2025: The Campaigns That Captured Our Attention

Over the past year, advertising increasingly stepped away from the pedestal of unattainable promises, becoming instead a conduit for real, even deeply personal, consumer needs. Rather than dictating who we should be, it accepted us as we are, bringing people together and building communities—without unrealistic demands, blame, or pressure.

In 2025, creativity gradually shifted its focus from selling ideals to fostering connection. Not dreams of “someday,” but presence in the “here and now.” Brands dialed down the ambition to dominate the conversation and began to listen—to people, to cultural context, and to the social sensitivities of the moment.

Marketing campaigns functioned less as promises of transformation and more as forms of partnership. Buying a product or service became an entry point into a community, a set of values, or a cause—one that does not exclude or oppose, but exists alongside other perspectives and choices.

It was precisely in this space of unvarnished authenticity that the campaigns that made us smile, reflect, and feel part of something larger emerged. The first group that defined the year focused on moments that cannot be staged—situations in which authenticity organically transforms into a campaign.

Cultural Moments Without a Script

Beyoncé – Grammy Reaction

This wasn’t a campaign—it was a moment turned global content. The camera captured Beyoncé in a raw moment of surprise as she won the Grammy for Album of the Year in the country category—a historic achievement in itself. Without words or a script, her expression said it all: genuine surprise, joy, and human vulnerability.

The meme that followed was not mockery but a form of collective empathy—a shared recognition of authenticity that culture embraced

Six… Seven – NBA Meme

The phrase “6-7” became an internet phenomenon with no fixed meaning, emerging organically in youth culture on TikTok and Instagram. It gained traction through user videos linking the rhythm of the song Doot Doot with LaMelo Ball’s height—6 feet 7 inches—turning absurdity into a cultural marker. Its spontaneity led Dictionary.com to name “6-7” the Word of the Year 2025. For brands, it signals that today’s most powerful marketing tool isn’t just a controlled idea—it’s the ability to recognize and delicately participate in cultural moments without owning or explaining them.

Labubu Mania

Labubu, a collectible vinyl figure created by artist Kasing Lung and distributed by POP MART, became a global phenomenon in 2025—lines outside stores, resales, and organic sharing by celebrities. This isn’t just a toy; it’s a symbol of embracing the strange and imperfect. Labubu wasn’t meant to be “liked by everyone”—and that’s exactly why it built such a strong community.

Dubai Chocolate

Dubai Chocolate didn’t explode through a campaign but through its story. Created by Fix Dessert Chocolatier and founder Sarah Hamuda in the UAE, it began as a boutique product and quickly became a cultural export. In the first quarter of 2025 alone, over 1.2 million bars sold in the UAE, and today its flavor has traveled far beyond geographical borders—from croissants in Los Angeles to ice cream desserts in the UK. This demonstrates how local authenticity, amplified through social sharing, can become a global trend without a traditional marketing script.

2. Participation, Not Observation

If the first group showed us the power of unscripted moments, the second shifts focus from observation to participation. Here, brands don’t tell stories—they create spaces where people actively engage rather than passively watch.

Axe – Bus Stop as Arcade Game

Axe turned a simple bus stop in Athens into an interactive arcade game, controlled directly via pedestrians’ phones, with opportunities to win product samples. Formally, it’s a classic OOH format, but designed as an experience rather than a message. The campaign speaks directly to a young audience, turning the tedium of waiting into a fun, shared game. More importantly, it creates a shared moment: people play, comment, laugh, and experience something together. The brand doesn’t just speak—it participates alongside them.

Lewis Capaldi x Aldi – Cap Aldi

Aldi временно променя името си на „Cap Aldi“ и организира изненадващ концерт на покрива с Lewis Capaldi.
Кампанията не продава промоция, а чувство за хумор, близост и културна самоирония — бранд, който не се взима твърде насериозно – печели.

3. Brands With a Stance

When the product becomes part of a larger we. In 2025, some brands chose to move beyond experience and participation to speak about us. Here, the product is not the center—it is part of a larger we: values, positions, and belonging that the brand shares with people rather than merely declaring.

Spotify Wrapped 

Spotify turned its annual data into a global celebration, with people themselves promoting the product. The 2025 campaign included 50 fan destinations worldwide, including a giant paw on Copacabana Beach in Rio honoring Lady Gaga and an 800-foot waterfall of red hair in Union Square, New York, celebrating Chappell Roan.

With its “visual mixtape” concept, referencing streaming culture, Spotify combines nostalgia with digital innovation. The genius lies in turning users into brand ambassadors—millions shared their Wrapped results voluntarily, generating organic reach that paid advertising could hardly buy.

Rare Beauty – “Touch & Smell”

Selena Gomez’s beauty brand launched its first fragrance through interactive billboards in New York. The Shopify Shop platform allowed passersby to scan QR codes for free mini perfumes. Within days, the campaign generated millions of views, demonstrating how traditional outdoor advertising can become a sampling channel when combined with digital innovation.

Canva – Creative Billboard Comedy

Canva transformed London’s Waterloo Station into a live comedy of design frustrations, displaying 14 billboards highlighting common designer challenges. One billboard featured an oversized Canva logo with the caption: “When scaling the logo goes out of control.”

Billboards became virtual content as commuters photographed and shared them online. The campaign showcased the product through real design problems rather than dry technical specs, capturing attention without intrusive advertising.

UNICEF – Choose Play Every Day

Using home videos dubbed with sports commentary, the campaign reminded parents that playtime is essential for children. UNICEF doesn’t preach—it invites—and demonstrates how creativity can be a tool for public care, not moralizing.

Nissan – Electrify the City

Nissan presented its electric model through a city festival where the car powered music, lights, and art. This is product showcasing that includes the local community and demonstrates technology in action rather than through promises.

Ban This Profile – Edelman & Ampara

A campaign against wildlife trafficking using 1,500 AI-generated profiles to train social media algorithms to reduce the spread of illegal pet content. Culturally and socially impactful, the campaign achieved measurable results and won the Grand Prix at the Creativepool Annual Awards.

Barbie With Type 1 Diabetes

Mattel created a Barbie with Type 1 diabetes in partnership with Breakthrough T1D. The doll comes with realistic medical accessories like an insulin pump and glucose monitor, developed with input from families living with diabetes. The campaign received strong online support for representation and inclusivity.

Dove – Keep Beauty Real

Dove continued its cause for authenticity in beauty, pledging not to use AI to alter images of women. This campaign is part of the broader “Keep Beauty Real / The Code” initiative, championing naturalness and diversity. Dove doesn’t compete—it stands—and that consistency builds trust.

Nike – “So Win”

Nike returned to the Super Bowl with a powerful brand anthem, So Win—its first major spot in nearly 30 years. The video highlights remarkable women athletes overcoming limitations and criticism, with the message of winning despite everything.

Chili’s – “Fast Food Financing” Pop‑Up

Chili’s created a pop-up near McDonald’s in Manhattan parodying “fast food financing” amid rising prices. Visitors could “borrow money” to afford a meal, generating enormous interest, media coverage, and social shares. Bold, semi-humorous ideas addressing real problems—like inflation—can capture mass attention and boost brand awareness.

Where 2025 Took Us

In 2025, advertising didn’t seek admiration—it sought trust. It chose to be useful, honest, and meaningfully present in people’s daily lives. Instead of dictating how we should be, brands acknowledged differences and alternative perspectives, reflecting a more mature and open market environment. Rather than building unreachable ideals, they created real partnerships—with communities, causes, and values that matter beyond the product itself.

A key part of this approach was reinvesting resources back into society—not as a gesture, but as a sustainable model: support, acceptance, and connection integrated into brand values. This was advertising that listens, understands, and builds trust, celebrating diversity and strengthening communities.

Looking Ahead to 2026

We enter 2026 with a clear sense of direction—not merely as observers of change, but as active participants in the evolution of creativity. The journey continues technologically, but its true value remains human—in the way brands engage, interact, and enhance people’s lives.