I decided a few years ago that I would never write another ‘predictions for the year ahead’ piece again. This is partly because the format is too easily abused by people ‘subtly’ linking their musings to their brand’s priorities (“big year for spending on purpose” - MD, Purpose-driven Agency) and partly because they never seem to change (“print media is dead” - MD, Social Media Agency)...but mainly because my predictions are often garbage.

Greatest hits include; ‘Clubhouse will be the app that takes over the PR world’ and ‘When England win the Euros, the Roaring 20s begin’. Even when I call one right (‘Elon Musk will change twitter forever’), this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. So it is with a hesitant heart that I am going to make a bold prediction.

The naysayers can naff off and the doom mongers can take their misery elsewhere - 2025 is going to be a great year for creative campaigns. That’s because I’ve got not one, not two, but three glorious campaigns to share this week…and it’s still only January. If our industry can pull stuff off like this while sober and depressed, just think what we will be capable of when the suds and sun return.

Sol Campbell and Pixel

Talking of suds best enjoyed in the sun, the first campaign is all about Sol…Campbell. A phrase you hear a lot in our world is; “there’s no such thing as a new idea”. Google Pixel are not the first brand to roll out a switching gag idea, or the first brand to roll out a switching gag with a footballer idea, but it is the first brand to do it in a way that was genuinely funny.

Sol Campbell used to play for Spurs. He moved to its biggest rivals, Arsenal. He won stuff with Arsenal that he never won for Spurs. His switch was successful. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to make the link – Google Pixel want you to leave your current handset and switch… so they hired Sol Campbell to make this point.

The end result was a piece of social-first content that was admirably self-aware, well-scripted, and – remarkably for content involving a footballer – well-acted. The biggest compliment I can give this work is that it appeared in two WhatsApp groups, shared by non-PR people, and that’s because it tapped into a universal truth that goes way beyond switching. Arsenal fans are insufferable and permanently online; Spurs fans are long-suffering and permanently online. It rode the wave of football rivalry, and if passions lead to purchase – expect the Pixel to clean up in North London… well, the red half anyway.

Apple TV+ Grand Central Severance 

Our second stunt is a stunt in the very truest sense. Famous people? Tick. A central city location? Tick. Going mad viral? Tick. At this point, I have to confess I’ve not seen a single episode of Severance on Apple TV+,  but this piece from Time Magazine sums it up nicely.

In a nutshell – or rather in a box – Apple TV+ recreated the show’s premise, live. In the run-up to Friday’s premiere, the marketing team recreated Severance’s drab-chic cubicles inside a glass box in the iconic station’s Vanderbilt Hall, which is basically New York’s answer to the bit where all the branded stuff happens in Waterloo Station.

Actors from the show toiled in their tiny office and even went fully immersive; by staging punishments. For hardened PR practitioners, it would be tempting to say that A-listers in a box will always go viral. And though that is true, this stunt’s full-blooded commitment gives it a little more street cred. The actors were in there for three hours, the performance included little Easter eggs for fans of the show, and it offered intrigue for non-viewers. More excitingly, this continues the trend of "go hard, or go ho" marketing coming out of Hollywood. Barbie, Wicked, Challengers, and Dune are all examples of promotional runs defined by over-the-top and extra activity, and I unashamedly love it.

On ya bike, Timothée Chalamet

Talking of which, Timothée Chalamet turned up to his latest premiere on a Lime Bike. He is an attention-grabber so it should have been little surprise he would break with convention when arriving on the capital’s favourite e-bike – an apparent tribute to Bob Dylan’s controversial decision to go electric with his performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.

With this level of brand alignment and perfect message delivery, you would be forgiven for thinking that someone at Lime/Uber/Agency has played an absolute blinder here – but given the lack of public claiming, I’ve been forced to conclude that he (or his people) came up with this stunt themselves. Forget getting replaced by AI – creatives need to watch out for Timmy C. If he gets bored of being a Hollywood A-lister, he would clean up at the next PRmoment Awards.

P.S. Imagine being head of marketing for Lime and waking up to this?! What a touch.