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Weekly digest 7 min read

Digital ad digest, September 8–14: Amazon enters ChatGPT, IAB raises its forecast, Google avoids a breakup

The densest week of September: eight events, from ads inside ChatGPT to the antitrust ruling on Google. Facts first, our take second, and for each story, what it has to do with Ukraine.

Amazon starts selling ads inside ChatGPT, and OpenAI keeps the right to block competitors

On 10 September Amazon Ads and OpenAI announced a partnership: selected US advertisers are testing ads shown inside ChatGPT conversations, bought and optimised through the familiar Amazon DSP (Demand-Side Platform, a tool for buying ads programmatically) 1. The split is clean: Amazon handles campaign setup and bid optimisation, OpenAI decides where in a conversation an ad appears and who is allowed on the platform at all. The first advertiser was Delta Vacations. The same day, OpenAI updated its ad policy to version 1.6: the company reserved the right to reject or remove any advertiser whose campaign “conflicts with OpenAI’s advertising principles, business interests, or competitive position” 2. A week earlier, on 31 August, OpenAI said ChatGPT advertising had already reached a $1 billion annualised revenue run rate (a self-reported figure, not an audited one) and opened self-serve campaign setup to advertisers in India, Europe and the Middle East 3.

Omnicom changes the head of its advertising division and confirms it lost Pepsi

On 9 September, Omnicom announced that Troy Ruhanen, who led Omnicom Advertising for more than 20 years, is retiring, and that Andrew Robertson, until now chairman of BBDO Worldwide, takes over as CEO of the division 4. The next day, at the Goldman Sachs conference, Omnicom CFO Phil Angelastro acknowledged the loss of PepsiCo’s $1.7 billion global media account to Publicis (“you can’t sugarcoat it”) and confirmed that headcount will shrink by 15,000 to roughly 105,000 by the end of 2026 5,6. The Interpublic Group (IPG) deal was paid in stock: Omnicom’s Q2 2026 report shows weighted average shares outstanding of 281 million against 196 million a year earlier, a 43% increase. Adjusted EBITA margin for the same quarter rose to 17.8% from 15.9% 7.

Zetadisplay builds the first retail media network for Spar in Central Europe

On 9 September, Zetadisplay’s Austrian team began rolling out the first retail media network (advertising on screens and digital surfaces inside stores) for the Spar supermarket chain in Central Europe. The project runs on the Retailmediatools platform, which Zetadisplay acquired earlier, plus its own Engage Suite for creating and serving content. The pilot runs through the end of the year, with a rollout planned for Spar’s Slovenian stores afterwards. Spar keeps full control over which brands can buy the ad inventory 8.

Reddit grows faster than expected while Pinterest’s CFO departs

On 10 September, an independent Piper Sandler study found Reddit’s audience grew 8% month over month in August, the fastest pace of 2026, with international audience up 29.3% year over year 9. Reddit’s stock rose 6% that day. Two days earlier, at the Goldman Sachs conference, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman said the company had improved new-user retention by 50% in a quarter 9. Meanwhile, on 28 August, Pinterest announced CFO Julia Brau Donnelly’s resignation, effective 30 October; Vikram Naidu will serve as interim replacement 10. That same week, Redburn analysts upgraded Snap to “buy,” downgraded Pinterest to “neutral,” and kept a “sell” rating on Reddit 11.

Adnami brings curated premium inventory packages to Google DV360

On 7 September, Adnami, a company specialising in attention metrics (how long and closely a person actually looks at an ad, not just whether it appeared on screen), launched exclusive curated packages (pre-assembled bundles of ad placements across multiple publishers, accessible without a direct contract with each one) directly inside Google Display & Video 360 (DV360), Google’s platform for buying display advertising, via inventory supplier Index Exchange. The packages are available even to advertisers who were not previously Adnami clients 12.

Sources

  1. ↑Amazon Ads, 10 September 2026 — Amazon Ads announces new integration to support advertising in ChatGPT
  2. ↑Bushletter, 11 September 2026 — Amazon ChatGPT ads launch as OpenAI bans rival advertisers
  3. ↑Reuters / MMM Online, 31 August–2 September 2026 — OpenAI’s ad business hits $1 billion annualized revenue run rate
  4. ↑Omnicom, 9 September 2026 — Omnicom Advertising Announces Leadership Transition
  5. ↑MediaPost, 15 September 2026 — Omnicom CFO: We’ll Have New Biz ‘Tailwind’ Despite PepsiCo Loss
  6. ↑MediaPost, 3 September 2026 — Omnicom Shares Fall After Loss Of PepsiCo Account
  7. ↑Omnicom Group, Form 8-K, Q2 2026 investor presentation, 28 July 2026 — SEC EDGAR
  8. ↑invidis, 9 September 2026 — Retail Media: Zetadisplay Builds Spar Network
  9. ↑TIKR, September 2026 — Why Reddit Stock’s 6% Jump Yesterday Confirms What Its CEO Told Wall Street
  10. ↑CFO Dive / Yahoo Finance, August 2026 — Pinterest CFO exit puts spotlight on growth
  11. ↑StreetInsider, September 2026 — Redburn lifts Snap, cuts Pinterest, keeps Sell on Reddit in social media shake-up
  12. ↑ExchangeWire, 7 September 2026 — Adnami Launches Exclusive Attention-Optimised Packages on Display & Video 360
  13. ↑Marketer.ua, based on Gradus Research, Kantar, Opora, DataReportal — Top social media platforms worldwide and in Ukraine, 2026
  14. ↑LinkedIn dentsu Ukraine, 22 June 2026 — dentsu Ukraine – Communications Group No. 1 in Ukraine per COMvergence and VRK
  15. ↑IAB Ukraine — Ukrainian internet advertising market estimate, 2025

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