CONTAGIOUS BRANDS REPORT 2026

26. 9. 2026 | 6 min read Contagious this week released the Contagious Brands Report 2026, spotlighting 45 brands from around the world considered to be rule-breakers that challenge category conventions and stand out in a sea of sameness.

CHOCOLATE: A SWEET TREAT AND A POPULAR SUBJECT FOR TV COMMERCIALS

13. 9. 2026 | 12 min read Delicious, velvety-smooth and slowly melting on the tongue. Chocolate has the power to evoke feelings of pleasure, reward and a touch of luxury. We reach for it when we want to treat ourselves, lift our mood or make a challenging day a little more enjoyable. And it becomes even harder to resist when it appears on the television screen. Advertising can turn chocolate into an almost irresistible temptation – the kind that makes us want to get off the sofa and go and find at least a small piece. International Chocolate Day is the perfect opportunity to look back at the history of chocolate and some of the most memorable television commercials it has inspired.

LEGENDS RETURN TO THE SPOTLIGHT: ADVERTISING BRINGS HISTORICAL ICONS BACK TO LIFE, INCLUDING SALVADOR DALÍ

10. 9. 2026 | 11 min read Napoleon sold cars and beer, Cleopatra promoted chocolate and cosmetics, Einstein became a symbol of genius, Edison of ingenuity, and Leonardo da Vinci of boundless human creativity. The advertising world has always had a soft spot for the great figures of history. A famous name works as an effective shortcut: within seconds, it can trigger associations that would otherwise take an entire brand story to build.

FORUM MEDIA ENTERS ITS 26TH YEAR

8. 9. 2026 | 4 min read Forum Media enters its 26th year with a packed programme featuring dozens of top-tier presentations across six specialist stages throughout the day. The Czech Republic’s largest conference for marketing and advertising, communications and media will fill the halls of Prague’s O2 universum on Tuesday, 10 November. On that day, 27 international guests from 14 countries will arrive in Prague, with nearly one hundred experts from across the communications industry taking to the Forum Media stages.

GOLDEN DRUM HAS EXTENDED THE ENTRY DEADLINE. CREATIVES CAN REGISTER UNTIL 8 SEPTEMBER

6. 9. 2026 | 2 min read There are still a few days left to submit the best campaigns to this year’s Golden Drum. The international festival of creativity has extended the deadline for entries to 8 September 2026 at 23:59 CET. The festival is thus giving teams a few extra days to finalise their entries. Portorož is also attracting visitors with a programme packed with prominent figures from the global creative scene.

GIANA MAKES ITS ADVERTISING DEBUT; THE CAMPAIGN IS BASED ON THE SLOGAN ‘GIANA MIA!’

4. 9. 2026 | 2 min read Gaston’s Giana brand has launched its first advertising campaign. The ‘Giana mia!’ concept is based on everyday situations involving meal preparation.

A FEW SECONDS WORTH SEVERAL MILLION, OR SPECIAL EFFECTS IN A TELEVISION ADVERTISEMENT

3. 9. 2026 | 16 min read Just a few decades ago, a television advert was nothing more than a well-lit shot from a studio, accompanied by simple animation. Today, the situation is completely different. Adverts now routinely feature hundreds of digitally enhanced shots, photorealistic computer-generated characters, simulations of water, fire or explosions, and virtual environments that, just twenty years ago, were the preserve of Hollywood blockbusters.

FROM STAR WARS TO JAMES BOND: FILM SOUNDTRACKS IN TV ADVERTISING

27. 8. 2026 | 8 min read Just a few notes are enough and you instantly know that James Bond is approaching. Or Darth Vader. Film music has a unique ability to evoke emotions, memories and expectations within just a few seconds. That is precisely why advertising creatives turn to it relatively often – sometimes using an original soundtrack, other times commissioning music that merely evokes its atmosphere.

THE POWER OF CREATIVITY LIES IN HUMAN JUDGEMENT, A D&AD STUDY HAS SHOWN. TAKING SHORTCUTS CAN COST YOU DEARLY

26. 8. 2026 | 6 min read D&AD, an organisation bringing together designers and creatives across markets, has published its second report on AI and creativity. In it, it highlights one key point: the distinction between average work and truly high-quality work has not disappeared as a result of artificial intelligence tools.

EFFIE STAGE WILL FOCUS ON WHAT LIES BEHIND COMMUNICATION THAT WORKS

26. 8. 2026 | 4 min read This year’s Effie Stage programme will feature more than twenty guests from the Czech Republic and abroad. The conference will focus on marketing effectiveness, creativity, the impact of artificial intelligence on brands, and the relationship between clients and agencies.

THE EFFIE STAGE PROGRAMME IS NOW COMPLETE, FEATURING INTERNATIONAL FIGURES AND DOMESTIC LEADERS

25. 8. 2026 | 7 min read What lies behind marketing communications that really work? This year’s Effie Stage will provide the answer by examining effectiveness from several angles. It will begin with creativity and the ability to keep pace with rapid change, move on to brand strategy and the new AI-driven reality in which brands must operate, and conclude with the very foundation of effective communication – the relationship between clients and agencies.

TOM AND JERRY: A NEW FILM SETS OFF AN ADVERTISING CHASE

20. 8. 2026 | 12 min read Tom has been chasing Jerry for more than 85 years – and not only on television and cinema screens. The famous duo also have a surprisingly rich advertising career behind them, promoting cars, soft drinks, fast food and hygiene products. With the arrival of the new feature film Tom and Jerry: Forbidden Compass, the advertising machine is once again running at full speed. This time, however, mainly in China, where new animated commercials have been created for Pizza Hut and dairy brands owned by Mengniu.

LEONARDO DA VINCI IN TV ADVERTISING: THE GENIUS WHO KNEW HOW TO SELL HIMSELF

18. 8. 2026 | 11 min read Leonardo da Vinci is an almost perfect historical celebrity for modern advertising: he embodies genius, ingenuity, creativity and the ability to stay ahead of his time. Even more interesting, however, is Leonardo’s historical connection with what we would today call marketing. Surviving sources show that Leonardo himself knew how to present his abilities very strategically to a potential patron and later created spectacular court entertainments that helped demonstrate the power and prestige of the rulers he served.

FROM PUB SIGNS TO TV COMMERCIALS: THE HISTORY OF BEER AND THE EVOLUTION OF ADVERTISING FOR THE GOLDEN BREW

14. 8. 2026 | 10 min read This year, International Beer Day fell on Friday, 7 August 2026. Besides being an opportunity to raise a glass to brewers, bartenders and lovers of the golden brew, it also recalls the remarkable journey of a drink that has accompanied humanity for thousands of years and gradually become part of popular culture. But it was not only the deliciously bitter beverage that evolved. Beer advertising has come a long way too.

THOMAS ALVA EDISON IN TV ADVERTISING: THE INVENTOR WHO KNEW HOW TO SELL THE FUTURE

11. 8. 2026 | 10 min read Thomas Alva Edison appears in advertising as a symbol of technological progress, breakthrough ideas and the moment when a new technology transforms everyday life. But he is interesting to advertising creatives for another reason as well: his public image was not created long after his death. As early as the 1870s, demonstrations of the phonograph and extraordinary press interest turned him into an international celebrity. Later, his products were promoted through paid public exhibitions and spectacular comparative “tone tests”. Edison is therefore not merely a historical figure retrospectively transformed by advertising into a marketing symbol. From the very beginning, his own career also unfolded at the intersection of technological development, public demonstrations and the ability to capture an audience’s attention.

INTERNATIONAL BEER DAY: ICONIC TELEVISION ADVERTS TOPPED WITH BEER FOAM

7. 8. 2026 | 7 min read International Beer Day falls on the first Friday in August each year. As well as providing an opportunity to try a new lager or thank the people who brewed and served it, the occasion offers a reason to revisit television advertisements that have succeeded in transforming an ordinary pint into a symbol of friendship, patience, craftsmanship and national identity.

THE EMPEROR IN THE SERVICE OF BRANDS: NAPOLEON STORMS TELEVISION SCREENS

4. 8. 2026 | 11 min read Napoleon's life offers advertisers almost everything a great story requires: a meteoric rise, military victories, immense power, a carefully cultivated public image, and a dramatic downfall. Brands therefore draw not only on his likeness, but also on themes of great ambition, defeat, exile and return. In the most successful advertisements, Napoleon serves not as historical decoration but as an active participant whose encounter with a product changes a story the audience already knows.

ALZÁK, MONETA’S CAT AND PAT & MAT: ESTABLISHED MASCOTS ARE A SAFE BET IN ADVERTISING, BUT AI IS HOT ON THEIR HEELS

25. 7. 2026 | 9 min read He is green and has a rather unpleasant, squawking voice provided by Bohdan Tůma. Although many consumers would describe Alzák the alien as extremely annoying, everyone knows who he is. And that is precisely the point. Mascots play an indispensable role in modern advertising. The purpose of these personified characters, whether animals, imaginary creatures or animated figures, is not simply to sell products, but to evoke emotions, build brands and develop relationships with consumers.