Maisie Lloyd
Maisie is the Digital Content Manager at Intelligency, handling all things creative for the agency. Her experience centres around the production of digital content, pertaining to graphic design, writing copy, and video and audio content.
2025 has already brought so many ad campaigns that are impossible to forget, with campaign efforts shifting and making a greater impact across social channels. We continue to see this evolution as Autumn rolls into full effect.
The latest Ads to capture our attention, along with the rest of the internet, include McDonald’s World Menu Heist, All Heroes, No Zeros by Cadbury, and A Spicy but Not Too Spicy Plumber delivered by Doritos.
Latest Updates Affecting Ad Campaigns 📢
Interestingly, in the UK, we’ve seen legislation pass to ban the promotion of junk foods, which will see junk food ad campaigns no longer being shown until after the 9 pm watershed. And social channels are completely banned. The Government is cracking down on child obesity, and as a result, is forcing marketers of these products to come up with new ways to grip the audience.
Regulation may force brands to ditch the product marketing and instead, focus on brand, society and culture to promote products. This could be especially troubling for emerging brands that haven’t yet established their brand name, where promoting their product that’s considered junk food is no longer allowed.
How we think brands will overcome this issue around promoting junk food…
- Influencer campaigns: Collaborating across social channels may be the only way for unhealthy products to be promoted across social media. This loophole would ensure products are still being seen and shared, without the implications of going against legislation.
- Offscreen promotion: Response-based campaigns may become the new thing. Where actors in campaigns use their reactions to sell a product, using the clever hack of keeping the products off-screen.
- Mascot-based product promotion: Think of all the iconic archived brand mascots that will potentially soon make a return to represent the beloved banned items, from the iconic Tony the Tiger from Frosties to the Milky Bar kid. We wouldn’t be surprised to see brands tap into this nostalgia factor to help promote products that are no longer allowed on screen.
- More creative campaigns: This will likely force brands to think outside the box, looking for new innovative ways to represent themselves without being impacted by legislation.
Autumn’s Top 3 Campaigns for 2025
All Heroes, No Zeros
McDonald’s latest campaign, devised by VCCP, is simply genius, playing on the product name, position and brand to deliver the next best campaign. Running with the concept that all Cadbury’s heroes are top tier, and to show that they’re being likened to some of the most iconic figures from Queen.
We see the likes of Freddie Mercury being compared to a crunchy, whilst drummer and backing vocalist, Roger Taylor, equating to the Dinky Decker. The analogy within the campaign is so clever, as it signifies the ‘hits’ that Cadbury’s have created, being just as brilliant as some of the stars referenced.
The creative director of VCCP, Simon Connor, noted about the campaign, “The best things in life really are All Heroes, No zeros, just like Cadbury Heroes.”
A Spicy but Not Too Spicy Plumber
Doritos have stolen the show with their latest product launch, the golden sriracha Dorito. The campaign, spearheaded by Walton Goggins, focuses on a playfully provocative narrative where the Doritos spur on the ‘spice’ and innuendo of the plumber’s role.
Mixing a sultry seventies aesthetic with implied sexual undertones to playfully push the idea of the product being spicy, but not too spicy, as Walton Goggins’ character states. We’ve seen this actor/ influencer and brand collaborations come together quite often over the last couple of years, and it again signals that Doritos have its finger on the pulse.
Tapping into the cultural zeitgeist of Walton Goggins and using his fame and recognisable face to create a campaign that resonates in the minds of viewers.
McDonald’s World Menu Heist
The McDonald’s World Menu Heist campaign has been a really clever way to introduce worldwide products to the UK market, creating a feeling of exclusivity and excitement with the messaging.
The ad cleverly starts with the camera looming over the golden arches, looking onto an empty car park, with a big truck pulling up with masked robbers. The exposition totally sets the tone for the rest of the clips, alluding to top menu items from around the globe being heisted for the UK menu.
The campaign spanned across socials, using Close Friends on Instagram to enlist McDonald’s fans, to assist with the heist. With the fans being engaged in an entirely new way, following the campaign as developments unfurled.
As Autumn 2025 unfolds, one thing’s clear — creativity in advertising is thriving under pressure. With tighter regulations and evolving audience expectations, brands are being pushed to rethink the rules, tapping into nostalgia, storytelling, and cultural relevance like never before. Campaigns such as McDonald’s World Menu Heist, Cadbury’s All Heroes, No Zeros, and Doritos’ A Spicy but Not Too Spicy Plumber prove that innovation always finds a way to shine through.
The next few months will be fascinating to watch — especially as brands balance compliance with creativity to keep audiences hooked. If these campaigns are anything to go by, Autumn 2025 might just mark the start of a new golden era for imaginative advertising.
