Specsavers, ‘The misheard version’
Specsavers has launched a campaign fronted by music legend Rick Astley, to get the nation talking and thinking differently about their hearing. Astley has re-recorded his ’80s hit single ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ using the amusing lyrics people have misheard for years. The campaign strategy, creative and integrated activation was developed by Golin, with social strategy from Tangerine, and media from Manning Gottlieb and Bauer Media.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdGZO_J6x7U
Visit Sweden, ‘Sweden (not Switzerland)
After decades of confusion, Sweden is tired of being mixed up with Switzerland. And Switzerland is probably just as tired of being mixed up with Sweden. Global travellers, global leaders, the New York Stock Exchange, and event organisers have all done it. Determined to end the confusion once and for all, Visit Sweden proposes action in a new campaign video.
Erika Lust, ‘One more page 3’
Eleven years on from the start of the ‘No more Page 3’ campaign – which saw women’s rights advocates bring an end to the controversial topless pin-up page – feminist Erika Lust is leading a campaign called ‘One more Page 3’, but with a crucial twist. Lust has created a Page 3 featuring a topless model without breasts, Danni Moore, to mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month. She is calling for newspapers across the country to radically modernise the classic page with a sex-positive spin, in order to normalise double mastectomies and celebrate body diversity.
McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes and Bonnie Tyler
Bonnie Tyler stars in a new campaign video for McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes in which the ‘Total Eclipse Of The Heart’ singer explains the lunar occurrence ahead of the partial lunar eclipse in the UK on Saturday (28 October). It follows research that reveals almost one in two Brits do not understand how a lunar eclipse occurs. The video is a nod to the 1999 TV ad in which a schoolteacher explains eclipses using a packet of Jaffa Cakes. The brand has also partnered with superstar DJ Majestic to remix ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ with Tyler reciting the Jaffa Cake’s catchphrase of ‘Full Moon, Half Moon, Total Eclipse’. Taylor Herring is behind the campaign.
Walkers, ‘Scarily giant snackstumes’
Walkers has launched a campaign centred around its ghoulishly good snacks, Wotsits Giants and Monster Munch Giants. To bring the campaign to life, the brand has made it possible for fans to dress up as their favourites snacks this spooky season, with limited-edition Halloween costumes.
Cano Water, ‘Cano hypnotherapy’
Cano Water pulls out all the stops with a hypnotic new stunt aimed at shaking society from its single-use plastic obsession. A new video sees hypnotist Damien O’Brien put four plastic-loving members of the public under his spell, in a comedic hypnotherapy session aimed at ending their reliance on plastic water bottles.
Bertinet Bakery, ‘Breakfast in bed’
Bertinet Bakery has launched its first national brand campaign featuring a giant breakfast in bed experience on London’s Southbank. Based on research that shows 65 per cent of Brits are up before 9am on a Sunday, the brand’s aim is to make sourdough part of a slower Sunday ritual, and inspire the nation to make the most of the extra hour as the clocks turn back on 29 October.
Stink Studios, ‘Creep fake’
Stink Studios has launched a project exploring the creative and technical possibilities of combined gen-AI technologies. Dropping in time for Halloween, the experience dares users to enter a custom-built mobile site which cages an evil and menacing twin version of themselves. Users can engage in a conversation with their evil twin before ‘enjoying’ an unexpected surprise – courtesy of some creepy AI magic.
Crocs, ‘Croctober’
This month, Crocs has been running ‘Croctober’, a month of festivities dedicated to its fan base – the Croc Nation. To culminate the month, the brand unveiled a ‘Crocstellation’ – a new constellation in the sky, outlined as a giant classic clog via an AR filter.
BT Business, ‘True cybercrime stories’
A new national campaign from BT Business and PR agency The Academy has been launched to raise awareness of the growing threat of cybercrime to public services and businesses across the UK, which face over 500 cyber-attacks a second. Digital billboards show small business ads ‘hacked’ by cybercriminals, revealing the data that could be at risk. BT Business has also partnered with actor Adrian Lester to launch a cybercrime podcast, telling the stories of some of the biggest cyber-attacks in recent years including a casino broken into via a fish tank and the great Twitter heist.
Meta’s Reality Labs, ‘Halloween Thrillboards’
Meta’s Reality Labs has unveiled its “fully immersive” so-called ‘Halloween Thrillboards’ in London’s Shoreditch to mark the launch of the Meta Quest 3. The activation offers people the chance to step into a billboard and experience the worlds of two huge entertainment franchises available as games on the headset: Ghostbusters and The Walking Dead. It’s part of Meta’s Reality Labs’ ‘Expand Your World’ consumer campaign running until the end of the year. The campaign has been developed with AMV BBDO and Unit 9.
EE, Fatboy Slim holographic performance
EE marked its recent rebrand with a larger-than-life performance by British DJ Fatboy Slim on what it deemed ‘the world’s biggest holographic stage’. Live-streamed to the nation, the set towered 50 metres above Alexandra Palace and lit up the London skyline, in an activation developed by M&C Saatchi Talk.
BBC, ‘The BBC is not just telly’
The BBC celebrates the breadth of services it provides outside of television in a series of ads. The films take original footage from BBC shows and edit them to feature different BBC services like BBC Sounds, Bitesize, Weather, Sport and News. Submarine drama Vigil features music from Radio 1, Hey Duggie tunes into the Understand: The Economy podcast and EastEnders channels the drama with some bad news on the weather app.
Furby, ‘Fur-be yourself’
Following new research that shows kids lose their confidence from an early age and face societal pressures to conform, Furby has teamed up with Paralympian Ellie Simmonds, 13-year-old musician Nandi Bushell, disability activist and content creator Lucy Edwards, and body positive activist Grace Victory, to create a campaign film featuring personal stories on how they have broken the barrier of social norms, in the hopes of empowering young people.
Beavertown, ‘Flightmare’
Beavertown Brewery draws from Futurama, Goosebumps and Alien to tell the tale of a skeleton boy who embarks on a journey through the skies. Billed as “a story of turbulence, tentacles and terror”, the animated Halloween short film shows Beavertown Air flight 1013 going from Bermuda to Worlds End International. Author Helen Mullane wrote the film’s script, as well as a graphic novel which similarly tells the spooky tale.
Stamma, ‘Don’t be a knob, don’t jump in’
A new campaign for the British Stammering Association sees a woman who stammers attempting to return a coffin to a hapless customer service agent called Jeff. Throughout the surreal film, Debbie encounters many obstacles while attempting to send the coffin back. She is mistakenly called Derry throughout, talked over and interrupted, and repeatedly misunderstood. When she eventually cracks due to frustration, Jeff returns her to the automated phone line. The film draws attention to everyday difficulties that people who stammer experience when interacting with companies.
Not On The High Street, ‘Don’t gift guide’
Not On The High Street, the marketplace for small creative businesses, has launched three OOH billboards to draw shoppers’ attention to the issue of wasteful Christmas gifting, following research from the brand that revealed over three million bad Christmas gifts were thrown away last year. To demonstrate the enormity of the issue, the brand created three 3D special builds, from which all items will be donated to charity Crisis to support the homeless.
Sue Ryder, ‘A sense of grief’
National bereavement charity Sue Ryder has launched a campaign to raise awareness of the impact our senses have on the grieving process. This comes after data reveals that 91 per cent of people say sensory triggers remind them of someone they’ve lost. An interactive sensory pop-up exhibition at The Corn Exchange in Leeds displayed how sight, sound, touch, taste and smell can trigger memories and emotions associated with loved ones who have died.
Southern Comfort, SoCo x Harri Halloween collection
Southern Comfort is helping partygoers turn heads this Halloween with the launch of three costumes created in partnership with fashion designer Harri – the brains behind Sam Smith’s Brit Awards ‘23 outfit. Research commissioned by Southern Comfort revealed three quarters of Halloween partygoers (76 per cent) have the ‘ick’ about past costumes, and one in six felt embarrassed that their previous costumes were “boring and predictable”. Harri was enlisted to turn tired, old Halloween costumes from tragic to magic with a tasteful reimagining of a red witch, a vampire, and a pumpkin costume. The Academy was the PR agency behind the activation.
BestCasinoSites.net, AI makes retro monsters scary again
In the past, classic horror creatures like Gremlins and Nosferatu used to instil fear in us, yet as technology has advanced, we now tend to reminisce about these characters with a sense of nostalgia rather than fear. With that in mind, BestCasinoSites.net aimed to resurrect the timeless horrors that once haunted our childhood and breathe new life into them using AI technology.
XIX Vodka, ‘A new demographic’
A new campaign for XIX Vodka sees YouTube sensations the Sidemen attempting to reach a new demographic with their canned drinks, which will soon be available in Tesco stores. The brand enlisted the help of After Party Studios to bring the campaign to life.
Yup, @tesco.
Coming soon pic.twitter.com/mPB0ezP3Rs
— XIX Vodka (@xixvodka) October 22, 2023
Peanut, ‘Invisible mothers’
Peanut, the online community for motherhood, has launched a campaign involving a series of faceless photographic portraits, video interviews and other creative content that lays bare the invisible struggles of women. Captured with a group of diverse women, unseen struggles include IVF injection bruising, pregnancy loss, secrecy during the first trimester, postpartum recovery, and mental health struggles.
Girl vs Cancer, ‘Cancer won’t be the last thing that f*cks me’
A defiant speech about the cancer journey of a real woman (named Ava) and her rediscovery of her sexuality suddenly descends into a sensual orgasm, in one of three provocative films by Girl vs Cancer. Each film addresses sex, pleasure and intimacy for people with or beyond cancer, directed by Sophia Ray through Academy Films. Alongside Ava’s story, the films visit cancer survivor Laura who talks about dating with cancer and attending sex parties, and Liz who talks about her experience of trying sex toys after experiencing a total abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy.
Simon & Schuster, Britney Spears book release
To mark the launch of pop star Britney Spears’ memoir, publisher Simon & Schuster gathered a group of superfans dressed in Britney-inspired costumes to showcase their support for the star. It also hosted a midnight launch party, and held themed silent discos and drag brunches among other celebrations.
Dove and Nike, Body Confident Sport tool
Dove has teamed up with Nike to launch the Body Confident Sport online coaching programme, a set of coaching tools to build body confidence in girls aged 11 to 17. Research from Dove and Nike revealed 57 per cent of teenage girls drop out of sport in the UK, at twice the rate of boys, with low body confidence the biggest driver. Dove and Nike said the tool has been co-developed by the brands in partnership with experts including the Centre for Appearance Research and the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, and addresses new findings on how the sports environment impacts girls’ body confidence and self-esteem. The brands have partnered with tennis legend Venus Williams for the campaign.
Kraken Crypto Exchange, ‘Crypto makes the world go forward’
Kraken says it believes that crypto can give people financial freedom and offers inclusion. Its first global campaign begins with the line: “Money makes the world go round … same old story on repeat.” The film shows people losing their jobs and refers to negative news articles about financial institutions. It then takes a positive turn showing a number of people looking happy and calm as the voiceover says: “What if we could make the world go forward? What if we could make our system more open, inclusive and transparent?”
Dreams, ‘Think what a Dreams bed can do for you’
Gillian Anderson praises all-things mattress in the latest Dreams campaign by M&C Saatchi, which is inspired by the fact that while we spend around a third of our lives in bed, we often pay little interest or attention to the role our mattress plays in our quality of sleep.
Premier League, ‘Greatness comes from everywhere’
Bartle Bogle Hegarty’s debut work for the Premier League champions the positive impact of diversity in the football tournament. The film erases footballers from a game to show how diverse the game is, then shows racist social media comments which have appeared online. “The Premier League would be nothing without diversity,” is the end message.
Kia, ‘#TheIcon’
Tennis icon Rafael Nadal reinforced his partnership with Kia by collecting the keys to its EV9 model – the brand’s first three-row seat electric SUV – at a handover ceremony during #TheIcon in Madrid, Spain. The event, delivered by M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment, saw guests participate in a 3D projection mapping journey of the EV9, stepping inside a virtual SUV with 360-degree screens.
Sour Patch Kids, ‘#GhostsFromYourPast’
Sour Patch Kids has joined with singer Rebecca Black to craft a catchy tune for a spooky new campaign. The track, ‘Can’t Outrun the Ghost’ has its own TikTok challenge, where users recreate their cringey old photos and share them using the hashtag #GhostsFromYourPast. The campaign was created by Ogilvy’s specialist TikTok division, TK.Lab.
@dennynpeach you cant run from your past !! #GhostsFromYourPast @Sour Patch Kids ♬ Can’t Outrun the Ghost – Sour Patch Kids x Rebecca Black
Breast Cancer Now, ‘Stories of secondary’
Breast Cancer Now has launched a short film featuring interviews from women experiencing secondary breast cancer, when cancer cells spread from the breast to other parts of the body.
Susanne Kaufmann, ‘This is skincare’
To celebrate 20 years since founding her eponymous brand, natural skincare pioneer and sustainability advocate Susanne Kaufmann is releasing a series of short-form films where she sits down with industry leaders to explore the role skincare plays in their lives. The conversation series will host guests such as model and climate activist Arizona Muse, makeup artist Lucia Pica, journalist Funmi Fetto, and wellbeing expert and author Jasmine Hemsley. The four-month long campaign is bolstered by physical retail activations in Selfridges London and KaDewe Berlin.
Ourtime, Ourtime Specials
Ourtime, the dating platform dedicated to the over-50s, has launched an entertainment initiative called Ourtime Specials, aimed at connecting singles through their shared passions. ATG (Ambassador Theatre Group) is the first partner in this programme, with 40 theatre-loving Ourtime members being offered the opportunity to attend an exclusive VIP experience at the Savoy Theatre in London’s West End. The guests will get premium seats at the new musical production of Sunset Boulevard.
Loop, ‘Shut up noise and turn up sound’
Belgian earwear brand Loop has launched a campaign that aims to elevate functional earplugs to fashionable earwear, believing that in the same way sunglasses protect your eyes, hearing protection should be just as stylish. It aims to celebrate sound and empower people to embrace the loud activities they love, showcasing how everyday people can use Loop products to focus on the sounds they care about, without all the noise getting in the way.
Heinz, ‘Too good to leave behind’
A man goes on holiday but his suitcase goes missing when he arrives at his destination. He begins to cry at the luggage carousel and continues to sob throughout the holiday, while he is having a massage or picking up some breakfast at the eggs counter. At the end it transpires that the man had packed his case with plenty of Heinz Beanz.
Make 2nds Count, ‘Truth be told’
Outdoor media operator 75Media has donated 34 digital billboards to the charity Make 2nds Count, as part of a campaign to highlight the impact of secondary breast cancer. Fifty landmarks, from Blackpool Tower to Cardiff Castle, were also lit up in the colours of Make 2nds Count on Secondary Breast Cancer Day on 13 October. The campaign revolved around the Make 2nds Count patient community, by featuring a collection of photos showcasing the visible and hidden aspects of living with secondary breast cancer. The images, shot by photographer Jennifer Willis, aim to shine a light on both sides of daily life – the challenges as well as the hope, strength and positivity.
Rockstar Energy Drink, ‘Press play’
Rockstar Energy Drink continued its partnership with artist Stormzy by hosting a performance to an intimate crowd in Liverpool, bringing the energy to music fans in the North West and “inspiring them to say yes to the things they love to do”. With only 500 tickets made available through a range of competitions, the star’s most dedicated fans had the opportunity to witness Stormzy’s dynamic energy up-close and personal.
Vauxhall, ‘Yes of Corsa’
Creative agency Jung von Matt has created a campaign to persuade European and UK customers to switch to the electric Opel Corsa and Vauxhall Corsa models. To dispel any doubts, the work showcases the multitude of features and technologies integrated into the new Corsa in a hero film directed by British music video director and filmmaker Henry Scholfield.
Defender, ‘Embrace the impossible’
Jaguar Land Rover’s Defender brand aims to make the most of its Rugby World Cup 2023 partnership following a launch event that included a performance from rapper and actor Kano, which kicked off seven weeks of activity. A multi-faceted campaign aims to champion Defender and its diverse group of rugby trailblazers, seen as “modern-day heroes who are changing the face of rugby”.
Bibigo, ‘The art of explosive flavour’
Korean food brand Bibigo has unveiled a campaign to launch its Seaweed Snacks range in the UK, developed in partnership with creative agency Art of the Possible. Based on research into consumer tastes, the push seeks to engage with people who want to “up their snack game” and replace more traditional savoury snacks such as crisps with something more exciting. For these consumers, flavour is king, with other factors such as health and provenance reportedly coming a distant second. The campaign therefore focuses on the fact centuries of care and perfection have gone into Korean cuisine, meaning that it delivers a bigger, better flavour.
Local Government Association, ‘Step ahead’
For National Care Leavers’ Week, the LGA has launched a campaign aiming to improve direct support for care leavers and councils. As part of the campaign, it is encouraging small businesses to sign up to the Care Leaver Covenant (CLC).
