Creative

  • Campaign imagery depicting Strava's "Run Your City" challenge.
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    Courtesy of Hoka
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    Hoka builds Strava running stats into digital OOH campaign

    The marketer is pitting New York’s five boroughs against one another for a “Run Your City” challenge and will leverage the results for campaign creative. 

    By • Sept. 3, 2026
  • Graza campaign imagery for "The Hot Lap Test"
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    Courtesy of Graza
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    How Graza hopes to lap the competition with some help from NASCAR

    The tie-up follows the olive oil brand’s extension into mayonnaise and is key to efforts to grow its footprint, explains Vice President of Marketing Alex Edelstein.

    By Danielle McLean • Sept. 3, 2026
  • A person holding a phone with "Ai" and a box that says "prompt" above it. Explore the Trendline➔
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    Getty Images
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    Trendline

    Top 5 stories from Marketing Dive

    From the continued rise of artificial intelligence to the emergence of new digital channels, here's a look at key trends driving marketing in 2026.

    By Marketing Dive staff
  • A teenager sporting spiked blond hair and dual popped collar polos stands on a doorstep in an Axe ad.
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    Permission granted by Axe
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    Axe vies for more mature brand positioning while nodding to Y2K roots

    New ads for the Unilever brand show men briefly turning back into their teen selves, popped collars and all, as Axe states, “You got better. So did we.”

    By • Sept. 2, 2026
  • Blu opens a PO box-style mailbox via portal.
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    Courtesy of UPS
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    The UPS Store enlists first brand character to support franchisees

    Blu, a friendly woman wearing a blue UPS polo, is one piece of a multiyear campaign that spans digital, TV, social and print channels.

    By • Updated Sept. 2, 2026
  • Katseye for Hershey's
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    Courtesy of Hershey's
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    How Hershey’s Katseye campaign takes on Gen Z’s desire for indulgence

    As the confectionery maker invests in brands to build on recent growth, its flagship label teamed with a chart-topping pop group to support a new product.

    By • Sept. 1, 2026
  • Domino's
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    Courtesy of Domino's
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    How Domino’s is taking on the Big Mac, Whopper and other fast-food icons

    CMO Kate Trumbull explains why the chain and AOR WorkInProgress chose a hyperbolic, darkly comedic tone for its latest campaign.

    By • Aug. 31, 2026
  • Cardi B for Old Navy
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    Courtesy of Old Navy
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    Old Navy is rewiring its marketing strategy after summer traffic bust

    A new campaign with Cardi B, already the most-viewed in the brand’s history, is improving performance, Gap Inc. CEO Richard Dickson said.

    By • Aug. 28, 2026
  • Beefeater 0.0 remakes Jamiroquai's 'Virtual Insanity' video
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    Courtesy of Beefeater
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    Column

    Campaign Trail: Beefeater revisits Jamiroquai video for zero-proof gin

    London agency Lucky Generals teamed with Jamiroquai frontman Jay Kay to expand on the award-winning video for “Virtual Insanity.”

    By • Aug. 28, 2026
  • A fan appears in Dr Pepper's Fansville campaign
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    Courtesy of Dr Pepper
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    How Dr Pepper’s ‘Fansville’ campaign stays relevant and drives outcomes

    Keurig Dr Pepper analyzes consumer signals by working with Publicis and retail media partners and using its first-party capabilities and martech stack.

    By • Aug. 27, 2026
  • A group of college football fans stand in a stadium bearing expressions of awe as part of Coke’s latest “Fan Work Is Thirsty Work” campaign
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    Permission granted by The Coca-Cola Company
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    Coke tackles college football season with creator content, fantasy sports

    For its social-first approach, the brand will work with creators at partner colleges to produce content around events like games and tailgates.

    By • Aug. 26, 2026
  • Martial artist Jewelianna Ramos-Ortiz does a high kick in Iceland for the new fall campaign for Athleta.
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    Permission granted by Athleta
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    How Athleta is revamping its brand narrative with bolder purpose

    A fall campaign features cinematic ads, bigger bets on social-first marketing and a sponsorship of Olivia Rodrigo’s first Daisy Chain Fields Festival. 

    By • Aug. 25, 2026
  • Josh Allen for Pizza Hut
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    Courtesy of Pizza Hut
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    Pizza Hut ads celebrate quarterbacks as chain drops ‘pizza’ from name

    Josh Allen is the latest quarterback to appear in a spot for the brand, which continues to place value at the center of its marketing message.

    By • Aug. 25, 2026
  • Fanta Haunted Universe characters
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    Courtesy of The Coca-Cola Company
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    How Fanta’s new Haunted Universe helps turn Halloween into a platform

    The Coca-Cola brand’s 2025 Halloween campaign delivered 10 billion impressions with significant engagement and impact on sales.

    By • Updated Aug. 27, 2026
  • A photo collage shows rows of models wearing different fall looks from the retailer Ann Taylor
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    Permission granted by Ann Taylor
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    Ann Taylor stages a brand comeback with Substack, fall fashion blitz

    The brand’s first major integrated campaign in nearly a decade, which includes a New York Fashion Week pop-up, was developed in-house.

    By • Updated Aug. 24, 2026
  • Liquid Death's mascot and Jason Kelce for a campaign by Liquid Death and Garage Beer
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    Courtesy of Liquid Death
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    Liquid Death and Garage Beer take on AI data centers — with pee

    The challenger brands teamed up with Jason Kelce to make a peculiar ask of consumers who are united in their opposition to data center construction.

    By • Aug. 18, 2026
  • A trio of young models lock shoulders while walking down the street in an ad for American Eagle
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    Permission granted by American Eagle
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    Deep Dive

    Brands shake up back-to-school marketing to reach ‘hyper value-seekers’

    Retailers like American Eagle are diversifying further beyond capital-I influencers and adjusting their media mixes to be more targeted this season.

    By • Aug. 18, 2026
  • Charlie the Tuna holds up a smartphone displaying an AI assistant
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    Permission granted by StarKist Co.
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    Why StarKist chose to consolidate its marketing at one agency

    The tuna brand enlisted Tombras to better position itself as a ready-to-eat protein and explore more culturally tapped-in ways to deploy mascot Charlie.

    By Aaron Baar • Aug. 17, 2026
  • JCPenney Retail Rejuvenation
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    Courtesy of JCPenney
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    JCPenney parodies off-price retailers with wellness-themed campaign

    Marisa Thalberg, chief customer and marketing officer at Catalyst Brands, details a Retail Rejuvenation Retreat that looks to change shopping habits.

    By • Aug. 17, 2026
  • Crocs mascot in an office
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    Courtesy of Crocs
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    Crocs hatches new mascot Niles to enrich brand storytelling

    The 6-foot-tall reptile, who appears in a new social series where he interacts with real employees, is expected to be a long-term fixture of Crocs’ marketing. 

    By • Aug. 14, 2026
  • Nicholas Braun for Shinola
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    Courtesy of Shinola
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    Column

    Campaign Trail: Shinola and ‘Succession’ star set the pace in anxious ad

    The Detroit-based design company’s first brand campaign, created with agency GentleForces, features and was directed by actor Nicholas Braun.

    By • Aug. 14, 2026
  • Woman applies Dove deodorant
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    Courtesy of Dove
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    Dove’s marketing mixes sports and style for US Open sponsorship return

    The brand is working with fashion photographers to capture trendy tournament looks that do not show white streaks from deodorant. 

    By • Aug. 12, 2026
  • A group of girls in matching red cropped tanks and stripped skirts pose in a football field.
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    Courtesy of Urban Outfitters
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    Urban Outfitters embraces campus life in first CTV commercial

    The high-energy spot is part of the “Back-To-Campus” brand platform and comes as the retailer continues to set its sights on Gen Z.

    By • Aug. 12, 2026
  • Tyler Cameron and Dr. Chloe Goldman for CeraVe
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    Courtesy of CeraVe
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    CeraVe tackles tanmaxxing in social series to pitch Gen Z on SPF

    The L'Oréal brand’s latest campaign taps home renovation tropes to engage a cohort that is increasingly prioritizing getting a tan over protecting their skin.

    By • Aug. 11, 2026
  • Actor Inde Narravette and singer-songwriter Malcolm Todd wear earth-toned Gap clothes against a white wall backdrop
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    Permission granted by Gap Inc.
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    Gap’s fall campaign enlists ‘Obsession’ star to promote denim

    Ads show Hollywood breakout Inde Navarrette dancing alongside Malcolm Todd, who performs a new version of Robyn’s “Dancing on My Own.”

    By • Updated Aug. 21, 2026
  • Two people in a New York City park for a Rhone campaign
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    Courtesy of Rhone
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    Rhone CMO on marketing at an inflection point for the apparel brand

    Created in-house, with media handled by Kepler Group, “A Love Letter to NYC” arrives amid the growth of the brand’s retail and wholesale ambitions.

    By • Aug. 11, 2026