February began as it always does: with a treasure trove of word-play-led seasonal campaigns: “you’d have to be hopping mad to miss this deal”, “you’ll fall in love with our brand this Valentine’s Day”, and the like.
Mercifully, not all brands love a pun as much as team DGT, and there have been plenty of great ads this February, from TK Maxx exploiting the nation’s love for cats, to Great Western Railway capitalising on the fervour around How to Train Your Dragon. Could 2026 be the year that brands take creative advertising up a notch?
We really ruddy hope so…
Let’s dive into the big three that made us stop and think, “hey, I might want that…”
What can I say, I am a sucker for an anthropomorphised seal staring at a man on a toilet. A striking image that cuts through the guff of a relatively dull topic. With more people trying to think more mindfully about money, it’s a perfect time to push their Firm Checker tool, designed to help people check whether a firm is authorised before they invest.
With so much misinformation being thrown around online, the FCA are aiming to position themselves as the default. Akin to how Google is the go-to website for, well, literally everything, the FCA want to be the first port of call when checking if a firm is legit.
One of the key elements of this ad that we loved is the use of a physical animatronic seal in lieu of the woefully predictable AI or CGI alternative that we are seeing far too often in ads. This animatronic gives the ad a real presence: it’s why Jurassic Park holds up to this day, and why every time I have a split second of doubt about something I’m about to do, I’ll picture Emil the seal about to slap me with a dose of reality.
Ad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JS5hqBdp0XI
It’s important to share; it’s what we were all taught as kids. Cadbury’s is taking that and running with it, just in the opposite direction. Cadbury has announced it is bringing the “Made To Share” range for 2026, which taps into Cadbury’s core value of generosity, just in a way that grabs attention.
With a very clever campaign that leans into people’s unfair distribution of their beloved chocolate bar – dividing the package into sections like “who does the laundry” and “who has the floordrobe” – with a disparity between the two sections, it’s just a cracking ad that will work as well on Instagram as it would on a billboard.
Img Source: https://madetoshare.cadbury.co.uk/
It’s refreshing to see a campaign about something so important that isn’t incredibly preachy. We’re human, we know smoking is bad for us, but it’s not always effective to say “look at the devastation you are causing”, but instead to lean into humour and empathy, giving a more light-hearted “you can do this”. Bring on the power of positive sentiment, focusing on providing support to smokers who want to quit.
The TV ad shows a smoker on their lunch break, when their phone literally pulls them away from temptation, ending with a splash screen saying the power to quit is in your hands. A great pun and an even greater message.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cWmSaWEaW0
Ever seen a CEO of a company and thought “this can’t be real, Emil the seal has more humanity than this guy!”. Think Mark Zuckerberg in almost any situation.
Well, the CEO of McDonald’s sat down to try the new Big Arch burger – and you can tell from the outset that this is not his meal of choice. Between calling it a ‘product’, taking the smallest bite you have seen, and promising he will ‘finish it later’, it really gives Krusty trying the Krusty Burger.
A friendly word of advice for CEOs trying their ‘product’: at least try to make your feigned delight look more human.
Between the UK’s ban on unhealthy food ads before 9 pm and the 24-hour ban on paid online ads, digital agencies are going to have to be more creative than ever. So far, we have seen some absolute corkers, and long may it continue.
Speaking of outstanding marketing, that’s exactly what we do best at the Demand Generation Team. With a team that boasts over thirty years of marketing experience across many sectors, DGT are well-versed in creating campaigns that make an impact, just like the ones we have highlighted above.
As a Birmingham Digital Marketing Agency, we specialise in content, PPC, web, lead generation, CRM, automation and much more – and we’re here to take your marketing output to the next level.
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Posted by Jenna C on Thursday 19th March 2026
