, retail success requires personalized experiences. To figure out who’s getting it right, Sailthru surveyed 5K consumers and evaluated 500 brands for its 2022 Retail Personalization Index. Explore the research here.*

^{*This is sponsored advertising content.}

Planning to job hunt this weekend? Be sure to check out 150+ new openings on the Marketing Brew Job Board!

Today’s featured openings:

• Social Media Manager at Almanac
• VP of Content Marketing at The Brand Guild
• Social Media Strategy Manager at CarMax

See more jobs or post your job opportunities here.

Catch up on a few Marketing Brew stories you might have missed.

• Publishers are labeling their audiences to make it easier for advertisers to target them
• Pivoting to “real beauty” gets complicated fast
• Mood Board: The not-so-subtle references in Culprit’s ad for ‘LadyBoxers’

Which headlines are real marketing news, and which one is fake?

1. KFC preps chicken bouquets alongside new ‘Finger Lickin’ Good’ creative
2. Degree boosts inclusivity in metaverse with virtual marathon
3. Tropicana is launching a cereal designed to pair with OJ
4. Jonah Hill reunites with Michael Cera and McLovin in new McDonald’s campaign

Keep scrolling for the answer.