The MINT Issue 28 - September 18th 2025

• The global premium smartphone market’s unit sales grew 8% YoY in the first half of 2025, per data from Counterpoint Research. Most of the brands and regions grew in the segment, riding the “premiumization” trend. In particular, Apple grew 3% YoY, capturing over 62% of overall sales driven by gains in emerging markets.

• YouTube’s coverage of the Brazil-set tilt between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers drew an average-minute-audience of 17.3 million, according to data from Nielsen. By NFL standards, however, YouTube’s traffic was fairly pedestrian. The opening game of the 2025 slate, which took place the night before YouTube’s broadcast, hauled in a Nielsen rating of 28.3 million across NBC networks and Peacock.

• The Wizard of Oz is drawing 4,000 to 5,000 fans to the Sphere in Las Vegas two or three times a day. Fans are paying an average of almost $200 apiece, according to Wolfe Research, Bloomberg reports. That means the movie is generating ticket sales of as much as $2 million a day from just the one location.

• In the last two decades, the share of American adults who say they exercise or play sports on any given day has increased by about 20%. Year-to-year ATUS data can jitter up and down, but what’s clear is that in the last four years, Americans have been exercising at record-high levels.

• NFL ads are more effective than anything on linear, but ads during streaming-exclusive games outperformed in the 2024-25 season. Streaming ads were 66% more effective than the cable and broadcast average during the most recent NFL season, per data from EDO. On Netflix, for instance, the first NFL Christmas Day games proved 84% more effective than the average NFL broadcast for entertainment brands and 70% more effective for pharmaceuticals.

• GLP-1 medications accounted for $360.9 million, or 35.7%, of the top 10 prescription linear TV ad spending in H1 2025, according to a July iSpot.tv report cited by eMarketer. But, over half of Gen Z (55.3%) and millennials (50.3%) who are aware of GLP-1s have seen their ads on social media, per a December eMarketer survey.

Sources: IPG Media Lab, Counterpoint Research, tubefilter, Bloomberg, Derek Thompson, EDO, eMarketer

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GAP - Gap will add beauty products to Old Navy stores later this year

Gap on Thursday announced it is expanding into beauty starting with its Old Navy brand, marking a strategic shift for the apparel retailer.

Peach & Lily - Inside Peach & Lily’s unconventional influencer marketing strategy

The skin care brand sent unbranded versions of its product to creators for a campaign that generated engagement five-times higher than previous efforts.

Pampers - Pampers prioritizes emotional storytelling for new campaign, brand ethos

Launched with a tear-jerking ad around the NFL’s opening weekend, “Behind Every Baby” also features several social-first elements.

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What Marketers Need to Know about the iPhone 17 Event

(IPG Media Lab)

Apple pitches creator-friendly camera features, new wearable health features, and live translation

On the Cultural Fatigue around AI

(IPG Media Lab)

Compression culture, parental panic, and the remaining trust gap

The Smart Home Ecosystem is Decaying — Can AI Save it?

(IPG Media Lab)

A reality check on the smart home market in 2025, and hope for its future revival

US Ad Market | National TV Advertising Update 2Q25

(MAGNA)

The US National TV Update by Michael Leszega is a short report on quarterly advertising market trends across national TV networks and streaming properties, based on the quarterly earnings of television companies. Key Findings of the 2Q25 update include: Cross-screen national TV advertising sales (linear and streaming) were stable in the second quarter as +17% streaming growth offset a -6% linear decline.

Global Ad Market | United Kingdom Media Landscape

(MAGNA)

Global Ad Market | Thailand Media Landscape

(MAGNA)

The Thailand Media Landscape, by Panitee Pliancheewin, edited by Vincent Letang and Ronalyn Tabora, is a 40-page deck-style introduction to the Thai media industry, marketing trends, and advertising market, last updated in June 2025. This MAGNA Landscape provides an overview of the local media industry, media consumption, and advertising market trends, including the latest MAGNA forecasts. It provides brands with actionable insights to effectively reach and connect with target audiences across media channels and age groups, with a special focus on social media and influencers. With a population of 70 million and advertisers spending $55 per year per capita, the Thai ad market is close to $4 billion in size, making it the fifth largest market in Asia-Pacific, and 23rd largest worldwide.

Global Ad Market | Taiwan Media Landscape

(MAGNA)

The Taiwan Media Landscape, by Grace Tang, edited by Vincent Letang and Ronalyn Tabora, is a 50-page deck-style introduction to the Taiwanese media industry, marketing and advertising market, last updated in August 2025. This MAGNA Landscape provides an overview of the local media industry, media consumption, and advertising market trends. It provides brands with actionable insights to effectively reach and connect with target audiences across media channels and age groups, with a special focus on social media and influencers. A mere 130 km (80 miles) off the coast of mainland China, Taiwan is a vibrant economy, driven by a global leadership in semi-conductors. Attracted by a purchasing power similar to the US (GDP per capita PPP $83,000) advertisers spent more than $260 per year to reach the 23 million Taiwanese consumers (compared to $109 for mainland China). This is generating $6.2 billion in advertising sales for domestic media companies and international media owners, making Taiwan the 21st largest ad market in the world. Taiwan is, however, facing several challenges: slowing economic growth, political tensions with China, trade tensions with the US, population ageing and shortage of workforce (median age 44). Download the deck below and click here for additional data on the Taiwan market.

Global Ad Market | Hong Kong Media Landscape

(MAGNA)

The Hong Kong Media Landscape by Joanne Tong, edited by Vincent Letang and Ronalyn Tabora, is a 50-page deck-style introduction to the Hong Kong media industry, marketing and advertising market, last updated in August 2025. This MAGNA Landscape provides an overview of the media industry and ad market, and provides brands with actionable insights to effectively reach and connect with target audiences across media channels and age groups. With a population of 7.3 million, Significantly wealthier and older than the rest of South East Asia, Hong Kong reaches an ad spend per capita ratio of $680 (compared to $109 for mainland China) generating $5 billion per year ad revenues for media owners operating in Hong Kong. The media landscape remains very different from mainland China with Hong Kongese media owners like TVB or PCCW, and global media owners (Google, Meta..).

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