Latest news with #DanTaylor
CTV News
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Love story inspires B.C. couple to install dinosaur duo outside driveway
Adam finds out the love story behind a pair of big, blue dinosaurs on a driveway. Dan Taylor was visiting the U.S. a couple of decades ago when he first spotted a dinosaur standing outside a gas station. 'Then I realized it was a whole chain of gas stations,' Taylor says, before showing countless photos of bright brontosaurus statues. 'And it just blew me away.' Turns out, Sinclair Gas' mascot has been a colourful dinosaur since its commercials were black and white. 'I thought, that's kinda cool,' Taylor smiles. 'Maybe everyone should have a dinosaur at some point.' But first, Taylor had to meet Alex Whitman. After he said 'hi' to her at his cousins wedding, neither wanted to say goodbye. '[We] just talked the whole night,' Whitman says. 'And had a fun conversation.' Given Whitman lived in the U.S. the two started exchanging hand-written letters, which led to cross-border visits. Eventually, Taylor proposed. 'I said, 'I think you're the one too,' Whitman says. 'And then he flew down, and we eloped.' Eventually they staged a more traditional ceremony and had a couple of kids. The only thing missing was one of those gas station dinosaurs. 'It's impossible to get a hold of one,' Taylor says, explaining how he had tried everything to buy one for decades. He didn't know that Whitman was secretly doing the same. Eventually, she found one. 'Amazingly it fit exactly in my car,' she says, of the blue dinosaur she found at a small-town store specializing in large metal statues. 'The tail was coming around and pointing [right at my face] and I'm like, 'please don't get in a car accident'.' After avoiding a prehistoric impaling, Whitman staged an unforgettable Father's Day surprise. 'It just blew me away,' Taylor smiles. 'I felt amazed and loved.' After the pair of dinosaurs were placed on the boulevard in front of their home, the couple's children named the statues Gerald and Maurice - who sports a small, black moustache they made for him. 'We joke that when we're dead and gone our kids are not going to want china or glassware,' Whitman smiles. 'They're going to want dinosaurs.' Before they moved to their new house, their old neighbours begged for Gerald and Maurice to stay, because they'd proved to be a Jurassic spark for creating community. 'There's a lady that took a walk [to see them] every day and pet the dinosaurs.' Whitman says. 'And people would come by with their kids and sit on the dinosaurs.' 'They used to get decorated at Christmas,' Taylor says, adding how people would put bows and garlands on them, alongside dressing them up for Halloween and putting bunny ears on them for Easter. Since Whitman and Taylor have arrived in Canada, Taylor has surprised his colleagues by bringing Gerald to work. He hopes their new neighbours also find these driveway denizens dino-mite. 'I think it's important to get joy out of where you find it,' Taylor says. 'And if it's a big blue dinosaur, impart that joy on to others.'
Daily Mail
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
The Hit Network's Christie Hayes announces she is expecting her first child with husband Justin Coombes-Pearce after four-year IVF journey
The Hit Network's Christie Hayes has been open about her IVF journey with listeners over the last four years. And now, the Christie and Dan Show host has announced that she is expecting a baby with her husband Justin Coombes-Pearce. Christie, 38, informed listeners on Monday after first surprising her co-host Dan Taylor with the happy news three weeks ago during an off air segment that was also filmed. The moment was shared with listeners during the announcement and later posted to Instagram. In the clip, an ecstatic Christie can be seen passing a ' Jimi Hendrix ' lunchbox to her co-host. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. 'Am I gonna find some wacky tobacky in here?' Dan joked before opening up the 'present'. On opening the container, Dan discovered 'thousands' of pregnancy home tests. 'I'm pregnant!' the former Home and Away star declared. 'I found out on Friday that I was pregnant. I'd been doing all these pregnancy tests and on Friday I had to get a blood test to confirm it. It came up with really good news.' In another moment from the video, the two breakfast radio stars can be seen sharing a hug. Elsewhere, Christie made an emotional statement thanking her listeners especially those who had shared their own IVF journey on the program. 'It's been four years in the making … I am pregnant. We are ecstatic, we are safe, and we're in the second trimester already. 'I just want you to know that if you are going through IVF,' she continued. 'I have been where you are. I know how hard it is. I just want you to know that it can happen. When you least expect it, your life can change.' Christie also shared her happy news to Instagram and included a touching family snap featuring her two boys, and husband in a group hug. 'And after the rain, came the rainbow,' the radio star said in the catpion. 'We are all over the moon to announce the news that we are expecting! The most prayed for, wanted, adored baby that we are all so in love with already. 'After losing a baby, two back to back chemical pregnancies, our miracle is finally here. And now, somehow, it makes sense. The final piece of our puzzle. 'To my fellow IVF warriors — I see you. I am you. If you're still waiting, still aching, still hoping — please don't give up. Your miracle might just be around the corner, your story is still unfolding and we never know what the next chapter holds.' 'Our beautiful boys and my darling husband and I couldn't be happier. Love you all! Xxxx.' She tied the knot with Triple M's Justin in 2021 and the couple immediately made plans to have a baby. Christie has often discussed her family heartache over the last few years on her show, including detailing the anguish she experienced following a miscarriage three years ago. She has two sons, Hendrix, 10 and Harley, nine, from her relationship to wine broker Daniel White. The pair split in 2019 after marrying in 2015. Now based in Hobart, Christie rose to fame in 2000 after playing 'twins' Kirsty and Laura in Home and Away. After leaving the soap in 2005 she returned in 2008 before making a final exit in October the following year. In 2022 she launched the Dan and Christie Show on the Hit Network with co-host Dan Taylor.
News.com.au
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Christie Hayes announces pregnancy after four-year IVF journey
Popular radio host Christie Hayes has revealed she is pregnant after a four year IVF journey. Ms Hayes, who is the co-host of The Hit Network's Dan & Christie, broke the big news during an emotional segment to listeners across regional Victoria and Tasmania. It comes as the former actress kept her battle with fertility challenges in the spotlight, including a heartbreaking 'non-viable' pregnancy with husband Justin Coombes-Pearce last year. 'It's been four years in the making … I am pregnant,' she said on air with co-host Dan Taylor on Monday morning. 'We are ecstatic, we are safe, and we're in the second trimester already. 'I just want you to know that if you are going through IVF – I have been where you are,' Ms Hayes added. 'I know how hard it is. I just want you to know that it can happen. 'When you least expect it, your life can change.' Ms Hayes thanked her listeners for being alongside her through her journey and on the egg transfer day. 'I truly from the bottom of my heart believe that when I walked in that day I was surrounded by love and optimism and encouragement, and hope,' she said. The mum-of-two surprised Mr Taylor off-air three weeks ago with a lunch box full of positive pregnancy tests. In September 2024, she opened up about the devastating moment she was told her pregnancy at the time was not viable. Ms Hayes said instead of waiting for confirmation from a doctor, she 'did what you're not supposed to do' during IVF and took things into her own hands. After testing positive to two tests at home, she went to get a blood test to confirm the pregnancy. Instead, she left with heartbreak. 'She looked at me, this beautiful nurse, and she said, 'It's positive but it's not viable,'' she recalled. 'Our hearts just broke. It's grief all over again. That's the worst thing with IVF, is the waiting and waiting, and then the grief, no one tells you about. 'You put so much time and energy into something, you try so hard, and then it's ripped away from you,' Ms Hayes added. She decided she was going to share her story on-air to let others going down the same path know they're not alone. 'Where there is hope, there is life,' she said. 'So, thank you.'
Business Insider
21-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Get ready for more ads in Google's AI search answers
Google on Wednesday said it's expanding ads within the search and shopping AI Overviews that appear at the top of results, going from mobile to desktop in the US. AI Overview ads are beginning to roll out in other locations, too. It's also testing ads within its AI Mode, a relatively new product built into its search page, where users can conduct deeper research using its Gemini AI chatbot, Google said. Dan Taylor, VP of global ads at Google, told Business Insider that queries within AI Mode tend to be twice as long as traditional searches and more exploratory in nature. This "opens up these new opportunities to discover brands where advertisers might not necessarily have been in the conversation before," Taylor said. The ad news follows the opening of Google's big summer developer conference, in which the search giant offered a look at updates it's been cooking up for its AI models. CEO Sundar Pichai described a "total reimagining" of Search as AI Mode is brought to all users in the US this week. With Google committing to invest more than $75 billion in AI infrastructure and to expand its cloud capacity this year, Wall Street is watching closely for hints about how the company intends to profit from the new technology. Advertising is set to be an important portion of that pie; the majority of Google's revenue is derived from traditional search ads. While Google is embracing its new AI future, it will also be looking to protect its cash cow. Last year, Google recorded about $265 billion in ad revenue. Google introduced ads to AI Overviews on mobile last year. This week, Google said that the launch of AI Overviews has grown the number of "commercial queries," where users are searching for information about a particular product or service they may later go on to buy. It didn't state by how much. For now, advertisers can't directly opt for their ad placements to appear within AI Overviews or AI Mode. Instead, Google will pull from existing search campaigns, where marketers target users on variables like their location, demographics, and by keywords and topics. Google's introduction of AI-generated answers to its search results got off to a fairly bizarre start last year. It infamously recommended users add glue to their pizza and suggested they eat rocks. Taylor said Google had strict brand suitability guidelines and extensive controls in place across search, display, and YouTube to prevent ads from appearing in unfortunate places that marketers would rather avoid. Advertisers and website owners are grappling with the impact of AI-generated search. Overviews often offer a definitive answer rather than a series of links that encourage users to visit their websites. Accordingto an April analysis of 150,000 popular keywords from the search marketing company Ahrefs, the average click-through rates on top-ranking search results have dropped since Google's AI overviews were introduced. Google will need to strike a careful balance between monetizing its AI offerings and providing a clean user experience, especially since some generative-AI rivals, like OpenAI's ChatGPT, have yet to roll out ads. (OpenAI has hinted that ads aren't out of the question, though.) "If people are changing the way they search and using AI search more for commercial queries, there's no doubt we'll see a shift in ads moving to that space," said Matt Steiner, director of biddable media at the marketing agency Croud. Google is exploring ways to automate the entire advertising process through AI Google also offered a glimpse on Wednesday at how it's using AI to automate creating and buying ads across search, its display ad network, and YouTube. It's letting advertisers use its AI text-to-video and text-to-image generators, Veo and Imagen, to create the visual elements of their ad campaigns based on their product catalogs. On search, a new feature called Smart Bidding Exploration will automatically detect new types of queries advertisers can bid on based on more complex user searches that go beyond typical keywords like "best credit card." And Google is offering an AI agent within Google Ads and Google Analytics, which can make recommendations on campaigns or suggest new trends in their data that might be of interest. "More traditional marketing tactics are not really able to keep up with the change in consumer behavior, and so AI is coming to the rescue, if you will, to help marketers adapt," Google's Taylor told BI. Big Tech giants are increasingly looking for ways to automate advertising, with the potential to disrupt the entire industry of advertising agencies and vendors. In a recent interview, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said his company is working toward a future where advertisers simply state their objective, connect their bank accounts, and Meta would do the rest — from creating the ads, selecting the targeting, and then providing the results. Google is moving in a similar direction with its AI-powered Performance Max product. Scott Sadeghian-Tehrani, media strategy director at the marketing agency 26PMX, said some clients are wary of these types of automated tools. That's particularly true of retailers who often dice their budgets between different product categories and want to be able to make adjustments in the event of holding excess stock, or if it's unseasonably sunny and they want to ramp up advertising their swimwear, for example.
Business Insider
21-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Get ready for more ads in Google's AI search answers
Google's multibillion-dollar investments in artificial intelligence need to pay off eventually. Ads may be the answer. Google on Wednesday said it's expanding ads within the search and shopping AI Overviews that appear at the top of results, going from mobile to desktop in the US. AI Overview ads are beginning to roll out in other locations, too. It's also testing ads within its AI Mode, a relatively new product built into its search page, where users can conduct deeper research using its Gemini AI chatbot, Google said. Dan Taylor, VP of global ads at Google, told Business Insider that queries within AI Mode tend to be twice as long as traditional searches and more exploratory in nature. This "opens up these new opportunities to discover brands where advertisers might not necessarily have been in the conversation before," Taylor said. The ad news follows the opening of Google's big summer developer conference, in which the search giant offered a look at updates it's been cooking up for its AI models. CEO Sundar Pichai described a "total reimagining" of Search as AI Mode is brought to all users in the US this week. With Google committing to invest more than $75 billion in AI infrastructure and to expand its cloud capacity this year, Wall Street is watching closely for hints about how the company intends to profit from the new technology. Advertising is set to be an important portion of that pie; the majority of Google's revenue is derived from traditional search ads. While Google is embracing its new AI future, it will also be looking to protect its cash cow. Last year, Google recorded about $265 billion in ad revenue. Google introduced ads to AI Overviews on mobile last year. This week, Google said that the launch of AI Overviews has grown the number of "commercial queries," where users are searching for information about a particular product or service they may later go on to buy. It didn't state by how much. For now, advertisers can't directly opt for their ad placements to appear within AI Overviews or AI Mode. Instead, Google will pull from existing search campaigns, where marketers target users on variables like their location, demographics, and by keywords and topics. Google's introduction of AI-generated answers to its search results got off to a fairly bizarre start last year. It infamously recommended users add glue to their pizza and suggested they eat rocks. Taylor said Google had strict brand suitability guidelines and extensive controls in place across search, display, and YouTube to prevent ads from appearing in unfortunate places that marketers would rather avoid. Advertisers and website owners are grappling with the impact of AI-generated search. Overviews often offer a definitive answer rather than a series of links that encourage users to visit their websites. According to an April analysis of 150,000 popular keywords from the search marketing company Ahrefs, the average click-through rates on top-ranking search results have dropped since Google's AI overviews were introduced. Google will need to strike a careful balance between monetizing its AI offerings and providing a clean user experience, especially since some generative-AI rivals, like OpenAI's ChatGPT, have yet to roll out ads. (OpenAI has hinted that ads aren't out of the question, though.) "If people are changing the way they search and using AI search more for commercial queries, there's no doubt we'll see a shift in ads moving to that space," said Matt Steiner, director of biddable media at the marketing agency Croud. Google is exploring ways to automate the entire advertising process through AI Google also offered a glimpse on Wednesday at how it's using AI to automate creating and buying ads across search, its display ad network, and YouTube. It's letting advertisers use its AI text-to-video and text-to-image generators, Veo and Imagen, to create the visual elements of their ad campaigns based on their product catalogs. On search, a new feature called Smart Bidding Exploration will automatically detect new types of queries advertisers can bid on based on more complex user searches that go beyond typical keywords like "best credit card." And Google is offering an AI agent within Google Ads and Google Analytics, which can make recommendations on campaigns or suggest new trends in their data that might be of interest. "More traditional marketing tactics are not really able to keep up with the change in consumer behavior, and so AI is coming to the rescue, if you will, to help marketers adapt," Google's Taylor told BI. Big Tech giants are increasingly looking for ways to automate advertising, with the potential to disrupt the entire industry of advertising agencies and vendors. In a recent interview, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said his company is working toward a future where advertisers simply state their objective, connect their bank accounts, and Meta would do the rest — from creating the ads, selecting the targeting, and then providing the results. Google is moving in a similar direction with its AI-powered Performance Max product. Scott Sadeghian-Tehrani, media strategy director at the marketing agency 26PMX, said some clients are wary of these types of automated tools. That's particularly true of retailers who often dice their budgets between different product categories and want to be able to make adjustments in the event of holding excess stock, or if it's unseasonably sunny and they want to ramp up advertising their swimwear, for example. "Clients aren't really ready to hand over those reins, so there's a bit of trepidation," said Sadeghian-Tehrani.
