Top 10 Marketing Moments of 2025

Uncertain economic climate. Marketing volatility. Global conflict. Restructuring. Transformation. Mergers. The sharp edges of 2025 were impossible to ignore. Marketers are often the leaders who are first to feel the icy blow of economic uncertainty. The past 12 months have brought many moments in which the sensation of pushing water up a hill was simply unavoidable. 

Yet the year was also not without its marketing bright spots. If creativity thrives in constraint, then 2025 certainly provided the conditions for flourish. The continued drive by progressive leaders to leave the industry better than they found it gives us many reasons to be positive.

With that optimism in mind, here are the top 10 marketing moments of 2025.

1. The Lionesses win women’s Euro 2025 (again)

In a wider marketing ecosystem in which every brand describes itself as a challenger, women's sport continues to raise the bar of what challenging the status quo can really mean. The women's Euros final was the most-watched television moment of 2025 across all TV broadcasters, drawing in 12.2 million viewers. Like the very best challenger brands, the Lionesses have successfully decided what it is they stand for, and they stand for it all the time. From success on the pitch to advocating for greater access for the next generation of players, in 2025, the legacy of the lionesses continues to roar. A legacy which EE and Saatchi & Saatchi successfully summed up with the killer strapline declaring: ‘when this squad wins we all win’.

2. Wicked proves the power of consistency 

When consistency is a marketing superpower, the year-long hype surrounding the second instalment of Wicked underlined the enduring power of cinema to dominate culture. Sensational storytelling still counts.

3. Stranger Things 5 

From the Stranger Things Christmas Tree at Waterloo station, to brand partnerships with the likes of Chupa Chups, Netflix's standout hit successfully showed the creative firepower of brand partnerships. 

4. AI picks media to show its humanity 

In the midst of the flurry of headlines that AI is coming for your job, it is perhaps little surprise that 2025 came with a heavy dose of existential crisis. Yet creative leaders have urged the industry to ‘unslop AI’ while AI brands have turned to above the line advertising to promote their humanity. 

5. Creativity is the reason we get out of bed in the morning

The elephant in the room in the advertising industry remains the unspoken truth that the industry is not very good at marketing itself. From the over-reliance on corporate jargon and complex agency positioning statements, to a lack of acknowledgement of the enduring power of strong agency brands, the industry is at times guilty of not practising what it preaches. In this environment, IPA president Karen Martin’s campaign for creativity is a much needed breath of fresh air.

6. Oasis lives forever

Bucket hats and brand partnerships at the ready. 2025 was the year that brought with it the Oasis brand rush. A powerful reminder that the new era of nostalgia is both heavily branded and also offers a whole new generation of fans the opportunity to look back in anger because they missed Oasis' fervour the first time round. 

7. A decade of This Girl Can

As we continue to grapple with the impact of social media on girls' mental health, the importance of celebrating women’s bodies for what they can do, not what they look like, has never been more vital. A truth which makes the enduring creative firepower of This Girl Can a creative high point of the year. The groundbreaking campaign returned with an energetic and arresting campaign. The kind of work which makes you proud to work in advertising.  

8. Inclusive advertising can still RISE

In a challenging year for DEI, the Creative Equals RISE event provided insights and evidence to marketing leaders who remain committed to progressive marketing. Click here to download the 2025 RISE Trend Report, created by Creativebrief, to learn from the best. It is possible to drive growth and do good. 

9. L’Oreal and McCann celebrate Ilon Spect

‘Because I’m worth it’ is one of the most iconic straplines in advertising history, yet the story of the copywriter behind the line, Ilon Specht, has remained untold. To tell this story, McCann created the documentary ‘The Final Copy of Ilon Specht’. The legacy of advertising’s most iconic line continues to inspire a new generation of marketing leaders.

10. John Lewis hits all the right notes

When you are tired of John Lewis advertising, you are tired of advertising life. Thankfully, this year’s masterpiece from Saatchi & Saatchi provided a much needed shot of creative energy as 2025 drew to a close. Who could have predicted that '90s dance track ‘Where Love Lives’ would be the festive track we didn’t know we needed? Entirely unpredictable and entirely brilliant.