TikTok has launched a sustainable advertising campaign with GiffGaff and MG OMD, in partnership with Ad Net Zero. The TikTok x GiffGaff Action 5 pilot is focused on Action 5 of Ad Net Zero’s five-point action plan to address the climate crisis. Action 5 focuses on harnessing the power of advertising to support more sustainable behaviours. The partnership focuses on goals including the measurement of carbon emissions across the value chain, sustainable production practices, conscious creator collaborations, energy-efficient media planning, and championing industry-wide change. The campaign has kicked off with TopView ads, supported by content from TikTok creators James Warnock, Medina Grillo, Helen Anderson, and Dami Hope. The campaign, which runs until 24 March, will also utilise TikTok’s Reach Ads, Traffic Campaigns, Video Views, and Conversion Campaigns.
Cadbury Creme Egg has unveiled an album of ‘gooey’ love songs in time for Valentine’s Day. Written and developed by VCCP with audio house Siren, Each of the 10 love songs developed has been written to help different Creme Egg eaters woo their perfect match. Building on the ‘How Do You Eat Yours’ creative platform developed last year, this campaign takes the idea that how you eat your Creme Egg says everything about you to an extreme, crafting a collection of 10 ‘gooey’ love songs. A personality quiz has also been created by VCCP’s digital experience agency, Bernadette. VCCP’s content creation studio Girl&Bear managed the production of the campaign with Siren, while Publicis Media drove media planning and buying. ‘Gooey Love’ will run until 26 March and will be supported through social media, digital platforms, and radio.
Kinesso UK&I, IPG Mediabrands’ performance marketing agency, has announced the results of its Marketing ROI Rift Study, finding more than half (54%) of business leaders in the UK and Ireland see marketing as a cost-centre for their organisation, rather than a revenue generator, with 20% admitting they’ve only interacted with their senior marketers once in the last month. One-third (34%) of business leaders in the UK admit that poor communication between senior leadership and marketing is costing their business financially. The disconnect between marketing and leadership may stem from ROI concerns, with almost half (48%) of the marketers surveyed agreeing that demonstrating long-term impact from their marketing spend is their biggest hurdle. Additionally, 59% of marketers agree that CEOs do not understand the importance of brand building and would rather value tangible revenue growth. This lack of alignment appears to foster mistrust, with 45% of marketers believing misalignment on strategic direction is what fuels senior leadership doubts about marketing’s contribution to long-term business growth, while 28% said that poor communication has caused them to miss lead generation targets. Four-fifths (79%) of the marketers surveyed believe that having a CEO with a marketing background would help them bridge the gap between sales and marketing.
Luxury department store Harrods has appointed Incubeta to manage its global digital marketing account. The strategic partnership will focus on accelerating digital growth and footfall for the luxury retailer among its highest value customers across key markets – the UK, US, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and three further markets in Asia. Incubeta will be managing Harrods’ digital presence, primarily across pay-per-click (PPC), search engine optimisation (SEO), paid media, and digital PR. This includes maximising the return from its digital investment to drive sales across its Knightsbridge store in London, online at Harrods.com, its Harrods App, its Harrods Rewards loyalty programme, and its five UK-based H Beauty stores.
Marketing communications agency MullenLowe UK has partnered with No More, a charity dedicated to combatting domestic and sexual violence, to launch its latest campaign. The ‘Language of Love’ campaign aims to shine a light on coercive behaviour and offer help to people experiencing domestic abuse or stalking. It’s centred around a series of gift cards featuring messages such as “I love you to death” and “you’re mine” – seemingly innocent messages that can be scary for those in abusive relationships. The designs have been rolled out via No More’s social media platforms, with a selection of the creative also featuring in out-of-home posters during this Valentine’s period.
VCCP’s Stoke Academy has rebranded as The Challenger Academy, and has been awarded charity status. Since launching the Academy in 2021, VCCP has delivered over 15,000 hours of creative work experience opportunities to young people in Staffordshire and trained 629 local students. The Challenger Academy aims to ensure every young person, regardless of their background, has access to opportunities in the creative industries. The Academy has partnered with LadBible Group for its summer internship, ‘The Best Summer Job Ever,’ which is now open to applications for anyone 18 years or older, living in Staffordshire.
Accenture Song’s Unlimited has been appointed as the agency of record for the London HIV Prevention Programme (LHPP). LHPP’s mission is to achieve zero deaths, zero stigma, and zero new infections by 2030. Unlimited’s creative agency, TMW, will be responsible for a brand refresh and marketing to help LHPP achieve this ambition. Scope will include evolving Do It London (LHPP’s ongoing campaign to raise awareness of ‘combination prevention’), focusing on four key objectives: encouraging HIV testing, promoting condom use, advocating for PrEP (preventative medication), and communicating U=U (the principle that individuals with an undetectable viral load cannot transmit HIV).
Recipe box provider Gousto has appointed PMG as its SEO agency of record. PMG is tasked with helping Gousto achieve its growth ambitions by enhancing visibility across all search platforms and engaging users at every stage of the customer journey.
Crowd Network, an independent podcast network, has partnered with business management software company Sage to deliver insights on the 2025 Guinness Men’s and Women’s Six Nations. As part of the collaboration, brokered by Wasserman and Dentsu, Sage is providing Crowd’s For The Love Of Rugby podcast with real-time data and insights around the 2025 Guinness Men’s and Women’s Six Nations Championships, which will be used to share data-based analysis and predictions.
Transport for London (TfL) has unveiled its latest integrated campaign to promote the TfL Go app. Developed by VCCP and Wavemaker UK, the campaign is designed to engage both new and existing users and demonstrate the app’s new payment functionality. TfL and VCCP collaborated with visual artist James Dawe to create five versions of TfL’s roundel, each embodying a different aspect of the London travel experience. VCCP’s content creation studio Girl&Bear managed the production of the campaign, and digital experience agency Bernadette created the visual motion assets. The campaign will run across London and will appear on OOH, DOOH, social, and digital displays.
Digital agency Dept has recertified as a B Corp across each of its locations, allegedly making it the “first” global agency to achieve the milestone. In 2024, more than 10% of its profit came from impact projects.
Hartz, a petcare brand owned by Japanese CPG company Unicharm, has partnered with its creative and media agency of record, Cutwater, to launch an influencer-led activation for the Delectables cat treat. The #BeMyMainSqueezeUp activation partners cat personalities with digital creators. Audiences are encouraged to submit videos and pictures of their cats with their favourite Delectables Squeeze Up for the chance to win their own special limited-edition, heart-shaped box filled with the treats.
Cleaning brand HG has appointed team5pm as their new social media agency to develop and execute their strategy in the UK and Netherlands. The partnership aims to produce search-optimised video content targeting HG’s younger audience aged 25-45. The content will focus on DIY solutions and expert advice, all packaged in platform-specific formats.
