Wednesday, 4 November 2026Made in Tāmaki Makaurau · 242 stories this week
What's happening in marketing, right now.
Marketing news from the trade press, campaigns checked against their sources, and short lessons. For marketing students and anyone who wants to stay in the loop.
Read the newsLive from the trade press
Mumbrella · Latest
Publisher's summary: Creative agency Dig has been appointed to lead the a2 Milk Lactose Free campaign. The campaign is expected to launch in February 2027. The announcement: Dig Agency has been appointed lead creative agency for The a2 Milk Company’s upcoming a2 Milk® Lactose…
Mumbrella·
People & agencies
Mumbrella·
Campaign Brief·
AI & tech
B&T·
Mumbrella·
Awards
B&T·
Mumbrella·
Campaigns · Social & creators
B&T·
This week by topic
GEO: generative engine optimisation
Tagged automatically from headlines, so counts are a guide.
Checked against sources
We only call a campaign a success when a source publishes results, awards or sales. Most new work hasn't got there yet, and we say so.
Beauty & personal care
Ulta Beauty · United States
Agency: Tamara Group
Ulta Beauty launched its holiday campaign 'The Magic Starts with You', bringing back Mrs Claus (played by Sandra Gray) for a second season after last year's ad, this time alongside pop stars Selena Gomez and Tate McRae, both of whom have founded beauty brands sold at Ulta. Created by Tamara Group and directed by Nema Vand, one spot features Gomez with her Rare Beauty brand, which Ulta began carrying in February 2026 in Rare Beauty's first retail expansion beyond Sephora; another features McRae's new fragrance Tate 01, which launched in October during Paris Fashion Week and is exclusive to Ulta in the US. The campaign started rolling out on 31 October across TV, streaming, digital, social media and in-store experiences, ties into Ulta's 'Pink Bag Energy' presence on Instagram, and coincides with Ulta's first 25 Days of Beauty advent calendar.
No performance data published yet.
Our take
Read the breakdown →
Also new this week · straight from the trade press, not yet checked by us
Mumbrella·
Campaigns · People & agencies
Mumbrella·
Campaigns · Social & creators
Campaign Brief·
Campaigns
B&T·
Campaigns
Campaign Brief·
Campaigns · People & agencies
Campaign Brief·
Activations · Brand & design
Mumbrella·
Campaigns
Campaign Brief·
Campaigns
Patterns across the week's reporting
New technology in marketing
Amazon Ads
Announced at unBoxed: one AI interface for planning through measurement, and campaigns that combine sponsored, display, video and streaming TV while Amazon's AI decides execution.
Why it matters
Runway
An AI agent that makes ad variations, localises them, publishes human-approved versions to Meta, Google and TikTok, and feeds performance back into the next round.
Why it matters
Latest AI stories
Campaign Brief·
AI & tech
B&T·
AI & tech
Campaign Brief·
AI & tech
Mumbrella·
AI & tech
Success with evidence
Recently announced winners from D&AD and the London International Awards (LIA). An award is public recognition by an industry jury. It isn't the same as commercial results.
| Work | Brand | Agency | Award | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your Way Out | Coinbase | Isle of Any | D&AD (Design and Art Direction) Black Pencil ×2 (Visual Effects; Production Design) | Creative Review · 25 Sept 2026 ↗ |
| The Periodic Fable | The Ordinary | Uncommon Creative Studio | D&AD Black Pencil (Art Direction) | Creative Review · 25 Sept 2026 ↗ |
| Three Words | AXA | Publicis Conseil | D&AD Black Pencil (Impact) | Creative Review · 25 Sept 2026 ↗ |
| Unsponsored | Levi Strauss & Co. | BETC Paris, AKQA | Grand LIA (London International Awards): Ambient & Activation | Campaign Brief · 29 Sept 2026 ↗ |
| The Pub That Refused To Die | Heineken | LePub Milan | Grand LIA: Creative Strategy | Campaign Brief · 29 Sept 2026 ↗ |
| Heinz Ketchup billboards (“Look Familiar?”) | Heinz | Rethink Toronto | Grand LIA: Billboard | Campaign Brief · 29 Sept 2026 ↗ |
| Sosegá | Cervezas Alhambra | LLYC Madrid | Grand LIA: Music & Sound | Campaign Brief · 29 Sept 2026 ↗ |
| Expensive Sh*t | Huggies | McCann New Zealand | LIA Gold: Ambient & Activation | Campaign Brief · 29 Sept 2026 ↗ |
| Lump Lottery | Testicular Cancer NZ | Colenso BBDO | LIA Gold + Silver: Creative Strategy | Campaign Brief · 29 Sept 2026 ↗ |
| No Place to Grow | We Are Mobilise | Droga5 ANZ | LIA Silver: Ambient & Activation | Campaign Brief · 29 Sept 2026 ↗ |
| Find Your Wonderful | New World | McCann New Zealand | Effie Gold: Retail/Etail | Campaign Brief · 23 Oct 2026 ↗ |
| Fantasy Herd (with Together) | Goodman Fielder | McCann New Zealand | Effie Gold: Most Original Thinking; Effie Gold: Clever Use of Research/Data | Campaign Brief · 23 Oct 2026 ↗ |
| Making the world fall in love with 100% Pure New Zealand again | Tourism New Zealand | TBWA New Zealand | Effie Gold: International Marketing | Campaign Brief · 23 Oct 2026 ↗ |
| Booze Maths | NZTA Waka Kotahi | McCann New Zealand | Effie Gold: Insights & Strategic Thinking | Campaign Brief · 23 Oct 2026 ↗ |
Our own thinking · hypothetical
These are not real campaigns. They're our own ideas for how this week's mechanics could work for well-known brands, and the brands named aren't involved.
Idea for Spotify
A live-streamed, long-form game show where the most obsessive fans of one artist compete using their listening data.
Mechanic: Fans opt in with their stats; top listeners qualify; the artist hosts the final.
See the full plan →
Inspired by: KFC's superfan game show (Adweek)
Idea for Red Bull
A month-long skate/run/ride challenge where each suburb's tracked activity lights up live DOOH (digital out-of-home) boards, ending in a street event in the winning suburb.
Mechanic: App or Strava tracking → live DOOH leaderboard → finale event.
See the full plan →
Inspired by: Hoka's Strava-to-DOOH marathon build-up (Digiday)
Idea for IKEA
Players donate unused in-game furniture from home-building games; each donation unlocks a real-world contribution to a housing charity.
Mechanic: In-game donation → public tally → matched real donation.
See the full plan →
Inspired by: Kirkens Korshær's Secondhand Skins (Creative Review)
Got a brand in mind? Build an idea for it →
