September Campaigns of the Month

September has absolutely flown by with more top-quality ads ready to blow you away, from business magnates championing work breaks to hand-crafted OOH ice cream ads. Enjoy.

ASICS is tackling the mental health impact of long desk hours with its latest campaign. Based on its State of Mind study, which found that our mental state drops after just two hours of sitting, ASICS has introduced The Desk Break Clause – an employment contract clause giving workers the legal right to take 15-minute movement breaks throughout the day. To drive the point home, they enlisted Succession star Brian Cox (aka Logan Roy) to highlight the real workplace threat: the desk. The campaign also features office-targeted ads and influencers encouraging employees to push for a #DeskBreak. Very very good.

Who hasn’t experienced that feeling of roughly ripping off a Cornetto wrapper, while hopelessly avoiding it melting onto your fingers? Well, Cornetto’s latest campaign evokes those feelings (even if it’s in a much more classy and Mediterranean way) by combining the iconic wrapper with all the representative elements of the season, including surfers, boats, waves, pool inflatables, beach umbrellas and more. These elements were carefully photographed and placed to ensure that the final collage beautifully captured the spirit of summer and the true joy of a Cornetto.

Did you ever challenge your friend to a race down the street from one lamp post to another when you were younger? Of course you did. Well, Gymbox has taken this inspiration and run with it… literally. The fitness brand has set up a fun 10-metre dash between two billboards, where anyone passing by can get a quick workout in. To add to the excitement, Gymbox will be there with a speed gun to see how fast you are compared to your friends or even Olympic and Paralympic sprinters. And, of course, the results will be shared across TikTok and Instagram for everyone to see. Brilliant.

Still on the gym theme, Virgin Active is launching a global ‘gymtervention’ to take a stand against fake wellness trends and shady gurus. The brand’s new campaign calls out all the wellness industry scams and invites people to “leave the cult, join the club.” Inspired by Virgin’s rebellious history, which dates back to the birth of Virgin Records in 1972, the campaign features a bold new look with punk-inspired visuals, graffiti art and striking black-and-white (and red) billboards.

IKEA’s latest campaign shows how they combine creativity with practicality by turning ordinary roller blinds into a clever ad platform for its affordable sleep products. Partnering with Åkestam Holst NoA, IKEA Sweden printed blinds that, when drawn, displayed prices and items from their sleep range like pillows and mattresses, turning windows into ads. The idea is simple: they invited people to become “sleepfluencers” by giving them the blinds for free, so their windows could double as billboards while they slept. So simple but so good.

And that’s your lot for this month ad fans, but remember, if you’re looking for an advertising agency to help your brand be featured in a round-up like this one, let’s have a natter.