TikTok does not want to compete with the BBC at Eurovision but instead “complement” and drive viewers towards its grand final coverage, a manager has said. The social media platform has partnered with contest organiser the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the BBC for the event in Liverpool, with busker pop-ups around the city, special coverage and gigs. James Stafford, TikTok’s general manager of marketing and operations for the UK, Ireland and Nordics, told the PA news agency the firm was doing “a lot of work” to promote the live TV broadcast. He said: “The hour before the live show on Saturday the BBC will be doing an exclusive live stream on TikTok that is designed to capture as much attention and audience from TikTok as possible, and direct them to go and tune in and watch the live broadcast. We would much prefer that we are a complement to those broadcasters and we can help them discover the next generation of fans who are going to tune in and watch Eurovision live on the BBC James Stafford “Now our goal here is not to compete with broadcasters for the live show. “We would much prefer that we are a complement to those broadcasters and we can help them discover the next generation of fans who are going to tune in and watch Eurovision live on the BBC.” Mr Stafford also sought to allay security concerns over TikTok’s involvement in the contest. TikTok is owned by Chinese internet company ByteDance, which argues that it does not share data with China’s government, but Beijing’s intelligence legislation requires firms to help the Communist Party when requested. Mr Stafford said: “The governments in Europe, including the UK, that have advised their employees not to use TikTok among other social apps on corporate devices is a purely precautionary measure, and it’s not the advice to ban the app in any of the markets. “We engage with all of our partners – the EBU, the governments that we partner with – to try and understand what their specific concerns are and share all of the information and be as transparent as possible about their concerns, so that we can move on from them.” Mr Stafford added that TikTok had had discussions with the EBU about the concerns. “Any one of our partners who has concerns, we are more than happy to be open and transparent with them about what they are,” he said. It came after Martin Osterdahl, the EBU’s executive supervisor for Eurovision, said the organisation plans to review its official partnership with TikTok – now in its second year – when the current contract ends. He told a press conference on Wednesday: “We review all our sponsorship agreements regularly and when they expire. We will do the same with TikTok. We will see what the situation is when that contract expires.” This year’s contest features a number of musicians with large followings on TikTok, including Norway’s Alessandra and Denmark’s Reiley. UK entrant Mae Muller, meanwhile, had chart success with her 2021 song Better Days after it went viral on the platform. Mr Stafford said that aside from last year’s UK entrant Sam Ryder being “incredibly talented” and “the most likeable person on Earth”, he also went into the 2022 contest with millions of TikTok fans. “I think a lot of other artists and delegations looked at that and saw the huge advantage there was to connect with fans and potential voters months before coming here,” he added. “So you will see that being a huge trend for the way various countries have selected their artists this year. “Of the 37 artists this year all of them are on TikTok and are really active and building their fan bases.” Darina Connolly, TikTok’s head of label and artist partnerships, said performers such as Israeli pop diva Noa Kirel, who has gone viral with a hand gesture dance move inspired by her song Unicorn, did not design their routines with TikTok in mind but such moments naturally translate to the app. She told PA: “I think all contestants are super focused on delivering the best performance that they can and I think easily a lot of that does translate to TikTok because we are an entertainment platform first and foremost, and people come to the platform to be entertained. “I wouldn’t say that the artists have done it specifically with TikTok in mind, but they have done it with entertainment in mind, which fits hand in hand with what we do as well.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Eurovision’s preparations for potential Russia cyberthreat ‘in good place’ UK-based tech company claims quantum computing ‘breakthrough’ Concert drone show organiser describes ‘nerve-wracking but exciting’ evening

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Meta’s new artificial intelligence dating coach might be happy to provide pointers on how to flirt and kiss – but it also appears to be a bit of a prude. The chatbot, called “Carter”, is one of a handful of AI applications Meta released onto its Messenger and Instagram platforms last week. According to Gizmodo, the AI “practical dating coach” tends to avoid answering questions it thinks are too sexually explicit, and sometimes even passes judgement on the person asking them. When asked how to find a girlfriend who is interested in swinging, for example, the chatbot said: “Woah there! I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’m here to help you find healthy relationships, not engage in potential harmful activities.” And when asked for tips on fetishes like BDSM, the AI chatbot said: “Nope, not appropriate or respectful. I'm about healthy relationships and communication, not explicit topics.” Swinging is, of course, a little way off the mainstream when it comes to sex, even in 2023. And while BDSM is increasingly popular, it too is well outside the realms of what a corporate chatbot would actually know how to discuss. But potentially harmful? Really? Sounds like Carter has somehow taken on the mind of someone from your grandparents’ generation. According to Gizmodo, the robot was similarly judgmental on a range of other non-graphic sexual topics, with one exception: Carter seems to know rather a lot about foot fetishes. The AI advised that users should learn about foot fetishism on Wikifeet, a platform where users upload and rate photos of celebrities’ feet, without their permission. Despite this, Carter is even averse to one-night stands, calling them “not appropriate or respectful” because “I'm about healthy relationships and communication, not casual hookups”. “Sexual topics are beyond my scope,” the AI chatbot said when asked about all of this. “Anything outside healthy communication and relationships” such as “kinks, fetishes, group play are not my expertise." Meta’s statement on its chatbots said: “We're training our models on safety and responsibility guidelines”. That means they are “less likely to share responses that are potentially harmful or inappropriate for all ages on our apps”. Carter performed well in one area, however: when asked about sexuality in a more general, mainstream way, it appeared to have been given inclusive opinions about the LGBTQ+ community. That’s a small relief, eh? Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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Billionaire Elon Musk rebranded Twitter this week and replaced the iconic blue bird logo with a black X, in his latest effort to overhaul the social media giant. The redesign ties in with Musk’s plans to build an “everything” platform –like China’s WeChat or PayTm in India – as he encouraged users to reimagine the “whole concept” of the app formerly known as Twitter. On 24 July, the Tesla founder tweeted a picture of the new logo cast on the Twitter headquarters building in San Francisco, as workers were seen taking down the bird logo that has defined the platform since it was launched in 2006. Musk also redirected the website x.com to twitter.com, and announced that Twitter will soon only be available in dark mode. But it wasn’t an entirely smooth rollout, as it was later revealed Twitter had failed to secure the required permits to change the building signage. Trademark experts also warned Musk could face legal action over his use of X, since rivals Meta and Microsoft both own intellectual property (IP) rights for the letter. The site was reportedly blocked in Indonesia after Mr Musk unveiled the X logo because of the country’s laws on online pornography and gambling. User reactions were also mixed. “The X logo looks like it’s for one of those ridiculous fragile masculinity subscription box services that would send you like an axe, a bottle of hot sauce, small batch coffee, and some beard oil every month in 2019,” one tweet – or is it an X – read. As Twitter moves into a new era, on the heels of a controversial revamp, we look back on seven marketing fails: Royal Mail to Consignia In 2001 the Royal Mail was rebranded as Consignia, but it did not last long. “The new name describes the full scope of what the Post Office does in a way that the words ‘post’ and ‘office’ cannot,” Royal Mail’s then-chief John Roberts unveiled the results of a £2m rebrand, adding that the “modern, meaningful and entirely appropriate” name was suited to the company’s aspirations of becoming an international postal operator. The public did not agree and just 16 months later Consignia was renamed Royal Mail plc, reversing what is considered one of the most disastrous corporate rebranding efforts in recent history. The strategist who led the Consignia rebrand later defended it in an interview with the BBC, explaining why the name was chosen. Keith Wells, who was the director of Dragon Brands, said: “It’s got consign in it. It’s got a link with insignia, so there is this kind of royalty-ish thing in the back of one’s mind. And there’s this lovely dictionary definition of consign which is ‘to entrust to the care of’. That goes right back to sustaining trust, which was very important.” Coke to New Coke “New Coke” remains the benchmark for bad product launches, nearly 40 years after the Coca-Cola company infamously decided to change its secret recipe to gain a competitive advantage over then-up-and-coming Pepsi Co during the cola wars of the Eighties. The decision backfired, as passionate Coke drinkers were devastated by the new taste of the beverage – even launching grassroots campaigns across the United States to bring back the old Coke. “It was the people against the corporation – only in America,” CBS News reporter Bob Simon said in 1985. “Coke said it was committed, so were the people. In California they collected signatures, in Seattle they set up a hotline.” Delighted by their rival’s blunder, Pepsi released an advertisement featuring a girl who asked: “Somebody out there tell me why Coke did it? Why did Coke change?” Coca-Cola eventually buckled under the pressure and announced it would bring back the original taste of Coke, with the company’s then-president saying: “The simple fact is that all of the time and money and skill poured into consumer research on a new Coca-Cola could not measure or reveal the depth and abiding emotional attachment to original Coca-Cola felt by so many people.” Facebook to Meta Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook became Meta in October 2021 to signal its future as a “metaverse company”. A metaverse is defined as “a digital reality that combines aspects of social media, online gaming, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and cryptocurrencies to allow users to interact virtually.” While the tech billionaire insisted the rebrand had nothing to do with the PR crisis during what is now remembered as Meta’s worst year ever. From claims the US Capitol riots were organised on the social media platform to employee-turned-whistleblower Frances Haugen’s allegations, Facebook’s reputation took a severe beating in 2021. And the new name didn’t help. According to a report from The Harris Poll, public trust in Zuckerberg’s company significantly dropped after the announcement that it was going to be known as Meta. PR experts also told Insider Meta would have to do “fundamental work” to win back this trust. PwC to Monday One of the Big Four accounting firms, PricewaterhouseCoopers confusingly changed the name of its consulting arm to Monday in what is widely considered a big branding blunder. “Monday is a new identity on which to build our company’s future, and it will have meaning and stand for something,” the company’s then-CEO Greg Brenneman said, announcing the new name that, apparently, conjures images of “fresh thinking, doughnuts, hot coffee”. However, the brand name was a flop as it failed to capture the essence of PwC’s work, and caused widespread confusion – and derision – from members of the public as well as the press. “The day of the week formerly known as Monday would like to announce its name change to distance itself from PWC Consulting. Forthwith it will be known as Tuesday Eve,” one person quipped. Reporting on PwC’s new name, CNN Money said a spokesperson from Wolff Olins, the agency that led the $110m rebrand, “could not immediately be reached Monday—the day, that is.” The rebrand was eventually rolled back. Hershey’s new logo The well-known chocolate company in 2014 unveiled a logo that resembled a “steaming pile of s***” as the abandoned design continues to amuse TikTok users nine years later. When Hershey’s set about trying to create a fresh and modern interpretation of its beloved Kisses icon, it replaced a photograph of their silver Hershey’s Kiss with an animated, brown version and a gray curlicue to represent its packaging. “The new branding will impact all visual aspects of how The Hershey Company presents itself,” the company said in a statement at the time, “from consumer communications to websites to the interior design of its office spaces and the look of its retail stores.” Amused customers were quick to point out the logo had ended up looking like a poop emoji instead, an unsavoury association to make with a chocolate brand. @zacharywinterton Once you see it you cant unsee it. This design is proof that not all logos are created equal ? #logodesign #designfail ♬ original sound - Zachary Winterton Sunny Delight The orange soft beverage launched in the UK in 1998 was once considered a threat to Pepsi and Coke. However, a poorly-timed advertisement amid regulatory scrutiny brought grey storms for Sunny Delight, as the drinks sales fell from a record high of £160m to a measly £6.8m by 2010. The Food Commission launched a campaign against Sunny Delight, claiming it was bad for children after it was reported that one child in Wales turned yellow from drinking 1.5 litres of the drink. “This is excessive consumption and consumption on that scale would lead to a yellowing of the skin because of the beta carotene, in the same way as drinking too much carrot juice or orange juice would,” a spokeswoman for the company said at the time. The girl’s condition, caused by betacarotene which gives the drink it’s colour, emerged at the same time as Sunny Delight was running an ad campaign featuring a pair of snowmen turning orange. Consequently, the popularity of Sunny Delight reportedly halved, as consumers lost their appetite for the bright yellow, sweet drink. Cardiff City’s football kit In 2012, the club’s then-new owner gave the kit an ill-conceived makeover. He decided to put the team, nicknamed the Bluebirds, in a red kit and changed the logo from a blue bird to a red Welsh dragon. “The change of colour is a radical and some would say revolutionary move which will be met with unease and apprehension by a number of supporters, along with being seen as controversial by many,” ex-chief executive Alan Whiteley said. “To those I would like to say that this was not a decision that has been taken lightly or without a great deal of thought and debate. Fans retaliated and the blue kit was restored, with approval from the club’s owner Vincent Tan. Read More Sinead O’Connor latest: Singer moved to London ‘to feel less lonely’ after son’s death, neighbours say England vs Denmark LIVE: Women’s World Cup result and reaction as Lionesses win but Walsh injured Man in debt after driving motorhome through London’s low emission zone First British passports issued in King’s name unveiled Royal Mail wins contract for collection and delivery of passports Mapped: Ten worst UK hotspots for dog attacks on postal workers

A year after Hurricane Ian ripped through southwest Florida, wealthy risk-takers are transforming one beach town. In Fort