Macaulay Culkin goes Home Alone again in Google Assistant ad
Macaulay Culkin had reprised his role of Kevin McCallister in a homage to Christmas classic Home Alone to advertise Google Assistant.
AR pioneer Blippar goes into administration
Blippar, a UK-based company that specialised in augmented reality received more than $100m in funding but ultimately failed to make a profit.
The 10 worst marketing fails of 2018: Spotify’s ‘Drake spam’, lady-friendly crisps and fake robots
As 2018 draws to a close, we look at some of the biggest marketing blunders of the year. From backfiring tweets to political privacy blunders, there were plenty of mistakes from companies that should know better. Read on, learn from the mistakes and hope your team doesn’t make the list in 2019…
Odd news: The 10 weirdest digital stories of 2018
From Amazon’s car boot deliveries to Samsung’s foldable phones, technology took us in some strange directions during 2018. In this special article, we celebrate the 10 weirdest news stories of the year.
YouTubers, not friends, are driving kids Christmas wish lists
One in three British parents say their kids are most likely to ask for a present because they saw an influencer recommend it.
Telcoms marketing trends: Making a success of cross-selling efforts is about rethinking personalisation
When consumers buy telco products, they are more likely to be persuaded to opt for cross-sell opportunities after seeing deals online, compared to just 8% of cross-sale purchases made in-store.
Consumers beg brands to drop ‘annoying’ chatbots
1 in 5 UK consumers are desperate for brands to ditch chatbots and live online interactions with customer experience representatives, new research by Acquia says.
The year in review: 17 biggest digital trends of 2018
2018 was another big year for digital marketing, with the rise of voice search, AI going mainstream and Walmart buying FlipKart. This was the year that Spotify went public, Huawei overtook iPhone and a video game sparked a dance craze. In this special report, we’ve identified 17 of the biggest trends of the year.
YouTube faces fan backlash over 2018 ‘Rewind’ video
YouTube’s annual recap video, showcasing some of the most popular influencers on the platform, has come under fire this year becoming the second-most disliked video in the website’s history.
BT unites C4 and ITV stars for favourite Christmas moments
BT has launched a new ‘Christmas Connections’ campaign in partnership with Channel 4 and ITV alongside some of the UK’s best-loved TV personalities.
Top 10 Christmas ad rankings: John Lewis secures top social media spot
John Lewis has come out top in the battle of the UK Christmas ads, generating 135% more engagements for the brand on social media in the five minutes immediately after each ad airing, according to new data.
Native ads beat display ads for viewer recommendations
Brits are more likely to recommend brands seen on native ads than ones seen on display, according to new research.
Top 20 virals of 2018: Tide pods, rang-tans and naked Swedes
From fake movies to dog selfies, 2018 marked another big year for video viral marketing case studies. Personalised ads, pranks and long-form storytelling were key themes this year. To round off the year, our team has assembled 20 standout virals from around the world for your viewing pleasure…
Viral of the year: Mariah Carey brings diva-style to Hostel World
“Even divas are believers”, or so Hostelworld wants us to believe with its newest ad starring none other than the queen diva herself, Mariah Carey.
Viral of the year: Purple gets 44m views with ‘Human Egg Drop Test’
The online mattress delivery market has been a booming market recently, but this long-form ad from Purple stood out from the crowd with its unusual experiment, sharp use of humour and striking visuals.
Viral of the year: Nike ‘Reactland’ game mixes running and AR with retro graphics
To promote the launch of its cutting-edge new running shoes, Epic React, Nike developed an immersive Reactland initiative that transported users into the heart of a virtual video game (complete with an Avatar of themselves).
Viral of the year: Oasis spoofs Heineken with cringe-worthy ‘Togetherness’ video
Coca-Cola-owned drinks brand Oasis created a tongue-in-cheek, parody of the world of marketing, with an ad that challenged people with opposing views to drink from the same oddly shaped bottle.
Viral of the year: iZettle takes on Amazon with ‘Blade Runner’ style Sci-Fi dystopia
This ad from iZettle, who make cheap and accessible card readers, is equal parts Black Mirror and Blade Runner (with some pretty clear homages to the latter). The ad posits a world where one giant corporation has taken over all commerce.
Viral of the year: Tinder user lets ‘Queer Eye’ stars swipe for her next date
A great example of long-form engaging content, Tinder recruited the talents of Jonathan Van Ness and Antoni Porowski from Netflix’s Queer Eye to help one Tinder user optimise their profile and find their next date.
Viral of the year: Range Rover tackles London’s largest speed bump
Range Rover decided to do a public demonstration of what their Evoque 4×4 can achieve, by setting up “the world’s biggest speed bump” in the middle of a London street.
