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Get ready for an onslaught of ads full of celebrities, cute animals and snack brands during breaks in the action at Super Bowl 59 on Feb. 9, when the Philadelphia Eagles face the Kansas City Chiefs at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. Anheuser-Busch, Meta, PepsiCo, Frito-Lay, Taco Bell, Uber Eats and others will vie to win over the more than 120 million viewers expected to tune in for the broadcast on Fox and via the free livestream on Tubi. Demand for ad space was robust this year, said Mark Evans, executive vice president of ad sales for Fox Sports, with ad space selling out in November and a waitlist for marketers ready to take the space of anyone who pulle…

There only a few absolute truths in life. The two most recognizable are death, and unless you’re very rich or politically connected, taxes. There are, however, numerous others just a slight tier below; not the least of which is that nearly everyone has a story of themselves or someone close to them wanting to be an architect at some point in their lives. In our collective societal brains we envision these rarified individuals to be highly creative thinkers and mathematical whizzes who are constantly innovating. Those who study history might even think of the great masters of antiquity such as Imhotep, Vitruvius, Brunelleschi, or other unknown masters of ancient Rome, …

This month’s legal dustup between NFL quarterback Lamar Jackson and NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. over trademark rights to the number 8 may have amounted to little more than a tempest in a teapot, but it has drawn attention to a rarely considered topic in branding and marketing: the use of numbers in brand names and logos. Why might a seemingly arbitrary number like 8—or 27 or 63, for that matter—be worth fighting over? And are some numbers worth more than others? Obviously, numbers are at an important disadvantage compared to letters when it comes to their use as trademarks. While an initial letter can stand for any word that it begins with, numbers are much more …

With a new streamlined application, it’s easier than ever to apply to Fast Company’s Best Workplaces for Innovators. Here are six reasons why you should apply to our seventh annual BWFI program. 6 reasons to apply 1. Brand exposure. Every company ranked in the top 100 or earning honoree status in a category will appear in the fall (September) issue of the magazine and on fastcompany.com. 2. Talent retention. Public recognition as a Best Workplace for Innovators honoree provides powerful third-party validation that enhances your ability to recruit and retain top talent. 3. Editorial access. Fast Company editors will review all applications; the application …

Hawaii’s Supreme Court ruled Monday that insurance companies can’t bring their own legal actions against those blamed for Maui’s catastrophic 2023 wildfire, allowing a $4 billion settlement that was on the verge of collapse to proceed. Other steps remain in finalizing the deal between thousands of people who lodged lawsuits and various defendants, including Hawaiian Electric Company. The massive inferno that was the deadliest in the U.S. in more than a century decimated the historic town of Lahaina, killing more than 100 people, destroying thousands of properties and causing an estimated $5.5 billion in damage. Soon afterward, attorneys began lodging hundreds of l…

If you’re in charge of selecting a leadership development solution for your organization, your budget might feel dwarfed by the goals and needs the program must address. And while the money you have to spend is limited, the options you have to choose from—coaching, learning platforms, content libraries and more—are not.  All of those factors can make it difficult to identify the option that will deliver the best ROI. An “affordable” subscription to a vast digital library of leadership videos and courses is no bargain if it doesn’t deliver the results you need. On the other hand, premium coaching for a few key executives might feel extravagant at first but ultimat…

Picture this: It’s Black Friday, and the point-of-sale system your thousands of customers depend on keeps crashing. Understandably, those retailers are livid. Complaints pour in day after day, and you start to wonder if the business will survive. That’s exactly what happened to me when I was just starting out as an entrepreneur nearly 20 years ago. And as painful as it was, that near-death experience taught me something invaluable: the power of calm leadership. In today’s unpredictable world, whether that’s due to economic, environmental, or political events—it can be harder than ever to stay calm and centered. Company leaders are no exception to this. Yet it’s c…

Apple has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit that alleged the iPhone maker sold early Apple Watch models that included batteries that could swell. The company has set aside $20 million to pay claims related to the suit. Here’s what to know about the lawsuit and whether you are eligible to receive a cut of the payout. What is the Apple Watch class action lawsuit about? The class action lawsuit alleged that Apple sold its early Apple Watch models with an internal battery that could swell. According to the lawsuit settlement website, the swollen batteries violated consumer protection laws and breached warranties. Which Apple Match models are included? The …

The challenges businesses face today are increasingly unpredictable and interdependent. Traditional business structures were built for different times and different challenges. These models helped companies to scale and thrive in a more predictable world, where efficiency, clear hierarchies, and specialization were the keys to success. But as the world has evolved, so too have the conditions for innovation. In today’s fast-paced, globalized, and complex world, these outdated models actively hold teams back. Silos trap expertise—preventing the flow of fresh ideas—rigid hierarchies create bottlenecks that slow down decision making when speed is essential, and a lack of …

A year before Elon Musk helped start OpenAI in San Francisco, philanthropist and Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen already had established his own nonprofit artificial intelligence research laboratory in Seattle. Their mission was to advance AI for humanity’s benefit. More than a decade later, the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence, or Ai2, isn’t nearly as well-known as the ChatGPT maker but is still pursuing the “high-impact” AI sought by Allen, who died in 2018. One of its latest AI models, Tulu 3 405B, rivals OpenAI and China’s DeepSeek on several benchmarks. But unlike OpenAI, it says it’s developing AI systems that are “truly open” for others to build upon. …

Unlimited PTO policies were all the rage for a while, but now they’re starting to lose their allure. Here, experts weigh in on why companies are shifting away from this once-popular benefit, what alternative solutions look like, and why other options can be more effective. Failing to Deliver Unlimited paid time off policies are losing popularity because, in practice, they often fail to deliver the flexibility and wellness benefits they promise. While they sound progressive, the reality is that many employees end up taking less time off under these policies. Without a clear benchmark for what’s considered “normal” or acceptable, employees often hesitate to use thei…

Search today sure ain’t what it used to be. On the one hand, you’ve got the escalating sense that Google’s once-reliable results are stuck in a downward spiral. It’s a perception we’ve been seeing take shape for some time now, even before Google Search started pushing accuracy-challenged AI answers into its search engine and steering people away from first-party sources. On the other hand, you’ve got AI-powered info engines ranging from ChatGPT and Perplexity to Google’s own Gemini chatbot now browsing the web for you and offering up immediate (if occasionally also inaccurate) answers. For the first time, that’s raising pressing questions about the long-term fate …

Super Bowl ad spots range from just 15 to 60 seconds, but their impact lives on through social media for the days, weeks, and sometimes even years that follow. Although around 50 brands bought broadcast time, less than a week later, only a handful are still being talked about. So how can brands best transform their (very expensive) ads from momentary entertainment to long-lasting conversation pieces? Data from Metricool, a social media analytics tool, shows that the Super Bowl ads with the largest reach and impact are ones that use social media to turn their seconds-long time slot into an all-encompassing experience. “Brands should focus on full-scope coverage, r…

Getting a preschool-age child, let alone dozens of them, to wash their hands can be an exhausting chore. At Family Connections preschool in the Portola neighborhood of San Francisco, that used to be a constant challenge and frustration for educators. Without an outdoor sink, students’ outdoor activities were interrupted anytime a hand got dirty, as the whole group had to take a trip back inside, says executive director Yensing Sihapanya, noting how that would eat up precious minutes that could have been spent playing and learning. But in 2021, the Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF), a community development financial institution (CDFI), poured grant money into San Francisc…

By Gordon Boggis and Michael DiTullo Imagine sitting in a café where the clatter of a fork hitting a plate across the room drowns out your conversation with the person sitting next to you. Have you ever worked in an open office filled with overlapping video calls, making it almost impossible to focus on the document on your screen? Perhaps you recall discussing sensitive matters in a bank while overhearing equally private conversations from the next office. These everyday examples highlight how disruptive noise pollution can be and how important it is to prioritize acoustics. The reality is that poor acoustics are a pervasive yet solvable problem. Like a pebble in…

Topping this year’s list of MIC honorees in the Asia-Pacific region is a company so innovative that when it emerged from stealth, Fast Company judges and editors were late in the judging process, so we decided to add an unprecedented 11th spot to this category. Chinese artificial intelligence firm DeepSeek launched a pair of state-of-the-art, open-source AI models that require far less computing power and capital than those of Western companies, sending shockwaves through Silicon Valley and the Wall Street firms that fund them. Several more Chinese tech companies round out the top slots: Baidu, which runs China’s top search engine, started offering driverless taxi service…

When Netflix was finally ready to bring back its massive international hit TV series Squid Game for Season 2 after a three-year hiatus, it had a unique marketing challenge: remind people why they fell in love with a Korean action drama that revolves around a murderous contest. Approximately 39 months had passed since the debut of Squid Game took the world by storm with its coordinated green tracksuits, Pink Guards, and twisted takes on children’s games. The first season exploded to the surprise of everyone, becoming a global pop culture sensation. Back in 2021, Netflix marketing outside Asia was largely reactive to what audiences were excited about. This time, there …

If your social media suitor seems too good to be true, it might be a scam. Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta Platforms is urging users to stay vigilant about “romance scams” ahead of Valentine’s Day, warning of unsolicited messages through its apps and other social media platforms, as well as general text messages. Scammers tend to pose as “attractive, single and successful individuals,” Meta says. They often claim to have military, medical or business backgrounds, with photos either stolen from real people’s accounts or generated through artificial intelligence. Initially, messages are sent to a large pool of people in the hopes of getting a response. A …

Chipotle—one of the original and most influential fast-casual spots in the country—just hit a major milestone. In 2024, they opened 304 new restaurants, marking the highest number of openings in a single year in their franchise history, according to a Tuesday earnings call. For a bit of context, they opened 271 locations in 2023, and in the two years before that, they were hovering just above 200 each year. And the growth isn’t slowing down—they’re planning to open between 315 and 345 new restaurants in 2025. The fast-casual juggernaut also reported a total revenue of $11.3 billion—an increase of 14.6% from last year’s $9.9 billion. The chain’s operating margin a…

These 10 companies provide vital services for businesses at every life cycle stage, from birth to death. Whether facilitating communications with customers, scaling operations, or reducing friction in the marketplace, honorees in the business services category of this year’s most innovative companies help companies grow and thrive—or even perform last rites when that moment finally arrives. In an increasingly post-literate world, companies continue to turn to video to communicate with key stakeholders, and two of this year’s business services honorees help enterprises produce streamable content more efficiently. As part of its ongoing efforts to infuse its products with A…