Booze, budget mobile and now cookies: Ryan Reynolds is adding to his business pursuits. Earlier this week, his production studio Maximum Effort released an ad on social announcing that the company is now a minority owner of sugarless cookie brand HighKey. Yesterday it dropped another ad, this time with a Valentine’s Day theme. Both ads star an unsettling, sugar-addicted panda who sounds suspiciously like Reynolds. 

Watch the ads: They might creep you out enough to cut down your sugar intake.

Speaking of Valentine’s Day, romance can be tricky in the pandemic era. After nearly a year of navigating the dating scene in this altered reality, Tinder, Bumble and Hinge shared helpful insights that might inspire change in the future. 

• Tinder was the top non-gaming app by downloads and consumer spend in 2020, and it has turned its gaze to TikTok to reach Gen Zers.
• Bumble’s voice and video chat feature grew 70% after the U.S. declared a state of emergency, and boosted its adoption through a partnership with BuzzFeed.
• Hinge partnered with mental health app Headspace to help users calm virtual pre-date jitters.

Explore more stats and strategies from these apps.

Much like Peter Pan, Disney+ is flying high above many of its competitors, with its subscriber count at 94.9 million subscribers—a jump of more than 8 million since December, and double its subscriber count at this time last year. The count was announced in Disney’s quarterly earnings report, which also detailed the more modest growth of its platforms Hulu (which grew 20% year over year) and ESPN+ (which saw an 83% increase). 

The Baby Yoda Effect: Learn what factored into the streamer’s growth.

Also in TV and streaming news: 

• CBS gave total creative freedom to the producers of Clarice, the latest Silence of the Lambs spinoff that premiered last night—with the creators aiming to craft the feel of a “streaming show” on broadcast TV.
• After a pandemic-induced hiatus in 2020, Upfronts week is roaring back to life, with Discovery announcing its plans to join Disney and ViacomCBS in presenting virtually in May. 
• Discovery will have to revisit its upfront deals with marketers, however: Chip and Joanna Gaines’ cable channel Magnolia Network, which had been slated to premiere last October, will instead launch as part of Discovery+ on July 15. 

Today at 1 p.m. ET, Adweek presents a live virtual forum for the East and Southeast Asian American community and allies, where marketing leaders from this community discuss the ongoing and recently heightened race-related incidents and what actions we can all take to overcome racism and violence. The Adweek DEI Community Town Halls serve as a place for connection, perspectives and sharing solutions we can all activate to drive real change. Learn about this event and RSVP.

More of Today’s Top News and Highlights:

• Road to Challenger Brands: Hello Products’ Craig Dubitsky on Saving Marriages With Toothpaste
• New Hallmark Channel Chief Touts Diversity Focus Following Controversy
• PepsiCo Beverages CMO Greg Lyons On Balancing Home, Heart and Happiness to the End Zone
• To Grow Its Ad Business, LG Taps SpotX as Primary SSP
• R/GA’s New Global CMO Is a Lifelong Social Justice Reformer
• How Pepsi Bridges the Digital Divide for Black-Owned Restaurants

You may be one of the many people who have dabbled in multilingualism with the popular app Duolingo, which now has its first, colorful campaign from Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam. The campaign’s animated spot focuses on how the app gamifies language learning to eliminate mental strain. Accompanying OOH ads also include a friendly political jab.

There's a lot to love at the Brandweek: Challenger Brands Summit, Feb. 22-25 —get your pass at 50% off* when you register now-Feb. 16 and use code: LOVE50.

Don't miss the chance to learn from the most agile and innovative brand marketers during four days of Main Stage insights, Breakout sessions, Masterclasses and experiences designed to foster connections within the community.

*New registrations only.

Parent company Vogue International sees value in contactless experiential marketing.

Online prescriptions and on-demand vet advice cater to digitally savvy owners.

David Dobrik, 50 Cent, Amy Klobuchar, Demi Lovato, Desus Nice and the Kid Mero will also speak at the event.

His singular illustrations feature a range of celebrities.

Founding partners Carla Serrano and Neil Haymann offer a glimpse into the new 600-strong practice.

The freelance hiring platform wants to expand into higher-end job markets.