Labubus, Jess Glynne, 6-7 … in 2025, social media felt stranger and more self-aware than ever – but was there also a greater method amid the madness?...
The best magazine covers of the year 2025
While print media may no longer have the same power it once did, it continues to enjoy steady loyalty among niche audiences, and in an age of ‘digital fatigue’, we are increasingly seeing younger audiences recognise the pleasures of experiencing content via a physical object instead of a screen. As a title that still has a quarterly print mag (keen...
Flair-filled Nike film celebrates Africa’s football heritage
With the 35th edition of the biennial Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) kicking off this month, Nike and Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam have teamed up to show that when it comes to playing football with style and creativity, the continent is where it’s at. The campaign got underway earlier this week when Nike published a letter addressing the football community, attributed to...
The best games of the year 2025
If 2025 can teach us anything about the video games industry it’s this: success will come to you by making an incredibly finely crafted piece of narrative entertainment, or you’ll make a fortune selling dopamine-hacking sludgeware. If that sounds cynical, here’s the proof. On the one hand, you’ve got a game like Ghost of Yōtei selling millions thanks to its...
Trends of 2025: The year in photography
AI continues to impact the photographic world but the industry reached a turning point in 2025, says Gem Fletcher, offering an opportunity to look to the future rather than the past...
Trends of 2025: The year in advertising
Layoffs and cultural reckoning hit the industry hard this year. But the rise in social-first campaigns, and a focus on authenticity showed creativity is still thriving...
The winners of the 2025 Epica Awards are announced
Now almost 40 years old, the Epica Awards is the only advertising awards scheme to be judged solely by industry press. Last week, a selection of editors and journalists from titles across Europe and the US came together in Paris to choose the top winners in this year’s awards. This year there was an especially stellar selection of work in...
The best album art and design of the year 2025
While it’s true that in the age of streaming the vast majority of people experience album artwork in tiny thumbnail form, it remains a visual medium fully capable of making an impact. This year proved that a great sleeve can still stop you mid-scroll – whether through a single stark gesture, like a lone lotus flower refusing to wilt, or...
Trends of 2025: The year in AI
In 2025, artificial intelligence remained the number one source of both concern and excitement for creatives. Here we assess the latest developments, from copyright to clankers...
The best music videos of the year 2025
This year MTV (owned by Paramount) announced it would be closing down five of its dedicated music video channels in the UK and Europe. It marked the end of an era for many people who grew up consuming music videos in this way. But rather than mourn the loss of channels that – let’s face it – we’d stopped watching...
Anger management: Why brands are feeding our rage addiction
Brands creating outrage is no longer an unfortunate accident – it’s now a marketing strategy. But is it an effective way to build brand loyalty, or just temporary shock value?...
BETC captures the essence of cinema for Canal+
For over 30 years, Paris-based advertising agency BETC has worked with French media group Canal+ on its advertising, creating numerous award-winning pieces of work. Often, these collaborations have drawn on a mutual love of humour, exemplified in their ad from last year which took the shape of a thriller-cum-comedy, defying conventions of the genre to assure viewers that there are...