An advertising agency managing director unpacks the winning efforts of 2025 – and the lessons retailers can learn.
In 2025, the brands that succeeded in their advertising were those that found a way to communicate authentically – weaving their truth without forgetting the importance of storytelling and emotional resonance.
Here, we present the campaigns that truly resonated with customers last year.
You can’t beat Aldi
Aldi’s ‘good different’ brand positioning launched in 2017, and the supermarket chain’s creative has maintained a strong brand presence ever since. The key has been sticking with one clear promise that resonates with real consumer friction points. Aldi does so with memorable messaging that tugs at your emotions through quality storytelling, humour and quirky executions.
Aldi provides credentialed lessons in how to stand out from competitors and demonstrate strong ROI. The company calls it fostering a good different culture of effectiveness. So what can we learn from Aldi’s performance in 2025?
Consistency is king: Lead with a clear, single brand idea and stick with it. Every campaign ties back to the good different promise; Aldi is different, and that difference benefits the customer.
Creativity is memorable: Use a creative take on customer pain points to highlight the benefit. Aldi understands the frustrations of having to research and hunt for specials, quality and provenance.
Establish clear effectiveness measures: Aldi’s campaigns aren’t just creative and memorable – they are effective and backed by proof points. Trust matters to consumers, so consistently delivering on promises – from advertising messages to the shop floor – strengthens brand trust and drives long-term growth.
Specsavers catches everyone’s eye
Eyewear brand Specsavers pulled off the stunt of placing ‘Welcome to Sydney’ posters in Melbourne airport – and vice versa – to greet bleary-eyed arrivals. The campaign builds on the brilliant ‘Should have gone to Specsavers’ platform that has been running for 17 years. The Sydney and Melbourne billboards are the perfect blend of the right message in exactly the right place. This shows us a few things.
Don’t overthink it: There are a million reasons to kill campaigns at the concept stage, but sometimes just getting noticed and giving a smile plants you in someone’s head effectively.
Invest in a platform: ‘Should have gone to Specsavers’ isn’t playing to the unique strength of Specsavers. You could replace that last word with any eye-care brand, but Specsavers got there first. It’s versatile and endlessly executable.
Curry your favour with customers on social media
Looking to the UK for inspiration, you can’t go past tech retailer Currys, the master of TikTok.
A quick scroll through Currys’ output and it’s easy to see why the brand has north of 9 million likes. From staff faking six-pack abs with store laptops to product-demo viral video mashups, the brand keeps it entertaining, yet gloriously self-conscious.
Currys incorporates its product range while similarly resisting the no-no of a hard sell. Even better, it features store staff perfectly.
So how can you apply these lessons?
Rethink your definition of a campaign: The days when campaigns meant only big-budget TV commercials are in the past. Retailers need to think about unique ways to use their owned, earned, and paid channels.
Lean into your brand to cut through the clutter: Currys proves that beingyourself slices through the noise. Defineyour brand’s unique characteristics, thenconsider how to amplify them.
Forget the hard sell: There’s a time and place for sales tactics. Know when to use them and when not.
The opportunity for retail brands in 2026
Heading into the new year, the lessons for retailers are clear. Know your brand. Familiarise yourself with its strengths, quirks and differences.
Next, make a plan and stick to it. Aldi and Specsavers clearly demonstrate the importance and effectiveness of consistency, while other brands also understand the importance of standing out in a cluttered market.
Finally, integration is a word you’re going to be hearing more of in 2026. Integrated campaigns seamlessly use owned, earned and paid channels. They look simple, but behind the scenes, they are carefully planned and executed. The decision in your marketing planning isn’t an either/or proposition; each channel and message plays its own important role, so a consistent and integrated plan is essential to thrive in 2026.
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