From creative gone wrong to campaigns to save Britain’s chippies, it’s been a bumper year for stand out ads making the most of big formats. Need a reminder? Here’s a look back at some eye-catching campaigns from the last 12 months
A chippie crusade
What ‘batter’ place to start our retrospective than with the winner of our Chair’s Award at the 2023 Newsworks Awards in November? With half of chip shops across the country under threat of closure due to the growing popularity in takeaway pizza, long-time vinegar staple Sarson’s used a cover wrap on National Fish and Chip Day in June to call readers to action. With a cover image as tasty as that, how could we resist?
Comedy vs The Big C
With Stand Up To Cancer now a staple yearly effort to bring us closer to beating the disease once and for all, the charity’s cover wrap in November put the country’s biggest comedians in the ring with traditional wrestling poster creative.
The McDonald’s time machine
We couldn’t not mention this glorious gatefold campaign from McDonald’s that allowed Times readers to step back into the best of 90s culture. Using content written especially for the campaign from the news brand’s wealth of cultural journalists, this nostalgic ad is a fantastic celebration of golden age British culture and 30 years of quality-sourced produce in their meals.
Feeling chic
IBS relief brand Buscopan might not seem like a natural fit for a brand partnership with the Evening Standard’s Thursday fashion and style supplement, ES Magazine. However, with its genius use of stereotypical model poses and high fashion copy to subvert readers’ expectations, this highly commended campaign at the Newsworks Awards was one of this year’s highlights.
Right on time
Tactical ads and news brands go together like peas in a pod, so it’s always a joy to see one executed to perfection. In response to the Bank of England raising interest rates that morning to combat inflation, trade body UK Finance reassured mortgage payers later that day that, whoever they banked with, help and advice were close by.
Getting the nation fighting fit
Digital news brands also saw some brilliant partnerships this year, not least Boots’ regional health check campaign with Reach, which scooped the top prize in two categories at this year’s Newsworks Awards. The campaign, based on bespoke research into health disparities across the UK, encouraged readers to book in a check-up at their local Boots branch.
Copywriting gone wrong
It’s a copywriter’s worst nightmare to see a typo-riddled campaign make its way to the presses. Fortunately, Hiscox’s spoof cover wrap disaster shows not all is lost, particularly the brand’s sense of humour.
Coat quest
Finding the final perfect addition to a new season’s wardrobe can feel like looking for a needle in a haystack. However, with a brand partnership advice column from Tesco’s F&F clothing brand and the fashion gurus at the Guardian, nailing the winter look with the ultimate coat got slightly easier in 2023.
Smart ball
Beautifully designed long-form brand partnerships are not just confined to print, however. As part of its involvement with the Six Nations rugby tournament, official partner Sage worked with The Telegraph to demonstrate how its ‘smart ball’ was giving unique insights to international teams, allowing to drill down into the game like never before.
The ripple effect
A fantastic example of how a brand partnership can seep into several parts of a news brand’s portfolio, The Independent’s tie-up with Galaxy saw not only bespoke video content around mental health and imposter syndrome but also beautiful contextual wraps around the news brand’s other mental health content.
