THE BIG BRAND BATTLES: NOSTALGIA, COMPARISON, AND PROVOCATION WORK WELL IN ADVERTISING WARS

24. 3. 2025 At first glance, it might seem that the global market is vast, with enough room for everyone. In a utopian world, each brand would peacefully claim its share of the market and leave the rest for others. Sounds funny, right? In reality, when two or three strong brands meet in a certain market segment, they go head-to-head. There is only one spot in the sun, and while there doesn’t have to be just one winner, anyone who hesitates may find with dread that they are not among the top players but at the bottom.

FIVE CHARTS TO END THE TV DEBATE

23. 3. 2025 To drive growth, we must strengthen the brand, says Peter Field.

THE STREAMCASTING CHALLENGE AND THE BATTLE FOR AD-TENTION

21. 3. 2025 The Italian media Sales Houses Association (FCP), in collaboration with Politecnico Milano and Nielsen, has conducted an in-depth industry study titled ‘’The Streamcasting Challenge and the Battle for Ad-Tension’’. This research explores the evolving dynamics of total audience measurement across broadcasting and streaming platforms, with a particular focus on ad-tention, the quality and quantity of attention given to advertisements in different media contexts. The study aims to provide broadcasters and advertisers with strategic insights to maximize audience engagement and advertising effectiveness. Industry Context & Challenges In an era dominated by digital transformation and shifting media consumption habits, broadcasters and advertisers face increasing competition from streaming services and social media platforms. Measuring total audience engagement across linear TV, on-demand platforms, and social media has become increasingly complex, requiring new methodologies to accurately assess how audiences interact with content. Understanding the factors influencing audience attention and advertising recall is critical to developing effective marketing strategies, especially given the varying degrees of active and passive attention across different media formats.

STUDY UK: TV ADVERTISING BOOSTS PERFORMANCE MEDIA OUTCOMES

20. 3. 2025 Investment in TV advertising makes performance media spend go further, according to a new study by GroupM.

IS A BRIGHTER FUTURE COMING? WITH A TOUCH OF EXAGGERATION, MIND POSITIVITY IN TV ADVERTISING AIMS TO OFFER A MANUAL TO HAPPINESS

20. 3. 2025 Every year, the International Day of Happiness is a reminder of the important role positivity plays in everyday life – and the advertising world is no exception. For some time now, mind positivity has become a key strategy for brands willing to reach customers not only effectively but also with emotions that leave a lasting impression. How can joy, hope, and authenticity turn advertising into inspiration and build loyalty?

POSITIVE EFFECT OF ADS DURING THE SUPER BOWL 2025: TELEVISION SUPPORTS BRAND SEARCHES

13. 3. 2025 The goals and strategies of brands advertising during the Super Bowl vary. However, for all of them – regardless of their goal – television advertising viewed on various screens (Multiscreen TV) delivered excellent results in the middle part of the marketing funnel. It significantly increased brand searches of all types. This is the conclusion of a study conducted by VAB, which focused on the impact of Super Bowl 2025 ads on consumer behaviour.

WHY BRANDS SHOULD EMBRACE POSITIVE MALE PORTRAYALS

12. 3. 2025 Positive male portrayal delivers strong ad effectiveness, according to data from Ipsos. The GEM Index The research firm regularly measures people’s responses to gender portrayal in ads, which feed into its gender equality measure index (GEMTM Index). An analysis of the GEMTM scores from more than 2,000 ads featuring men or boys indicated that those ads scoring high vs. low on positive masculine gender portrayal were +37% stronger on measures of sales lift. High-scoring ads were also +38% stronger on measures of equity share gain. Why it matters There’s a push to change how women are depicted in advertising, but Ipsos’ Samira Brophy notes that marketing is guilty of reinforcing male stereotypes as much as it is female ones. That makes little sense in terms of effectiveness – ads with expressionless or unengaged men scored poorly in the Ipsos index.

WOMEN’S SPORTS SCORE HUGE 56% INCREASE IN AD IMPACT

11. 3. 2025 EDO report reveals a surge in women's sports viewership in 2024 fueled ad growth.

TV ADVERTISING DESERVES AN OSCAR FOR ITS EFFECTIVENESS AND CREATIVITY

3. 3. 2025 It is time for the annual Academy Awards. But this prestigious film event is not just a celebration of the art of cinema. It is also a major marketing opportunity. During the gala evening, exclusive advertising spots appear on the screen, costing astronomical sums. Luxury brands, film studios and technology companies use this moment to showcase their latest campaigns. Each year, the Academy Awards offer a close link between television advertising and the film industry.

TIME TO GET SERIOUS ABOUT HUMOUR IN ADVERTISING

22. 2. 2025 Humour in advertising is a powerful driver of brand memorability and engagement. WARC’s India Editor Biprorshee Das dives into why humour works, where brands go wrong, and how to get it right – some key takeaways from the recently published What’s working in humorous advertising report.

U.S. STUDY: KEY VIEWING TRENDS: TRADITIONAL TV STILL HAS THE UPPER HAND

20. 2. 2025 Linear television is still one of the most powerful media. This is the conclusion of a study conducted by EMARKETER last year. Despite the increasing number of people switching to connected television (CTV) and social video, most people in the U.S. still watch linear TV. Meanwhile, linear TV viewers are also very likely to use mobile devices or laptops while watching, so ads on linear TV can inspire consumers to take immediate action.

ADS & DATA: LEVERAGING BEHAVIOURAL AND CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS FOR SMARTER ADVERTISING

14. 2. 2025 In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, Interest Targeting has been pioneered by Ads & Data. This involves leveraging behavioural and contextual data to serve the most relevant ads. This business case looks at how Ads & Data use this to advertise thereby enhancing campaign performance on their display and shortform platform. With the prospect of developing this into BVOD and Video by the end of the year. What is Interest Targeting? Unlike traditional methods that rely solely on search history and click behaviour, interest targeting also considers the context of the content being viewed. This dual approach ensures that ads align more closely with users’ interests and needs, leading to better engagement. It uses AI and machine learning to understand the sentiment and context of the content, and goes beyond key words but take into account additional criteria such as tone of voice and feelings of the content. Why is Interest Targeting Important? Interest targeting is a new approach to adapt to the digital market space. With increasing privacy regulations such as the phasing out of third-party cookies by major browsers, advertisers face new challenges. Interest targeting provides a future-proof solution by leveraging contextual and behavioural data without only relying on cookies. Therefore, interest targeting enables personalised advertising without breaching user privacy regulations. Users retain control over their data, and even those who opt out of data sharing can still receive relevant ads based on the context of their content consumption.

THE FUTURE OF RETAIL MEDIA: A COLLABORATIVE MARKETPLACE FOR TARGETED TV ADS

14. 2. 2025 Last autumn, FranceTV Publicité, M6 Publicité, and RMC BFM Ads, collaborated and partnered with Unlimitail, to launched TV Retail Connect, the first collaborative Retail Media Marketplace for Addressable TV (ATV) and HVOD in the country.

GOOD ADS DON’T WEAR OUT. CONSISTENCY IS A GOOD ALLY FOR BRANDS

13. 2. 2025 Marketers’ biggest vice is their impatience and need for change. But sometimes it’s better to leave things as they are. Why? System1’s research shows that advertising consistency is a major contributor to brand growth.

WHO ‘WON’ THE ADVERTISING SUPER BOWL? IT DEPENDS

10. 2. 2025 Budweiser, Lay’s, T-Mobile and Nike could all claim to have “won” the advertising Super Bowl – depending on who you ask and what was being measured. These were winning brands according to some Monday morning post-game analyses.

SUPER BOWL LIX: HUMOUR DOMINATES CREATIVE STRATEGIES

6. 2. 2025 Humor and positivity are set to be major themes among this year’s Super Bowl spots, based on analysis of various ads released ahead of the NFL season-closer by DAIVID, an ad-testing platform that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to measure creative effectiveness.

WHY CELEBRITIES AND THE SUPER BOWL AREN’T LIKELY TO PART WAYS

4. 2. 2025 There was a time when most Super Bowl commercials didn’t feature a celebrity. No Serena Williams. No Payton Manning. No Martha Stewart.

WHY HUMOUR IN ADVERTISING WORKS – AND HOW BRANDS CAN USE IT MORE

4. 2. 2025 Humour in advertising has declined by 37% over the past 20 years, according to Kantar, but evidence shows it remains a powerful tool for brand recall, emotional engagement, and long-term success.