Review of the Year: Creative Moment rounds up the memorable work of 2025
As 2025 draws to a close, Creative Moment wanted to take a nostalgic look back at some of the most memorable campaigns of the year, so here are 12 of our faves.
Well, that was 2025.
A year when certain brands went all out (we're looking at you Uber, Google and Aldi) in their near constant creative efforts, and agencies embraced and set new trends, from 'logoless' ads to ambitious interactive experiential efforts.
Broadly though, we reckon there's been a tighter focus on really understanding and appealing to target audiences this year, as well as some genuinely inventive uses of media and tech.
The case studies we've picked this year exemplify this newfound freedom. Gemma Phillip's 'Pregnant The Screwed' captures the rage many feel in visual form; Bidetlity turned a utilitarian product into something visceral; The Ordinary embraced public art.
Have a browse, by all means, and stay tuned for much more in 2026!
January
'The Fair Pour', Oxfam (strategy/creative & PR by Hope&Glory; built by Mad River)
A bit like Radiohead’s groundbreaking ‘pay what you like’ In Rainbows effort, drawing attention to prices and their function can be a thoughtful marketing ploy.
Oxfam timed this one for the Davos Forum, opening a pop-up London pub where drinks had no fixed price. Instead, customers were asked to pay based on their perceived wealth.
The idea was to make people confront wealth inequality by literally equating the price of a pint with one’s wealth. It provided a neat excuse for people to sit around and contemplate the campaign over a beverage... or any other excuse you could come up with for that matter.
February
'Sh*tuationships', Who Gives A Crap
Just when you’re recovering from Christmas, another obligatory giving moment is thrust upon us in the form of Valentine’s Day… well, unless you got dumped. Every cloud and all that.
Who Gives A Crap took a typically subversive angle on Cupid’s special day to highlight how the day is often used as a reason to dump your hapless other half. And, it turns out, almost a third admit they are going to turn to AI to do the dirty work for them.
The toiler paper brand offered a bespoke break-up letter-writing service giving Brits the chance to proverbially flush their sh*tuationships away via personalised messages on February 13th, on what they coined World Dump Day.
Who Gives A Crap’s expert ‘dumpers’ were deployed to create break-up messages with humanness and humour, with “no AI required”.
March
'Pregnant Then Screwed', Gemma Phillips
Creative Gemma Phillips' work for Pregnant Then Screwed really stood out.
Born out of frustration at seeing how companies were getting it wrong with mothers returning to work “haemorrhaging senior female talent”, her work with Saatchi Family led to policy change for over 5,000 Publicis Groupe employees across 32 agencies.
The campaign was pointed and hard to ignore, focusing on the crippling cost of childcare for working parents: a situation in which some women were effectively paying to work.
April
'The Secret Ingredient', The Ordinary and Uncommon
Imagining a low-key brand like The Ordinary in a 3D space is no small task, but Uncommon’s three-day immersive pop-up (25–27 April), located in SoHo (NYC), creatively deconstructed one of the brand’s focus points: the extra cost of celebrity/A-list endorsements.
Inside the pop-up, there were interactive exhibits, photo moments and opportunities for visitors to speak with scientists, all aiming to show how marketing hype inflates prices.
May
Bidetlity's work with Joan Creative
Sometimes you just can’t look away. But isn’t that the point of great creative?
Bidetlity dropped a cheeky campaign featuring close-up visuals of puckered lips, with the tagline “Get ready to pucker up for a cleaner experience.” It’s effectively an ad for a portable bidet, but the provocative imagery completely re-frames a mundane product as something intimate, even sensual.
June
'A Journey Through the History of Women’s Football’ for UEFA Women’s Euro 2025, ITV Creative
Mixed media was a bit of a theme this year, but perhaps the most effective was a 60-second ad blending archival footage and contemporary highlights, told through the lens of players like Ella Toone.
The film celebrates the evolution of women’s football from its underdog roots to today’s spotlight. By weaving history with the present, it delivered both emotional weight and excitement: honouring past struggles and triumphs while boosting anticipation for UEFA Women’s Euro 2025. Erm, and… we won too!
July
Oasis inspires a creative blitz, various agencies
As an industry, it’s safe to say we made the most of Oasis’ long-anticipated reunion. Highlights included The Afflecks joining up with Manchester’s only Oasis-themed bar to unveil a new mosaic; Checkatrade reimagining Liam and Noel as plasterers/decorators, and of course Lidl and ‘Aldeh’.
Anyway, we’ll let Gemma Moroney bring you up to date on the Gallagher's partnership with adidas.
Biblical.
August
‘The Fatal Question’ for StreetDoctors, Saatchi & Saatchi; director: Jonathan Kneebone / Glue Society
Tech can overcomplicate or enhance, and this campaign was definitely the latter.
The multi-pronged effort combined a short film (about 3 minutes) and an interactive installation aimed to dispel myths about “safe” knife-crime zones, by demonstrating that a single stab anywhere can be fatal.
The installation allowed participants, including school groups, to physically engage with a model showing the consequences of stabbing; the film shares real-life stories of individuals lost to knife violence.
Visceral, hard-hitting, and using creativity for good.
September
'Haring Cross, Absolut Vodka x Keith Haring' collaboration, Pangolin
‘Art is for everyone’, we’re often told, but it took the work of Pangolin to make that a reality.
For two days (17–18 Sept 2025), London’s Charing Cross Tube station was reimagined as “Haring Cross”: transformed into an immersive pop-up environment decorated with Haring’s bold, iconic graphic art, including red-and-yellow dancing figures, subway-style murals, etc.
For the first time in the UK, two original Haring paintings from 1986 (created for Absolut originally) were on public display. Merging pop-art heritage with modern consumer culture is a win for us.
October
‘The Swedish Prescription’, Visit Sweden
The rejuvenating, doctor-prescribed nature of our annual leave is a hot topic in recent years, and the Swedish lifestyle lends itself to this.
The country’s Right of Public Access and untouched forests certainly seem conducive to better health. Visit Sweden was literal with the brief on this one, but its messaging is powerful.
November
‘This is not a soft drink’, IRN-BRU, Lucky Generals
There’s nowt more Scottish than IRN-BRU, so it made sense for the brand to celebrate its Scottish roots, using its heritage taglines like “built by girders” and “made in Scotland”, telling stories with humour and pride.
The central advert features a distinctly Scottish corner shop, with a kid delivering a hyper-Scottish, slightly absurd “Braveheart-style” monologue, including a reference to running into a freezing sea in granny pants, then cutting to his granny.
Cheeky humour and cultural confidence combine amazingly here.
December
‘Santaland’, Action for Children, Studio Yes
Sentiment and poignancy are rife in Christmas ads, but award-winning actor and charity ambassador, Anna Maxwell Martin brings it off well in a short film highlighting the devastating reality that children living in poverty will face this Christmas.
‘Santaland’ sees Anna play a busy elf at the end of her shift who is struck by a curious six-year-old girl, Lily, whose Christmas is revealed to be financially challenging in a heartbreaking twist. The glossy look plays with the viewer’s expectations in a piece that delivers its impact in a relatively indulgent and short manner.
A fitting end to our Review Of The Year 2025.
Adios 2025. It's been emotional.
As you can see, reflecting on our choices for this year's review has created a diverse list of work that hopefully tickles everyone's fancy in some way.
Some campaigns have been a gut-punch, using insight to really dig deep into societal cracks, and others have made us laugh and reminded us of creativity's ability to entertain.
Either way, it's been a great year for great work. Alas, we could only pick 12—there could have been many more.
Here's to 2026, we can't wait to see what you have in store...
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