January Campaigns of the Month

New year, new work and a fresh batch of campaigns that show how brands are leaning into emotional storytelling, playful innovation and cultural moments to make their ideas stick. From handcrafted animation to smart problem-solving, these five campaigns remind us that creativity still has the power to move people when it’s purposeful, warm and honestly human.

Panda Express’s Lunar New Year spot ‘Wishes’ leans into simple but powerful emotion. Using a hand-drawn illustration style, the ad follows a little girl’s holiday wish with gentle humour and an uplifting payoff (literally). This ad plays into seasonal tropes of family and being together during festivities, giving it visual life in a way that feels heartfelt and familiar.

Spotify revisits the childhood photo albums of Best New Artist Grammy nominees, including KATSEYE and Olivia Dean, by placing those early snapshots on billboards in their hometowns. The work puts lived experience centre stage and invites audiences to connect with artists on a deeply personal level just as the music world’s biggest night approaches. It’s a reminder that behind every headline performance there’s a human story worth celebrating, and that connecting culture to identity can make big campaigns feel intimate.

The BBC’s creative team has unveiled a stop-motion promo for its Winter Olympics coverage that pushes craft and creativity to the forefront. Built frame by frame, it leans into physical production values that convey both the drama of elite sport and the joy of cinematic craft. In a time when digital effects often dominate, this work makes a case for the tactile magic of real-world animation and painstaking attention to detail.

IKEA’s latest print and outdoor campaign flips a familiar script by intentionally hiding the price tags on its products, forcing the audience to judge the pieces on quality and design alone. IKEA challenges preconceptions about affordability and quality in a bold January play that goes against the usual post-holiday discount narrative.

Heinz has turned packaging into purpose with ‘The Heinz Dipper’, a fry box redesigned with a built-in ketchup compartment that makes on-the-go dipping easier and less messy. Rolling out in participating restaurants and sports venues in multiple countries, this is a rare blend of product innovation and brand storytelling that solves a real consumer frustration while leaning into cultural love for the ketchup-and-fries duo.

January’s work shows that when a campaign is anchored in human insight, it earns its place in culture rather than simply competing for attention. Whether it’s empathetic animation, thoughtful celebration or practical innovation, each piece earns impact by giving audiences something worth feeling, seeing and remembering.

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