Making Waves: Halftime heroes, high-fashion groceries and comeback culture

1. Super Bowl 2026: Resonance Over Noise

This year’s Super Bowl saw brands lean into humour and humanity over sheer spectacle. The ads generating the most traction weren’t necessarily the loudest, they were the ones building something bigger.

And where celebrities were involved, they felt more intentional. The strongest ads didn’t rely on star power alone, they were culturally relevant. Fanatics Sportsbook’s collaboration with Kendall Jenner is a good example. By flipping the long-running “Kardashian Curse” meme into a self-aware betting mechanic, the brand tapped into an existing cultural narrative and turned it into a product hook.

Why it matters: When there’s a genuine narrative or strategic decision behind the partnership (not just a famous face) campaigns will more likely be discussed, debated, and shared. This is where strong Campaign & Comms thinking comes in – building platforms, not one-offs.

2) Supreme Court bans Oatly from using “milk” in UK marketing

Oat milk? More like oat… drink. The UK Supreme Court has ruled that Oatly must refrain from using the word “milk” in branding or when marketing its oat drinks – a decision with ripple effects across the plant-based category.

On the surface, it might seem like a technical decision, but it has a big effect on challenger brands and how they will need to reframe category language. It directly affects packaging, positioning and consumer understanding on the shelf.

Why it matters: As regulation tightens in this industry, growth will depend on how creatively brands adapt. This is where Brand strategy and clear Business leadership intersect. When external forces shift the landscape, internal clarity becomes even more critical.

3) Lidl’s trolley handbag goes viral at London Fashion Week

Lidl has once again teamed up with avant-garde designer Nik Bentel to launch a limited-edition ‘Trolley Bag’, timed for London Fashion Week and following last year’s viral Croissant Bag.

A supermarket turning its trolley into a fashion accessory shouldn’t work. But that’s exactly why it does.

Why it matters: This is culture-led creativity done properly. A mass retail brand transforms an everyday object into a statement piece, earning disproportionate talkability without relying on heavyweight media spend. Distinctiveness, not budget, drove the impact. And it spread because it was built for Content & Social from day one.

4) AI is reshaping brand visibility in search

Away from the spotlight of  big campaigns, a significant shift is quietly happening in search: AI-generated answers are increasingly replacing traditional search journeys.

Consumers are asking AI tools for recommendations and receiving synthesised summaries rather than scrolling through blue links. This fundamentally changes how brands get discovered.

If you’re not included in the summary, you’re invisible.

Why it matters: It’s early days, but the implication is significant. Brands must now consider how machines interpret authority, relevance and trust. This isn’t a tactical tweak to SEO, this is the rise of AEO. It’s a structural shift in Digital presence and discoverability.

5) Nostalgia has matured into a growth lever

Nostalgic creative is resurfacing with intent, particularly as younger audiences rediscover early-2000s culture and 2016-era aesthetics across social.

In uncertain times, familiarity feels reassuring. Recognisable aesthetics, revived packaging, and cultural callbacks allow brands to borrow the emotional security attached to positive memories.

But the brands resonating most aren’t simply replaying the past. They’re reinterpreting it.

Why it matters: Nostalgia isn’t just a gimmick. It’s a strategic way to build trust and reinforce emotional memory across generations. The opportunity isn’t to reference culture. It’s to reframe it in ways that feel both reassuring and relevant – a challenge that sits at the intersection of Brand, Campaign & Comms, and smart Business strategy.

We help organisations of all sizes develop clarity, conviction and joined-up thinking. If any of these marketing trends or stories spark reflect a challenge you’re navigating, get in touch and we’d love to talk.