Mixed Signals from Semafor Media

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Marketing pro Tariq Hassan on how McDonald’s embraced its Donald Trump drive-thru moment

When now-President Donald Trump decided to put on an apron and serve customers at a McDonald’s drive-thru on the 2024 campaign trail, it put Tariq Hassan, then McDonald’s chief marketer, in a tight spot. On this week’s Mixed Signals, Ben and Max sit down with the former Golden Arches CMO to discuss the Trump episode, why he thinks ad makers should engage with journalists, and what goes into a good celebrity Super Bowl ad.

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  Joe Weisenthal on the business of business media and why AI won’t replace …

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  Flynn McGarry on growing up as a food prodigy and the waning power of rest…

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  Angel Studios is crowdsourcing a "values-based" alternative to Hollywood

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  Johnny Harris on building a journalism project that doesn't sell out

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  Maverick Carter on building the future of sports media

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  Patrick Radden Keefe on page-turning journalism, his own celebrity, and th…

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  Bluesky COO Rose Wang on building a better social network

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  Joanna Stern on quitting the Wall Street Journal and building a media busi…

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  Michael Lynton on the infamous Sony hack and learning from his mistakes

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  The Twitch creators explaining the news to Gen Z

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  Introducing: The CEO Signal

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  Jeffrey Goldberg on "SignalGate," Trump's charm offensive, and why The Atl…

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  Hasan Piker on streaming all day, his relationship with Zohran Mamdani, an…

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  Introducing: Compound Interest from Semafor Business

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  Deborah Turness on bias, the BBC, and the future of public media

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  Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer on turning foreign policy into a podcast