Specsavers Puts Gen X on the Guestlist
Specsavers is tackling hearing loss with The Testlist - a club guestlist for over-50s, unlocked by completing a free three-minute hearing test. Fronted by Groove Armada and soundtracked by the classic 'Papua New Guinea' by Future Sound of London, the campaign taps into Gen X’s rave nostalgia, turning a routine health check into access to a desirable experience.
By connecting the test to music and culture that resonates with its audience, Specsavers gives Gen X a positive reason to think about their hearing rather than simply viewing it as a medical chore.
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Apple Goes Back to Basics for new Mac Mini Campaign
At a time when AI-generated imagery and ultra-polished CGI are becoming increasingly commonplace, Apple has gone pleasingly old-school with its latest campaign. Created using stop-motion animation, physical models and miniature sets, it’s a painstakingly crafted piece of work that feels deliberately human in an increasingly synthetic creative landscape.
There’s something nicely contrary about one of the world’s biggest technology companies using such an analogue technique to promote cutting-edge technology. As AI makes it easier to create almost anything imaginable, perhaps craft, imperfection and evidence of the human hand are becoming more valuable, not less.
Vimto Gets Thirsty For A Flirt
Vimto’s Love at First Taste campaign uses cheeky chat-up lines and playful seduction tropes to tempt people who haven’t tried the drink. The Vimto bottle becomes the flirtatious “suitor”, with the campaign running across OOH, social, digital, bus wraps and 28 million limited-edition packs.
It’s a good example of using an established brand personality consistently across every touchpoint. Rather than simply telling people to try Vimto, the flirtatious tone gives the brand a distinctive voice that carries from the ad to the supermarket shelf, making a simple product trial feel like part of the joke.
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KFC takes ‘The Chicken Wine’ Under Its Wing
La Vieille Ferme, the French wine brand better known to UK consumers as “Chicken Wine”, is leaning into the nickname consumers gave it, thanks to the bird on its label. Now, the wine brand has teamed up with KFC for Coq au Vin: a four day Shoreditch pop-up pairing its wines with fried chicken and bringing back the limited-edition Chicken Wine label.
Rather than trying to correct or distance itself from the nickname, La Vieille Ferme has made it part of the brand. The KFC collaboration takes an existing consumer joke and turns it into a memorable experience, helping the wine brand feel more culturally relevant while giving it a natural route into a much wider audience.
Beefeater Casts Jamiroquai in an Iconic Sober Sequel
Beefeater 0.0 has teamed up with Jamiroquai’s Jay Kay to reimagine Virtual Insanity 30 years after the original, finally revealing what he was reaching for: a bottle of Beefeater 0.0. But the new film doesn’t stop at recreating the iconic moving room. Jay Kay moves through new spaces, stranger scenarios and plenty more hats, with the drink becoming the thing that keeps the night, and the adventure, going.
Rather than simply borrowing nostalgia, Beefeater uses the original cultural moment to introduce a new one, linking the recognisable chaos of Virtual Insanity to its message around moderation and getting more out of life. It gives the alcohol-free product a role in the story, rather than making it feel like a compromise.
Magnards Shows Some Sticky Situations
Maynards Bassetts is bringing back its Set the Juice Loose platform with a new OOH stunt that puts Jelly Babies and Wine Gums in a rather tense position. In shopping-centre lifts, shoppers see a sweet on one door and a wall of metal spikes on the other, creating a split-second “will it survive?” moment as the doors close.
This simple idea turns the product’s juicy filling into the joke’s punchline, using familiar sweets, exaggerated danger and a bit of suspense to make ordinary OOH placements much more entertaining. It also builds on an established brand platform rather than starting from scratch, with the campaign running across OOH and social.
Jif Thinks Outside the Jar
Jif’s new “Every Jif’ing Thing” campaign shows how the brand can stretch beyond its traditional PB&J territory. A 60-second hero film reimagines its instantly recognisable red, blue and green logo as actions like “dip”, “sip” and “mix”, showing off different ways to use the product. It’s soundtracked by a remixed, peanut-butter-themed version of O Fortuna, giving the whole thing an unexpectedly dramatic feel.
Jif uses one of its strongest brand assets to communicate this change in positioning. Instead of simply telling consumers there are more ways to eat peanut butter, the logo itself becomes part of the idea, making the expansion of the brand feel distinctive and memorable.
TikTok launches new AI literacy measures
TikTok is launching an AI literacy guide and learning hub to help users identify AI-generated content, alongside stronger detection of AI spam. For brands, clear labelling and transparency around AI content is becoming increasingly important.
Instagram lets creators change audio after posting
Creators can now change the audio on existing posts and carousels without deleting them. This gives brands more flexibility to react to changing trends and audio availability.
LinkedIn adds AI-powered ad tools
LinkedIn has added tools to generate ad copy, create variations and keep creative consistent with a brand’s guidelines. The update makes it easier for advertisers to test more creative, faster.
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