Walmart drew fire for Juneteenth-themed ice cream and party favors that left a sour taste as blatant commercialization of the holiday. Missing the mark: Such misfires underscore a need for brands to reflect cultural sensitivities in their marketing. Our recent Spotlight on Black consumers notes that promotions targeting people of color aren’t always successful.

Walmart was roundly criticized for launching a limited Juneteenth ice cream. Considering the holiday is about emancipation from slavery, it’s the kind of launch we’d argue would never get approved had more diverse perspectives been in the decision-making process.

If you could figure out how to deliver a pizza while it's hot or ice cream while it's frozen, everything seems a lot easier after that. We are moving into other categories because of the logistics network that has been set up, and also as a result of the pandemic, which increased consumer demand to get everything delivered.

However, Unilever cut advertising at the height of the pandemic, shifting spend from ice cream (its core food category) to hygiene products. After evaluating spend on a weekly basis, the company now plans to make significant increases during H2. Interviews conducted for this report confirmed that some advertisers cut spend for essential products because demand was already outweighing supply.

However, Unilever cut advertising at the height of the pandemic, shifting spend from ice cream (its core food category) to hygiene products. After evaluating spend on a weekly basis, the company now plans to make significant increases during H2 2020.

We had a bold goal to get ice cream delivery in most of our big markets around the world. We went with delivery specifically because we realized there's a consumer need and, of course, the perfect pairing of ice cream and pizza. We're in more than 20 markets around the world, with a ton more slated to go into pilot this year.

CES, as always, teemed with some absurd and puzzling products we may not want or need—the Keurig of ice cream, poop-analyzing wellness toilets, wine-pouring butler robots, AI-powered emotional support furballs, and a $3000 doggie door. Aside from the virtual format, this year also stood out with efforts to grapple with the industry’s biggest challenge: the techlash.