Features

Into The Creatorverse: McCann's Social Media Predictions For The Year

In a society becoming increasingly obsessed with social content, what is set to change in the short term? McCann's global head of influencer, Crystal Malachias, reveals the agency's predictions

Behind Sainsbury's Big Christmas Campaign Success Story

Sainsbury's Radha Davies and Ogilvy/NCA's James Murphy discuss the development of the Roald Dahl-inspired campaign

The battle for memory: Remembering when forgetting is our default setting

Pablo's deputy chief strategy officer Lisa Stoney explains why more brands need to understand the science of how their communications become memorable to cut through

Why The future Of Work Is OOH

The strategy chief warns of the dangers of the elite work-from-home bubble, and why we need to mind the gap as strategists before it's too late

Cadbury and VCCP On Putting a Glass and a Half Into Fighting Alzheimer's

The brand and agency discuss developing the latest campaign in support of Alzheimer's Research UK

Rightmove's Matt Bushby Is Building the Belief of Home Ownership

The CMO discusses his long-standing career leading digital brands and his aim to make marketing more entertaining

Poetry, mundane magic and radical ideas: T&Pm's Alex Dobson on keeping his cogs turning

The agency's creative strategy lead, global, shares his sources of inspiration for creative and strategic thinking

Brands - Why This Is The Year To Get Weird and Stand Out

Dentsu Creative's strategy partner Tim Whirledge outlines what he expects to see from marketers in 2025

The brand pivot: Why Surprising Consumers Can Prove Positively Effective

From a subtle, yet distinctive, change to a complete overhaul - brand shake-ups serve many roles

Measuring time, life decisions and diversity: Total Media's Lucas Brown on what makes him tick

The strategy chief shares his intellectual inspiration

The future of the social… is in the hands of the many

Meg Anderson, senior social strategist for BBH considers the fallout from Meta's decision to abandon its moderation practices

More Paddy Power to BBH's Elbow

Despite having a partnership lasting just two years, the pair have produced some of the best work in the sector

How Edelman Is Helping Marketers Source and Work With AI Creators

After producing its 'AI Creators You Need To Know' list of 50 brand-safe collaborators for marketers to work with, Edelman's head of Creator Marketing for EMEA Fiona Hughes shares her insights

Why Smirnoff's Stephanie Jacoby Wants The Brand To Do Its Own Thing

The chief marketer talks values, vibes, vision and of course, vodka.

Subcultures Aren’t Dead, They’re Evolving: How Brands Can Thrive in the Age of ‘Cores’ and ‘Vibes'

BBH London's senior social strategist, Meg Anderson discusses how brands can engage with these communities

Ad Agency Trends To Watch Out For in 2025

Just don't expect much to stay the same

Life Unplugged: David Wilding on Naked Runs, Playful Moments and Time Well Spent

The GroupM strategist explores the practices and ideas that fuel his creative and strategic mindset

How Cadbury Is Rewriting Brand Engagement with User-Generated Content

Through selfies and family pictures, Cadbury has found a powerful new route to create authentic consumer connections

Why AI in Advertising Isn’t Quite the Game-Changer Agencies Expected (Yet)

AI is changing advertising, but is it delivering the profound impact agencies expected? Industry leaders discuss its role in enhancing creativity, efficiency and the future of their work

Unlimited Potential – The Agency Group Thriving Under Accenture Song

Discussing the evolution of the business since its merging with the global consultancy, chief executive Chris Mellish outlines why Unlimited is only just getting started

How adland executives are preparing for 2025

From the rise of AI to long form content and integrated campaigns, adland execs share the insights shaping their 2025 agendas

Creative Salon's Top 10 Most Read Campaigns of 2024

We reveal which campaigns attracted the most readers this year

Creative Salon’s Top 10 Most Read Features of 2024

We cast an eye back over what was our most popular insight pieces across the last 12 months

Best Of Brain Food 2024

From McCann's Harjot Singh to St Luke's Flora Proudlock, we take a look back at what's feulling the industry's finest strategists

Five Reasons Why… Accenture Song Is Beefing Up Its Leadership Team

The evolution of the creative business continues with the hiring of Rebecca Bezzina reporting to Sohel Aziz, Accenture Song’s managing director

Work Of The Week: Cornelius The Cockerel, EE's 'Meltdown Cooldown', The BFG Returns And More

The best creative, curated

Insights from 2024's most creative marketers

As the year comes to an end, Creative Salon rounds up some brand marketing insights from the most creative in the business.

Best Of My Creative Life 2024

From Leo Burnett's Andrew Long to Edelman's Emma De La Fosse, we take a look back at what's fueling the minds of the industry's exceptional creative leaders

A Magpie Mindset And Chopping Veg: Will Grundy On Creating Space For Inspiration

Adam&eveDDB’s head of planning reveals how to do good thinking when the shower’s not an option

Building Strong Partnerships: Execs on Cultivating Client-Agency Collaboration

Open communication, mutual understanding and shared accountability lay the foundation for collaboration that delivers lasting results

What Changes Do Industry Leaders Wish For 2025?

We ask adland's execs what they'd like to see happen in the coming year

Behind Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team's Tribute Campaign to Lewis Hamilton

Discussing the development of the work are AMV BBDO’s executive creative director Laura Rogers and Bradley Lord, chief communications officer at Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team

Behind John Lewis and Richard Ashcroft's reveal of 'The Gifting Hour' cover star

Saatchi&Saatchi chief product officer Jess Ringshall discusses the work behind the special Christmas Day release featuring a new version of the track 'Sonnet'

2024: The Year in Review

We take a look at a few of the events that marked out 2024 in advertising

How Ikea UK and Mother made everyday briefs wonderful

When Ikea's global approach to TV changed, alongside agency Mother, it saw the opportunity to make the 'smaller' bolder

VML Health's Claire Gillis On Humanising Healthcare

The agency's global boss on how the network is shaping up into its mega-merger, and the power of science and creativity

Is it time to rethink pre-testing?

This year's crop of Christmas ads has got the industry talking about the efficacy of pre-testing

Why Omnicom Is Acquiring IPG

The mega-deal will create the largest ad agency network in the world

Most Creative Marketers: Jennifer English

Johnnie Walker's marketing chief on the merits of AI and sustaining creative excellence

From Rituals To Revenue: How Everyday Behaviours Can Fuel Brand Meaning

The Gate's Kit Altin and Freemavens' Eleanor Lloyd Malcolm on why brands that tap into real rituals are more likely to become part of daily life—not just another ad to swipe past

What Brands Should Expect From Shoppers This Christmas

An overview of the expected habits of consumers over the current festive period

From Heineken To Haribo: Suzy Socker on Shaping Brands And Breaking Boundaries At Edelman

The new MD of brand is driving Edelman’s creative evolution, blending data, AI and cultural insight to craft impactful campaigns

Unvarnished Truths: How Creativity Can Shift Perceptions of Dementia

Alzheimer’s Society and New Commercial Arts' campaigns are sparking conversations and raising awareness to drive change in the fight against this devastating condition

Thriving in the Coconut-Context: Brands Riding the Fast-Fading Waves of Culture and Community

As cultural moments come and go, Leo Burnett's Beth Manning demonstrates that brands can thrive by engaging with niche communities and embracing fleeting trends for genuine connection

Scaling Smarter, Not Harder: Huge's CEO on Creativity, Tech and Winning the Long Game

As businesses face mounting challenges in 2024, Lisa De Bonis shares insights on staying ahead of the curve

The pursuit of creative excellence in the AI era

From Virgin Media O2’s chatbot granny, to Coca-Cola’s new iteration of ‘Holidays Are Coming’, AI is flexing its muscle – but could the rise of machine-produced work impact quality?

Work Of The Week: Whodunnit revealed; Musical Scratchcards; Out of The Maze and More...

The best creative, curated

How Heineken Turned the Tables on Football's Gender Bias with a Social Swap

The campaign challenged online prejudices, swapping Jill Scott MBE and Gary Neville X accounts to highlight the unequal treatment faced by female voices in sport

The Art Of Never Being Done: A Tribute To Frank Auerbach

Matt Waksman, head of strategy at Ogilvy UK, reflects on Auerbach's legacy and the raw, truthful creativity it continues to inspire

Finding Inspiration: Monty Verdi on Art, Authenticity, and the Creative Path

Grey London’s group creative director draws creative inspiration from The Fountainhead, classic cinema and the simple act of walking—blending authenticity with the demands of modern advertising

How slobbery dogs can inspire the antidote to boring B2B marketing

Why the Gate's chief strategy officer believes that some marketers need a move Pavlovian focused strategy

The Strategic & Creative Power of Earned Media: Lessons from Weber Shandwick Playbook

The agency's management team chats ambitions, AI and awards

Reasons to be optimistic about advertising in 2025

From a legacy of creative growth after tough times, to stability after this election year, ad execs offer up a dose of positivity for the New Year

Headphones, Inspiration Tabs and Cooking: Mental Nourishment For Weber Shandwick's Head of Strategy

Andrew Lopez shares his personal intellectual inspirations

From points to passion: breaking free from the loyalty program treadmill

The future of loyalty belongs to the brands that recognise transactions are no longer the currency of lasting customer relationships.

Toby Allen, Shula Sinclair and their '&-shaped people'

Eight months since the launch of the new fully-integrated agency T&Pm, we catch up with two of its principals to find out how it's panning out

From jeans to burgers: how BBH invented and reinvented ‘zagging’

The agency's Zig Index translates the art of creativity into a data-backed language brands can understand

The Marketers Who Make Christmas

It's the time for tinsel. Meet the marketers selling us Christmas spirit and brightening the media and our mood

Five things we learned about… surviving a global 'crisis hangover'

Just 100 days after the UK election, Leo Burnett shared its PopPulse report, which analyses the current mood of the nation

What Makes A Great Christmas Campaign?

Marketers and creatives share the key ingredients for success over the festive period