Marketing & design: Saturday, 7 November 2026

Saturday, 7 November 2026 · covering 5–6 Nov 2026 · Marketing & design

Best 5

1. Mark Cuban says Facebook knowingly ran deepfake scam ads using his face: Mark Cuban says Facebook knew scammers were using an AI copy of him. Leaked Meta documents reportedly show the company judged possible fines cheaper than the revenue from scam ads. Small businesses advertising on Facebook may be appearing alongside fraud, which can erode trust in their own ads.
2. Guilt-tripping customers into buying harms small brands long term, creator warns: A creator argues that small businesses using guilt to push sales risk lasting damage to their reputation. It is a simple, relatable check on the tone small businesses use in their own posts and emails.
3. UK employers will have to put salaries on every job advert: Andy Burnham announced a 'say what you pay' law requiring employers to state pay in job adverts, aimed at fairer pay. Any business that hires will need to rewrite its recruitment adverts and how it presents itself as an employer.
4. M&S's shirtless Santa takes on John Lewis in the Christmas ad battle: M&S launched a Christmas advert with James Norton as a muscular, beardless Santa. Some outlets rate it above John Lewis's ad, which has drawn sharp criticism. The big Christmas adverts set the tone for how UK shoppers respond to seasonal marketing.
5. Most marketers say AI is the biggest upheaval in twenty years: HubSpot's 2026 State of Marketing survey reports that 61% of marketers see AI as the largest disruption to marketing in two decades. The sample size is not stated. It shows how much the industry expects AI to change the way businesses find customers.

Top stories

• Most marketers say AI is the biggest upheaval in twenty years HubSpot's 2026 State of Marketing survey reports that 61% of marketers see AI as the largest disruption to marketing in two decades. The sample size is not stated. It shows how much the industry expects AI to change the way businesses find customers. Evidence: Limited · Original source: HubSpot (industry research)
• Mark Cuban says Facebook knowingly ran deepfake scam ads using his face Mark Cuban says Facebook knew scammers were using an AI copy of him. Leaked Meta documents reportedly show the company judged possible fines cheaper than the revenue from scam ads. Small businesses advertising on Facebook may be appearing alongside fraud, which can erode trust in their own ads. Original source: International Business Times UK
• M&S's shirtless Santa takes on John Lewis in the Christmas ad battle M&S launched a Christmas advert with James Norton as a muscular, beardless Santa. Some outlets rate it above John Lewis's ad, which has drawn sharp criticism. The big Christmas adverts set the tone for how UK shoppers respond to seasonal marketing. Original source: The Guardian
• UK employers will have to put salaries on every job advert Andy Burnham announced a 'say what you pay' law requiring employers to state pay in job adverts, aimed at fairer pay. Any business that hires will need to rewrite its recruitment adverts and how it presents itself as an employer. Original source: The Guardian

New science

• Company 'about us' text is what AI answers lean on most A marketing publication analysed thousands of pages cited by Google's Gemini and AI Mode. It found company introduction text was the most common source behind AI answers. A clear, factual 'about' page may help a small business show up when people ask AI tools for recommendations. Evidence: Early · Original source: note

Opinion

• Guilt-tripping customers into buying harms small brands long term, creator warns A creator argues that small businesses using guilt to push sales risk lasting damage to their reputation. It is a simple, relatable check on the tone small businesses use in their own posts and emails. Original source: Yahoo Finance

Also

• Christmas is trending on UK X. Possible reasons include: retailers launching festive ad campaigns (likely, not confirmed) and cities opening Christmas markets (likely, not confirmed). Source
• Salary disclosure in job ads trended on Hacker News after the government confirmed a 'say what you pay' law. Source
• #socialmediamarketing posts on Mastodon jumped from a small base. Possible reasons include: Meta's new AI-label tools (likely, not confirmed) and a wave of agency promotion (likely, not confirmed). Source
• Wikipedia views of the content marketing page fell 44% against the previous fortnight. Source
• Wikipedia views of the digital marketing page dropped by about a third over three days. Source
• Use of #marketing on Mastodon fell by a third over three days. Source

207 items checked. Summaries are written in our own words from the sources linked on each story. All Marketing & design reports