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Verified 10 Oct 2026

Campaign library

Campaigns and activations we've checked against their original reporting. Each card separates what was reported from our own take, and every claim links to its source.

What do the evidence badges mean?
Reported results

A source published measurable outcomes (sales, sell-outs, sign-ups, views).

Award-winning

Recognised by a major industry award show.

High visibility / strong public attention

Widely covered or discussed, but no performance data.

No performance data published yet

Too new, or results haven't been shared.

Industry

Status
Evidence

Alcohol & drinks

4 campaigns
Image: B&T
Recently launched

Alcohol & drinks

Mountain Culture Beer Co · Australia

Cockatoo cease & desist

Blue Mountains craft brewer Mountain Culture posted a mock cease-and-desist letter to the Brisbane 2032 Olympics on Instagram, arguing the Games' new flaming emblem (five pointed, right-leaning feathers) looks 'an awful lot like' the cockatoo it has used on its cans since 2019, delivered by a toy 'carrier cockatoo'. The letter suggests Brisbane use an ibis instead and says the brand 'would also accept tickets'.

No performance data published yet

No performance figures have been published by the sources we checked.

InstagramPR (public relations)

✦ Our analysis: what to learn

Piggybacking on a story everyone in adland was already discussing (the new Games emblem) costs nothing but a good line, and 'we'd also accept tickets' is written to be quoted straight into coverage like this one. The joke only works because the cockatoo is already a recognised asset; there's no sign yet of how far it travelled past trade press.

Read the breakdown + mini task →

Sources · first reported 9 Oct 2026

Mountain Culture Slaps Brissie Olympics With Cockatoo Cease & Desist Notice (Maybe)B&T · 9 Oct 2026 ↗
Image: Marketing Dive
Recently launchedCurrently running

Alcohol & drinks

Espolòn Tequila (Campari Group) · US

Espolòn Fare Share

Timed to Halloween, when ride-hailing surge pricing spikes, Espolòn's Fare Share program lets people who use a service like Uber or Lyft during qualifying hours submit their receipt for a 50% refund of the fare, up to $25, through 1 November. The brand is amplifying it through creator partnerships, bar and restaurant signage, and Halloween and Día de los Muertos activations in five US cities.

No performance data published yet
  • Espolòn cites data showing major cities' ride-sharing costs rose eight to nine times the normal fare on Halloween last year (brand-cited figure) [Marketing Dive]
Earned mediaCreator partnershipsBar and restaurant signageIn-person activations (Los Angeles, New York City, Dallas, Houston, Austin)Landing page

✦ Our analysis: what to learn

Refunding part of a real, widely felt cost (surge-priced rides) is a sharper hook than a generic 'drink responsibly' message, and backing it with signage and events at the point people decide whether to go out puts the offer where it can actually change behaviour. The program only just launched, so there's nothing yet on how many people claimed a refund.

Read the breakdown + mini task →

Sources · first reported 8 Oct 2026

Espolòn Tequila combats surge pricing with ride-hailing refund programMarketing Dive · 8 Oct 2026 ↗
Image: Campaign Brief
CompletedReported as successful

Alcohol & drinks

-196 · Australia (Sydney)

Tokyo konbini nightclub takeover

Agency: noisy (experience), PHD (media)

The Japanese vodka RTD (ready-to-drink) turned Carousel nightclub on Oxford Street into a Japanese convenience store for one night (Thursday 24 Sept), with stocked shelves, fluorescent aisles, a photo booth, seven fridges of -196 and a DJ set from Club Angel.

Reported results
Live eventPR (public relations)CreatorsSocialOwned music media (LINES, Whatslively, Mixmag ANZ (Australia and New Zealand))

✦ Our analysis: what to learn

A single, highly photographable idea (a club that looks like a shop) plus scarcity (free, limited tickets) turned one night into days of creator content. The real media buy was the queue.

Read the breakdown + mini task →

Sources · first reported 30 Sept 2026

-196 turns a Sydney nightclub into a Tokyo konbini for one night via noisy and PHDCampaign Brief · 30 Sept 2026 ↗
Image: Campaign Brief
Currently running

Alcohol & drinks

Absolut Tabasco (Pernod Ricard) · Australia (Sydney)

Sydney Harbour volcano launch

Agency: Initiative, VMO

A 360-degree volcano structure with a giant bottle bursting out of it at the Overseas Passenger Terminal, on display until Oct 5, supported by product trials and a full-funnel media plan.

No performance data published yet

No performance figures have been published by the sources we checked.

Large-format OOH (out-of-home advertising)Streaming videoSocialCreatorsHospitalityRetail & e-commerce

✦ Our analysis: what to learn

A spicy product gets a literal, instantly readable visual. Big physical sculptures still work when they're designed to be photographed.

Read the breakdown + mini task →

Sources · first reported 30 Sept 2026

ABSOLUT TABASCO erupts on Sydney Harbour with giant volcano activation via Initiative and VMOCampaign Brief · 30 Sept 2026 ↗Pernod Ricard launches Absolut Tabasco with volcano activation in SydneyMumbrella · 29 Sept 2026 ↗

Automotive

1 campaign
Image: Mumbrella
Recently launched

Automotive

Toyota Australia · Australia

Hilux “Mud Dance”

Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi Australia (production: MOFA, director Nick Kelly)

A Hilux climbs a muddy hill while rival utes (a Mitsubishi Triton and a Mazda BT-50) slide backwards to classical music. It's the latest ad in Toyota's “Don't Send a Ute to Do a Hilux Job” platform.

No performance data published yet

No performance figures have been published by the sources we checked.

TVOut-of-homeDigitalSocial

✦ Our analysis: what to learn

Comparative advertising done with humour: showing rivals fail, rather than listing specs. The long-running line does the branding, so every new ad adds to the same memory.

Read the breakdown + mini task →

Sources · first reported 30 Sept 2026

Toyota sends rival utes sliding in latest Hilux campaign via Saatchi and SaatchiMumbrella · 30 Sept 2026 ↗

Beauty & personal care

2 campaigns
Image: Digiday
Trending / popular

Beauty & personal care

Cakes Body · US

From TikTok virality to Cakes Media

The beauty brand built its business on founder-led storytelling and viral TikTok videos, and is now turning that into an in-house entertainment company, Cakes Media, funded from its brand marketing budget.

Reported results
  • $100 million in sales over three years (as reported by Digiday) [Digiday]
  • Its 57-minute YouTube documentary has 371,600+ views [Digiday]
TikTokYouTubeShort-form socialStreaming

✦ Our analysis: what to learn

Virality is being treated as R&D for a content business. The lesson for smaller brands: once something lands on TikTok, build a format you own around it.

Read the breakdown + mini task →

Sources · first reported 30 Sept 2026

Beauty brand Cakes wants to turn its TikTok virality into an owned media strategyDigiday · 30 Sept 2026 ↗
Image: Marketing Dive
Recently launched

Beauty & personal care · Media & entertainment

e.l.f. Cosmetics · US

Mirror Mix (second album)

Agency: e.l.f. Made (in-house entertainment arm)

e.l.f.'s second original album features seven rising artists across pop, R&B, Latin and rock, released on streaming and inside its Roblox experience.

No performance data published yet
  • Its 2024 album “Get Ready With Music” drew 500,000+ Spotify streams and 10 million views (previous campaign) [Marketing Dive]
SpotifyApple MusicRoblox (e.l.f. UP!)Genius Open Mic

✦ Our analysis: what to learn

A beauty brand acting as a record label. Music gives it a reason to show up in places ads can't: playlists, Roblox, lyric sites.

Read the breakdown + mini task →

Sources · first reported 28 Sept 2026

E.l.f. jams to second music album under entertainment marketing armMarketing Dive · 28 Sept 2026 ↗

Charity & cause

1 campaign
Recently launched

Charity & cause

Kirkens Korshær · Denmark

Secondhand Skins

Agency: Nord / Nord FTW

A Danish charity's digital thrift store where gamers donate unwanted Counter-Strike 2 skins; proceeds support its work with vulnerable young people.

No performance data published yet

No performance figures have been published by the sources we checked.

Web storeCounter-Strike 2 community

✦ Our analysis: what to learn

Translates a familiar charity behaviour (donating what you don't use) into gaming culture. Context from the article: Clash's inventory tool counts 8.2 million CS2 (Counter-Strike 2) inventories averaging ~70 items.

Read the breakdown + mini task →

Sources · first reported 30 Sept 2026

Danish charity Kirkens Korshær launches digital thrift store for gamersCreative Review · 30 Sept 2026 ↗

Food & restaurants

3 campaigns
Image: B&T
Recently launchedCurrently running

Food & restaurants · Charity & cause

Doritos · Australia

Fiery Purple Blaze × ReachOut

For Mental Health Month, Doritos launched 'Fiery Purple Blaze', a flavour sold exclusively in 7-Eleven stores nationwide, continuing its partnership with Australian youth mental health charity ReachOut. Every bag, and the rest of the Doritos core range, carries a QR code linking to ReachOut's online resources, with in-store activity and co-branded touchpoints running throughout October.

No performance data published yet
  • Doritos and ReachOut say their partnership, running since 2022, has reached more than 750,000 young people toward a shared goal of helping one million people take action for their mental health (brand- and charity-reported figure) [B&T]
In-store (7-Eleven)Packaging / QR codesPR (public relations)

✦ Our analysis: what to learn

Putting a working QR code on packaging, not just a charity logo, turns the product itself into a distribution channel for support resources rather than a one-off ad. The '750,000 people' figure covers the whole partnership since 2022, so it says little about whether this specific launch moves the number further.

Read the breakdown + mini task →

Sources · first reported 9 Oct 2026

Doritos Reminds Aussies ‘They Don’t Have To Go Through Tough Times Alone’ With New Purple ChipB&T · 9 Oct 2026 ↗
Image: B&T
Currently running

Food & restaurants · Sport & fitness

Australian Bananas (Hort Innovation) · Australia

Banana Gym Pass: Bring a banana, bring a mate

Agency: Thinkerbell

In its third year, Banana Gym Pass let anyone who turns up with a banana on National Banana Day (7 October) bring a friend into one of more than 900 participating gyms for free. Nova FM breakfast hosts Ricki-Lee Coulter and Tim Blackwell fronted the launch, with a squad of influencers posting their own gym visits.

No performance data published yet
  • More than 900 gyms took part nationally for the one-day pass (brand/agency-reported), after the platform reportedly reached 'a thousand gyms' in its second year [B&T]
OOH (out-of-home advertising)Online videoRadio (Nova FM)Paid and owned socialInfluencers

✦ Our analysis: what to learn

A single prop (one banana) buys two people a free gym visit, which is simple enough to explain in one sentence and easy for media and influencers to repeat. The 'bring a mate' twist this year is a bet that shared habits stick better than solo ones, but there are no attendance numbers yet to say whether it worked.

Read the breakdown + mini task →

Sources · first reported 7 Oct 2026

Australian Bananas Call On Aussies To ‘Bring A Banana, Bring A Mate’ To Gyms Via ThinkerbellB&T · 7 Oct 2026 ↗
Image: Adweek
Recently launched

Food & restaurants · Media & entertainment

KFC UK & Ireland · UK

Believe in Chicken: the 30-minute game show

The latest chapter of KFC's “Believe in Chicken” platform is a 30-minute TV game show where 30 real KFC fans (not actors) compete to prove their devotion to the chicken.

No performance data published yet
  • More than 50,000 people applied to be on the show (an interest signal, not a performance result) [Adweek]
TV (long-form)

✦ Our analysis: what to learn

KFC is swapping 30-second ads for 30 minutes of owned entertainment starring superfans. Worth watching: if it works, expect more brands to fund formats rather than spots.

Read the breakdown + mini task →

Sources · first reported 30 Sept 2026

KFC Superfans Prove Their Devotion to Chicken in 30-Minute Game ShowAdweek · 30 Sept 2026 ↗‘Stepping beyond traditional advertising’: KFC on launching its own game showMarketing Week · 30 Sept 2026 ↗

Health & care

2 campaigns
Image: B&T
Recently launched

Health & care

Wet Ones · US (New York)

Just For Hands

Agency: BBH USA

Wet Ones used fingers, palms and knuckles arranged to look like bare bottoms across New York OOH (out-of-home advertising), after New York City transit declined to run the ads underground. Interactive 'Take a Wet Ones' walls hand out samples, and a social challenge invites people to post their own 'hand butt' photos on Instagram and TikTok.

No performance data published yet
  • A cited OnePlus study found just over half of Americans use hand wipes in an intimate area [B&T]
  • Flushed wipes are said to cost US clean water utilities an estimated $441 million a year in maintenance, equipment damage and repairs [B&T]
OOH (street screens, bus shelters, wrapped buses, Times Square)Experiential sampling wallsSocial (Instagram, TikTok)

✦ Our analysis: what to learn

Getting rejected from the subway became the story (above-ground only, after being turned down underground), which is free PR (public relations) on top of a genuinely odd visual gag. No results yet, so it's one to watch for whether the social challenge actually catches on.

Read the breakdown + mini task →

Sources · first reported 7 Oct 2026

That’s A Lot Of Bottom! Wet Ones Covers New York With Cheeky New CampaignB&T · 7 Oct 2026 ↗
Image: Campaign Brief
Recently launched

Health & care · Charity & cause

Aged Care Association (NZ) · New Zealand

The Long Drive

Agency: Chemistry (with Anthem)

Highlights aged-care closures forcing older Kiwis to drive long distances to see their partners (one example: 239 km a day). Older people hitchhiked on Auckland roads with signs reading “Take me to my wife/husband”.

No performance data published yet

No performance figures have been published by the sources we checked.

OutdoorPrintRadioDigitalStreet activationLanding page with email-your-MP (member of parliament) tool

✦ Our analysis: what to learn

One precise number (239 km) makes a policy problem human. Pairing emotion with a one-click action (email your MP) gives it somewhere to go.

Read the breakdown + mini task →

Sources · first reported 30 Sept 2026

A 239 km drive each day, just to see his wife. Chemistry highlights the plight of NZ’s aged care sector with ‘The Long Drive’ campaignCampaign Brief · 30 Sept 2026 ↗

Property & construction

2 campaigns
Image: Mumbrella
Recently launched

Property & construction · Food & restaurants

Trade Me Property · New Zealand

The Flavour of Your Neighbourhood

Agency: Studio Prism (in-house) and Curious Nation

Trade Me Property turned its own property-search data into four food activations: a tasting trail at Cambridge Farmers' Market, a cafe takeover with branded coffee sleeves in Mt Eden, free hot chips at a Island Bay kiosk, and a bakery roadside stall in Heathcote. Each stop ties a local search or sales statistic to a food experience, with QR codes and signage pointing back to the Trade Me Property site.

No performance data published yet
  • Mt Eden is described as New Zealand's most searched suburb, with over 1.5 million searches in six months (Trade Me's own data) [Mumbrella]
  • Island Bay is described as the nation's most watch-listed suburb, and Heathcote as Canterbury's fastest-selling suburb (Trade Me's own data) [Mumbrella]
Experiential (markets, cafes, kiosks, bakery stall)Custom packaging and signagePR (public relations)Social

✦ Our analysis: what to learn

Turning your own first-party data into a reason for a local, in-person activation is a neat trick: the 'proof' (search and sales numbers) comes free from the platform itself, so the only job left is making it feel local and shareable.

Read the breakdown + mini task →

Sources · first reported 6 Oct 2026

Trade Me Property launches experiential campaign highlighting local flavoursMumbrella · 6 Oct 2026 ↗Trade Me Property Makes NZ Property Data More Human Via Curious NationB&T · 7 Oct 2026 ↗
Image: B&T
Currently runningRecently launched

Property & construction · Finance & banking · Media & entertainment

News Australia × CommBank · Australia

The Home Front

An ongoing, editorially led national campaign on housing affordability, covering negative gearing, stamp duty, first-home buyer schemes and alternatives like prefab housing and guarantors. It's built on research from The Growth Distillery and SEC Newgate Research.

No performance data published yet

No performance figures have been published by the sources we checked.

news.com.auDaily Telegraph, Herald Sun, Courier-Mail, AdvertiserPrintDigitalSocial

✦ Our analysis: what to learn

A bank partnering with a newsroom on the topic its customers worry about most. It's helpful content rather than an ad, which buys credibility, but only if the editorial stays genuinely independent.

Read the breakdown + mini task →

Sources · first reported 28 Sept 2026

News Australia & CommBank Launch National Housing Affordability CampaignB&T · 28 Sept 2026 ↗

Sport & fitness

2 campaigns
Image: Campaign Brief
CompletedReported as successful

Sport & fitness · Media & entertainment

Brisbane Bullets (NBL) · Australia (Brisbane)

Pat Rafter Arena launch

Agency: Sunny Advertising

A digital campaign to sell the Bullets' first basketball game at Pat Rafter Arena, the first basketball fixture at the venue played with the roof open.

Reported results
  • The game sold out, according to the agency (Bullets beat the NZ Breakers 88–85) [Campaign Brief]
DigitalMedia partners

✦ Our analysis: what to learn

Novelty of place (“basketball under the stars”) was the whole message. When the venue is the news, sell the experience, not the fixture.

Read the breakdown + mini task →

Sources · first reported 30 Sept 2026

Sunny Advertising campaign helps Brisbane Bullets pack out historic Pat Rafter ArenaCampaign Brief · 30 Sept 2026 ↗
Image: Digiday
Currently running

Sport & fitness · Retail & fashion

Hoka · US (New York)

NYC (New York City) Marathon run-up

Agency: Jellyfish

Rather than race day, Hoka targets the training weeks before the Nov 2 NYC Marathon: a Strava challenge whose borough-by-borough progress is shown live on digital billboards across the city.

No performance data published yet

No performance figures have been published by the sources we checked.

Strava challengeDOOH (digital out-of-home)TikTok & Meta paid social6 creatorsBlock party (Oct 3)

✦ Our analysis: what to learn

Own the build-up, not the moment. Connecting app data to DOOH makes runners' own training the creative.

Read the breakdown + mini task →

Sources · first reported 29 Sept 2026

Behind Hoka’s bid to own the NYC marathon’s run-up periodDigiday · 29 Sept 2026 ↗

Tech & telco

1 campaign
Recently launched

Tech & telco

Telstra · Australia

Villains (sequel)

Agency: Bear Meets Eagle On Fire, +61

Sequel to last year's network-security campaign with alien villains, again starring Steve Buscemi as the Supreme Leader. A 90-second hero film plus two 30-second spots, directed by Randy Krallman.

No performance data published yet
  • Previous chapter: the original was recognised in the Craft section of Creative Review's Annual Awards 2026 [Creative Review]
TVCinemaDigitalSocialRetail stores

✦ Our analysis: what to learn

Making security (a dull, invisible benefit) about villains gives it a story. Recognised first chapter → sequel is a classic platform play.

Read the breakdown + mini task →

Sources · first reported 29 Sept 2026

Telstra’s space villains strike back in new network security campaignCreative Review · 29 Sept 2026 ↗