WHO PAYS FOR YOUR FAVOURITE STORY? A HUNDRED YEARS OF ADVERTISING THAT QUIETLY BECAME PART OF THE CONTENT

22. 4. 2026 At first glance, it may look like an old advertising relic from the age of radio and black-and-white television. But the Brought To You By model, in which the sponsor is an acknowledged part of the content, has in fact never completely disappeared. On the contrary, it has simply evolved along with the media, audiences and the business logic of the entertainment industry. The story of BTYB is therefore not only the history of a single advertising format but also the history of the tension between creativity, commerce and the question of who actually pays for the stories we so love to watch.

LEE CRONIN’S THE MUMMY IS COMING TO CINEMAS: ANCIENT EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY ALSO APPEARS IN TV ADVERTISING

16. 4. 2026 It does not always have to be a furious mummy rising from a sarcophagus or a swarm of flesh-eating scarabs. Sometimes a hint of an ancient mystery is enough — a curse hidden in the sand, and the silhouette of a pyramid or a sphinx on the horizon. The symbolism of ancient Egypt has attracted filmmakers for decades, and it works just as reliably in advertising. Pharaohs, mummies, and forgotten tombs can create an atmosphere of adventure within seconds and send chills down the viewer’s spine. It is therefore no surprise that these motifs repeatedly appear in television campaigns for brands seeking to captivate audiences with a story thousands of years old — especially when a brand-new film on the subject is heading to cinemas.

SPRING HOLIDAYS IN CZECH ADVERTISEMENTS: TRADITIONS, BUNNIES AND CELEBRITIES

3. 4. 2026 Easter advertising in the Czech Republic relies primarily on humour, traditional symbols (bunnies, eggs) and specific promotional offers from retail chains. A recurring theme in Easter marketing in the Czech Republic is also “enjoying the holidays without stress”, with a nod to tradition. This is clearly evident, for example, in this year’s Košík campaign, which features Bivoj as a friendly caroler and combines Easter customs with the convenience of modern shopping; it also incorporates regional variations and local traditions.

WHAT IS HAPPENING TO CONSUMERS? THE ERA OF EMOTIONAL OUTSOURCING HAS ALREADY BEGUN

24. 3. 2026 The SXSW 2026 conference demonstrated that, alongside the impact of artificial intelligence on business, a less visible transformation is also taking place within people themselves. Their relationships, language and the way they seek connection are changing. As a result, the audience that brands have traditionally targeted is also changing, summarises Alex Turtschan from the media agency Mediaplus.

BLACKPINK, BTS AND THE ART OF SELLING ANYTHING. HOW IDOLS BECAME A GLOBAL ADVERTISING PHENOMENON

17. 3. 2026 BLACKPINK released their new EP Deadline on 27 February 2026. It is their first group project since the 2022 album Born Pink and also the first outcome of renewed group activity following a four year solo hiatus. The comeback of a group that ranks among the most commercially leveraged acts in the history of K pop provides an ideal opportunity for deeper reflection: why are Korean pop idols such irresistibly powerful advertising tools, and how has their relationship with television advertising evolved from a local phenomenon into a global strategy adopted by multinational corporations?

LEONARDO DICAPRIO IS FILMING IN PRAGUE. THE FILM IDOL BEGAN HIS CAREER IN TV ADVERTISING

16. 3. 2026 A global star has arrived in the Czech Republic! Leonardo DiCaprio, one of today’s biggest Hollywood stars, is here because of a new film by Martin Scorsese, which has been filming in Prague and its surroundings since the end of February. Fans of the Titanic hero have a chance to catch a glimpse of the famous actor somewhere and are eagerly anticipating the new film. Few people today, however, recall that the actor, who carefully guards both his film and public image, began his career with small roles in commercial advertisements. What is DiCaprio’s relationship with commercial advertising, and why is his participation in it more the exception than the rule?

MUSIC IS THE GATEWAY TO EMOTIONS AND INCREASES MARKETING EFFECTIVENESS – BUT BRANDS OFTEN UNDERESTIMATE ITS POWER, SAYS THE STUDY SOUND SCIENCE

3. 3. 2026 Sometimes, adverts get under our skin. And then, even hours after watching them, we find ourselves humming a catchy melody or jingle that got stuck in our heads. Yet in planning advertising campaigns, music is often an “afterthought”. This was one of the reasons for the creation of the study Sound Science: How Music Is the Missing Link in Marketing ROI.

NEW SCREAM HITS THEATERS AS AUDIENCES BUZZ WITH ANTICIPATION. BRANDS TAP INTO THE POPULARITY OF HORROR IN ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS

2. 3. 2026 Three years have passed since the release of Scream 6, and the seventh instalment is now racing into theatres. The trailer for the new film premiered during this year’s Super Bowl, leaving fans of the franchise eager for more. The sixth film was a major commercial success, grossing over $168 million worldwide and becoming the highest-grossing entry in the series on the North American market. It also received positive reviews from both audiences and critics. Horror films are generally popular with viewers, so anticipation is high for the next addition to the franchise. But terror doesn’t come only from movies. Sometimes, audiences let out frightened screams while watching TV ads, too. And let’s be honest, some of them are truly worth it.

WHEN DISNEY CAME TO DANCING: A LIVE SHOW BECOMES A FAIRYTALE

24. 2. 2026 Inspired by Disneyland Paris’s Disney Music Festival, where performances by Disney-movie characters fill the park with dance and live music, DPG Media’s creative team proactively conceived an unprecedented brand integration: a dedicated Disney-themed episode of Dancing With The Stars. The concept was not driven by a client brief. Knowing the client’s wishes and dreams, and recognizing the natural connection between the Disney Music Festival and Dancing With The Stars, Team Integreate (the creative team within DPG Media) pitched this unprecedented collaboration, which Disneyland Paris immediately embraced.

IT WAS MEANT TO BE A SHOWCASE OF TECHNOLOGY, BUT NOSTALGIA STOLE THE SHOW: WHAT DOES SUPER BOWL LX REVEAL ABOUT THE STATE OF MARKETING?

8. 2. 2026 Super Bowl LX is behind us. The evening at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara was once again more than just a sporting event—it turned into a media platform watched by over 124.9 million viewers in the U.S., peaking at 137.8 million during the second quarter, making it the second most-watched broadcast in American television history. This level of concentrated attention also underpins an astronomical advertising business. A 30-second slot cost around $8 million on average, with some premium placements exceeding $10 million, while total investment per commercial often ranged between $15 and $25 million. This year’s edition delivered the expected dominance of artificial intelligence and tech brands, but also a surprisingly strong return to emotion, nostalgia, and clearly defined values. What truly resonated in these ads—and what inspiration can be drawn from them—is illustrated in the following examples. Lay’s: Last Harvest One of this year’s most remarkable commercials felt, dramaturgically speaking, almost out of place at the Super Bowl. The chip brand Lay’s presented a short indie-style film about an aging farmer facing his final harvest. His daughter is taking over the farm, making it a story of generational transition. Even if it may not seem so at first glance, this was a very bold spot. Snack brands at the Super Bowl typically opt for humorous, celebrity-driven presentations. Here, however, we see an authentic story centred on emotion and a narrative of “real ingredients for real people.” Especially in a year dominated by highly hyped tech showcases, Lay’s offered a moment for genuine reflection and introspection. From the perspective of the evening’s overall structure, it was something of an anomaly—one that, nevertheless, received very positive reviews.

HOW CAN ADVERTISING RECAPTURE ITS APPEAL AND DRIVE BUSINESS RESULTS? BESIDES CREATIVITY, THE KEY FACTORS ARE EMOTION, DISTINCTIVENESS, AND CONSISTENCY

19. 12. 2025 New research by System1 and Effie Worldwide shows that advertising is losing effectiveness. However, the study also reveals how effectiveness can be increased again. While outstanding creative is one of the essential prerequisites, it is not enough on its own. Advertising needs to return to three simple yet often neglected principles: emotion, distinctiveness and consistency, according to a webinar entitled The Creative Dividend.

SCREENVOICE TOP 10 INTERNATIONAL CHRISTMAS CAMPAIGNS 2025

16. 12. 2025 The pre-Christmas shopping frenzy is reaching its peak, and one of the driving forces encouraging consumers to spend is the Christmas campaigns of both major and lesser-known brands. What Christmas spots have international companies come up with this year, and how successful have their festive campaigns been?

THE HISTORY OF ALDI CHRISTMAS ADVERTISING: KEVIN THE CARROT IS A FAVOURITE WITH VIEWERS AND CRITICS ALIKE

15. 12. 2025 Aldi’s Christmas adverts are built on long-term consistency. For ten years now, they have returned to one central character, systematically developing his story across different genres and emotions. As a result, the brand has created a strong memory structure and a clearly recognisable Christmas style. Each new advert is a standalone chapter, yet it fits naturally into a broader narrative. It is precisely this combination of continuity and creative variation that explains why Aldi’s Christmas campaigns have long ranked among the most successful.

THE HISTORY OF CHRISTMAS ADVERTISING: HOW A COMMERCIAL TOOL BECAME A CULTURAL PHENOMENON

4. 12. 2025 For most people, Christmas is the most emotional time of the year. It is a period filled with nostalgia, reflection, anticipation and family gatherings. And we cannot forget shopping, which begins long before Christmas itself. It is therefore hardly surprising that, since the nineteenth century, retailers have been trying to make use of this “Christmas magic”. Today, Christmas campaigns are a cultural tradition in their own right. How did it all begin? The roots of Christmas advertising Much of what we associate with Christmas today is linked to Charles Dickens’s 1843 novella A Christmas Carol, the invention of Christmas cards in the same year, and the popularisation of the Christmas tree. Add to this the figure of St Nicholas as a mysterious gift-bringer, and you have the perfect Christmas story — one offering an excellent opportunity that retailers, naturally, could not afford to miss as they sought to sell their stock. And so Christmas advertising entered the scene.

DESTINATION: INTERNATIONAL PRESTIGE. ADS OF MAJOR AIRLINES THAT WENT GLOBAL

30. 11. 2025 Christmas is approaching. That means millions of people around the world will be on the move, returning home for the holidays to celebrate with their families. It may be the clearest reminder of how we take air travel for granted in the 21st century and how essential a role it plays in our lives. That is also why we should not forget that 7 December marks International Civil Aviation Day, a testament to the importance of global connectivity. It is the ideal opportunity to take a look at the mark airlines have left in the history of television advertising. The following five campaigns confirm that the identity of airlines reaches far beyond the duties of ordinary carriers. Time and again, they have proven capable of creating commercials that are formative, transformative, and often unforgettable. Home can be anywhere By 1989, planes were slowly becoming a common means of transport even for the global middle class. It was only logical that airlines began adapting their marketing communications accordingly. One truly groundbreaking example came from British Airways, which had just emerged from several years of extensive and demanding privatisation and restructuring under the leadership of Colin Marshall. The company now wanted to position itself as a genuinely global player and was not afraid to use the label “The World’s Favourite Airline.” It could afford to do so thanks to a unique television commercial known simply as The Face.

FINNISH STUDY: ATTENTION IS THE MOST VALUABLE CURRENCY IN ADVERTISING, SAYS SCREENFORCE ATTENTION REPORT

3. 11. 2025 The attention paid to advertising is more important than ever in today’s fragmented media environment. The world of advertising has entered a new era in which it is no longer enough to monitor the number of views or the reach of a campaign. Attention is becoming the key factor, specifically, how long and to what extent a viewer actually takes in the advertising message.

MARK RITSON AT THE VISION 2025 CONFERENCE: TELEVISION ADVERTISING OUTPERFORMS DIGITAL IN KEY AREAS – EMOTION AND ATTENTION

20. 10. 2025 In an inventive presentation, Mark Ritson channels Steve Jobs, presenting an alternative reality in which television and television advertising are only being invented today. This stylisation has a single aim: to show how dramatically we underestimate a medium that we have long had at our disposal, and to highlight the fundamental advantages that television advertising offers over everything we now label as “modern digital marketing”.

L’ORÉAL UNCOVERS NEW INSIGHTS FOR EFFECTIVE BEAUTY ADS

3. 9. 2025 L’Oréal worked with Google and research partner Sundogs to analyse 5,000 YouTube ads and found that moving beyond category conventions can drive measurable gains: replacing product-led formats, for example, with richer, character-driven storytelling boosted engagement by 55%.