Facebook Nabs Atlas, Businessweek Cover Criticism, Rise of Bro Videos

The Strategist picks the day’s most relevant and interesting stories about the world of content from around the web. Here’s what you should be reading today:

Atlas Advertising Acquired by Facebook

Facebook has acquired Atlas Advertising from Microsoft, according to ClickZ.

The software from Atlas lets marketers and agencies manage and place their digital ad campaigns. The site claims that it will help both parties “compare their Facebook campaigns to the rest of their ad spend across the web on desktop and mobile.”

The amount of money the company was bought out for was not disclosed.

Bloomberg Businessweek: Racist Cover?

The New York Times reports that Bloomberg Businessweek is being accused of putting out a racist magazine cover from readers and media critics. The cover portrays cartoony versions of people of different minorities holding fistfuls of cash.

Columbia Journalism Review’s Ryan Chittum said the cover was a mistake because it features “black and Hispanic caricatures with exaggerated features reminiscent of early 20th-century race cartoons.”

Editor of the magazine Josh Tyrangiel says he regrets releasing it and said, “Our intention was not to incite or offend. If we had to do it over again we’d do it differently.”

Break Media’s Marketing to “Bros”

Paid Content reports on Break Media, which is releasing “bro videos” for men.

There are videos of blacksmiths making swords and elephants fighting crocodiles, for example. They produce thousands of videos for men, with subjects ranging from beer, to bravery, to, well, female bodies.

Jeff John Roberts writes that these are a permanent fixture of the Internet and, “the bro video phenomenon is part of an emerging low-cost studio system that is changing men’s entertainment and advertising.”

TV Spot of GIFs

Mashable reports on “Stoker,” a new movie with a TV spot completely made out of GIFs. The ad, made by Fox Searchlight, premiered during Adult Swim on Thursday night. This marketing method, apparently, is a “culturally poignant art form.”

Increase Freelancing Productivity

WritetoDone covers how writers can increase their freelancing productivity. They should take 33 minutes to work on projects, then take breaks to clear their heads.

Writers can also download Mission Control HQ, which is a free task list app that sorts to-do lists. Harvest is an app that helps its users track time. While it’s not free, it does provide a timesheet section and a stop clock.

Image courtesy of Flickr, pshab