Our favourite campaigns of the year so far

Oh, 2021. While we were glad to see the back of last year, the beginning of this one wasn’t so great, with yet another lockdown being announced just a few days in. But with the roadmap back to a more normal life announced, and with more and more people getting the vaccine, things are starting to look up.

Some of our favourite campaigns of the year so far have honed in on this optimism and cleverly combined talkability with positivity for the year to come. As well as being positive about the pandemic ending, some of our favourite campaigns also focused on protecting the environment – and even how to improve the beauty sector.

Take a look at some of our highlights of 2021 so far and stay tuned for our next update when – fingers crossed – we may even be out of lockdown!

Holidays. Wow, they feel like a lifetime ago don’t they? We’ve been unable to enjoy a proper break for months and months, and for those of us at particular risk from Covid, this meant forgoing even a staycation here in the UK. But now things are looking up, dare we say, you might consider booking a staycation this year.

We worked with train company LNER on an image-led campaign all about Britain’s best views. From Loch Ness in Scotland to the White Cliffs of Dover and St Ives Bay in Cornwall, this was a picture perfect way to help people get inspired and celebrate the return of the great British break later this year. With 19 pieces of coverage secured, including MailOnline, the Express, Metro online and Yahoo, this campaign created some British holiday inspo while showcasing LNER and the journeys they provide.

Exciting is an understatement when it comes to the news that the greatest British institution of them all, the PUB, will be reopening outdoor spaces on April 12th. Our research division Perspectus Global ran a poll to look at the snacks we’ll be enjoying with our drinks,revealing that the humble pork scratching is our favourite accompaniment to a pint. Coverage was secured on the Sun’s Snapchat channel, the Daily Mail, the Sun and the Record, with a circulation of 3.31 million in the bag.

As it’s over a year since lockdown began and with so many of us working from home, Heineken 0.0 created a very special Wind0.0w Delivery Service. As so many people have back to back Zoom calls, and with pubs shut, it’s difficult to get out for a drink, so here is a service which is bookable online and delivers drinks through your own window. A fun and very on brand campaign created by Cow.

With brands on their books like Dove and Sun Silk, industry giants Unilever sets the tone for plenty of companies across the board. So we were happy to see they’ve officially banned the word “normal” from being used in any of its personal care and beauty brand packaging, with the aim of championing “a new era of beauty which is equitable and inclusive” which is  “sustainable for the planet”. As well as removing “normal”, they will also no longer be digitally altering a person’s skin colour, body size or shape across its own brand advertising and advertising of its influencers.

When we saw this campaign we thought it was a great way for a global brand to set the tone and kick off 2021. We’re going to be watching closely to see how they fare and how other beauty companies will follow suit.

With plastic a huge problem where sustainability and the environment are concerned, Waitrose has pledged to ban kids’ magazines that contain plastic plastic toys in their sleeve – and it’s all down to a letter from ten year old Skye from Gwynedd, Wales. It’s great to see a company listening to feedback from customers – of all ages! – and we saw it announced in a tweet on the supermarket’s official Twitter feed.

With coverage secured across the board, from BBC News to MailOnline and Sky News, it’s just the latest step in Waitrose’s plastic free plan. Having recently waved goodbye to the sale of Christmas crackers with plastic toys and glitter, the supermarket is also planning to make its own-label packaging recycled, reusable or home compostable. A fantastic step forward in the fight for sustainability.