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February 15, 2022
Ahhh! Loud noises! Paris is cracking down on loud cars and motorcycles with the installation of its first "noise radar." The new device will ticket any vehicle that is too noisy in the streets. To all Parisians who will miss the sounds, we'd be happy to send our favorite meditative Harley Davidson soundtracks.
The economics of Super Bowl ads have evolved dramatically over the last 6 decades. Today's Wrap gives a history of TV's most valuable 30 seconds.
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US Blocks Avocado Imports
Overview
- The US suspended imports of avocados from Mexico after an American plant safety inspector received a threatening phone call
- The inspector was reportedly working in the Mexican state of Michoacán, which is both Mexico's largest avocado-exporting state and a hub of cartel activity
- The US government said it is working with Mexico's government “to guarantee security conditions that allow our personnel” to operate safely. No further details of the call were disclosed
- The block comes as avocado demand and prices near record highs, with a 20-pound box costing $26.23
DIG DEEPER
Mexico said the US “made the decision after one of their officials, who was carrying out inspections in Uruapan, Michoacán, received a threatening message on his official cellphone.” In 2019, the US threatened to remove inspectors after a group of them was robbed at gunpoint in Mexico.
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John McAfee's Death Ruled Suicide
Overview
- 7 months after his death, the body of John McAfee remains in a morgue in Barcelona, Spain
- This week, a judge confirmed that the cybersecurity software mogul died by suicide in June 2021. He was awaiting extradition to the US on tax-related charges
- McAfee's family has challenged the judge’s conclusion and wants further investigation. They allege the autopsy lacked “basic elements” needed to draw a conclusion
- McAfee made millions off McAfee AntiVirus software before spending most of his money and fleeing authorities after being implicated in a murder
DIG DEEPER
McAfee lived a wild life, on which a 2-part Wrap was one of Roca's most popular series ever. His death only increased the speculation about who exactly the man was.
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Canada Invokes Emergencies Act
Overview
- Canadian PM Justin Trudeau invoked the country's Emergencies Act to end the trucker protests
- For 3 weeks, protesters have blocked off part of Canada's capital, Ottawa, to protest Covid-19 restrictions
- It's the first use of the law in Canadian history. It lets the government prohibit travel and public gatherings during an “urgent and critical situation” that “seriously endangers the lives, health or safety of Canadians”
- Trudeau and his supporters say the protests are too big to control; others are arguing that the criteria for invoking the law have not been met
DIG DEEPER
Trudeau said the move is a response to protesters' "occupying streets, harassing people, breaking the law." On-the-ground reports indicate the protests have been peaceful, although some have reported harassment of passers-by, blaring truck horns, and similar nuisances.
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Instagram to Add Story Likes
Overview
- Instagram is rolling out a "like" button on stories
- Unlike other story interactions, liking a person’s story won’t notify them with a direct message
- Story likes won't be publicly visible, but the user who posts the story will be able to see the number of likes on the story summary page
- “The idea here is make sure that people can express more support for each other, but also to clean up DMs a little bit,” said Instagram Head Adam Mosseri
DIG DEEPER
Light news day today...
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 What do you think?
Today's Poll:
Better snack at the movies: M&Ms or popcorn?
M&Ms
Popcorn
Today's Question:
Do you feel older or younger than your age?
Reply to this email with your answers!
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See yesterday's results below the Wrap!
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 Popcorn
Culture & Sports
- And the Oscar host goes to.... Amy Schumer, Regina Hall, and Wanda Sykes! The trio will co-host the 94th Academy Awards on March 27
- Disney's Encanto soundtrack is #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the 4th straight week. It also claims 5 of the top 40 songs
- I ain't sayin' she a rose digger: Kanye West sent a truckload of roses to his estranged wife Kim Kardashian on Valentine’s Day
Business
- QR crash: The Coinbase Super Bowl ad that featured a bouncing QR code caused its app to temporarily crash. It got 20M hits in a minute
- Another Warren Buffett buzzer-beater: Berkshire Hathaway bought $1B of Activision Blizzard stock right before Microsoft acquired it
- A judge dismissed Sarah Palin's defamation lawsuit against the New York Times, saying the NYT did not maliciously link her to a mass murder
Wildcard
- Of the 50 states, Montana has the highest percentage of high school diploma holders and California has the lowest
- Nope, not a typo: The iconic Hollywood sign in Los Angeles will temporarily read "Rams House" in honor of the Super Bowl champs
- A couple 23-yo Texans made $4M last year mining bitcoin off flare gas from oil drilling. Their process reduces CO2-equivalent emissions
- We the popcorn crunchers: The Oscars is letting Twitter users vote for their favorite movie of 2021, which will be recognized during the awards
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― Roca Wrap
A Newsletter Exclusive
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The first Super Bowl took place on January 15, 1967. 40M people watched the Packers beat the Chiefs; 30-second ads sold for $42,500 ($345,551 when adjusted for inflation).
This Sunday, more than 100M people may have tuned in for what will likely be the US’ most-watched television program of the year. 30-second ad slots went for as much as $7M.
Demand for Super Bowl ads began soaring soon after 1967, as companies sought to reach the game’s massive audience with increasingly original ads. In 1971, Coca-Cola spent $250k on its iconic 1971 “Hilltop” commercial, the world’s most expensive at the time. In 1973, a commercial for lotion brand Noxzema featured actress Farrah Fawcett “creaming” NFL quarterback Joe Namath, widely seen as the first successful celebrity endorsement for a Super Bowl ad.
In 1984, Apple aired their blockbuster ‘1984' commercial – a reference to George Orwell’s 1984 – to introduce the Macintosh personal computer. The dystopian sci-fi clip was filmed by Ridley Scott and featured an army of real-life skinheads. It was like no commercial before it; when the game returned, a CBS announcer asked, "Wow, what was that?"
The ad cost about $370k to produce, in addition to $525k+ for the ad slot. The investment proved worth it: Apple sold $3.5M in Macintoshes almost immediately after. Today, 1984 is seen as one of the most famous commercials ever and responsible for sparking a new era of creative Super Bowl commercials.
1984 motivated companies to allocate higher budgets and longer production windows for their ads. The 30-sec spot crossed the million-dollar threshold for the first time in 1995 and would hit $2M only 5 years later. Since 9/11, the slot has increasingly become a place for companies to convey messages about their social values.
In the years since, brands like Budweiser, Snickers, Doritos, and GoDaddy made Super Bowl ads centerpieces of their marketing strategies. Other companies pile into the bonanza if they have enough cash on hand. This year, that meant the booming cryptocurrency companies joined the fray, one of which – Coinbase – received 20M website hits within 1 minute of its ad going live.
That ad may have cost $7M for 30 seconds, however at a time when television viewership is declining and attention is divided between social media, streaming services, video games, and more, the Super Bowl remains one of the only – if not the only – place to capture the eyeballs of 100M at once.
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If you have thoughts, let us know at Max@RocaNews.com!
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 Games
That's what prez said: Name the US president who famously uttered each of the below quotes.
- "The only thing we have to fear is...fear itself."
- "The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help."
- "These days, I look in the mirror and I have to admit, I'm not the strapping young Muslim socialist that I used to be.''
- “It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is."
Find out the answer at the bottom of Roca Clubhouse.
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 Roca Clubhouse
Yesterday's Poll:
Are you a fan of Valentine's Day?
Yes: 28.3%
No: 71.7%
Yesterday's Question:
Who would perform in your dream Super Bowl halftime show?
Savannah from Virginia: "Blink 182- for my angsty teenage heart"
Liam: "My dream super bowl halftime involves Roca going on stage and giving me a job"
Melanie: "Honestly this years super bowl half time show was my dream one! Couldn’t have asked for better!!!!"
Sarah from California: "ABBA!!!!!!!!" (deleted several exclamation points)
General Feedback:
Cornelia: "Happy Vday to my favourite 'unfunny' nerds! :)"
Jenney from Kentucky: "Awww! Be my Valentine, Maxes! I'll take you both to Chipotle!"
Tommy from California: "Happy Singles Awareness Day. Celebrating with you in spirit"
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20 Questions: 6-10
Every Friday, we ask the Roca Riders 20 questions and feature a few of our favorite answers.
6. Which city has the most devoted sports fans?
"Boston"
"Philly"
"Detroit"
7. Which has the least?
"Miami"
"Los Angeles"
"Jackson Hole"
8. Best city for a 12-hour layover?
"Las Vegas"
"Amsterdam"
"Dubai"
9. Best city for a weekend with friends?
"Nashville"
"Austin"
"Charleston"
10. Which city most surprised you? Why?
"OKC -- nicer than I thought it would be"
"Seattle. It’s just so… dead. They haven’t been the same since the SuperSonics left"
"Tallinn, Estonia. It's got such a cool history and old downtown is gorgeous"
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Games Answer(s):
1. FDR 2. Ronald Reagan 3. Barack Obama 4. Bill Clinton
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― Final Thoughts
Happy day-after-Valentine's day, Riders. Given that we are married to bringing you all unbiased, interesting news, we didn't even notice the odd looks we got as we each sat down alone for prix-fix steak dinners last night. So thank you, all, for inspiring us during these trying times.
Life is never lonely when you are a Roca rider!
-Max and Max
Today's Instagram Wrap is about Ye's feud with Pete Davidson. Whose side are YOU on?!
Thanks for reading! See you again tomorrow!
As always, send thoughts and feedback to Max@Rocanews.com |
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