Mad//Fest 2025 delivered sunshine, sweat, and some serious marketing truth bombs. From challenger brands and legacy makeovers to AI and emotional storytelling, the event packed a punch across every session I made it to (and some I wish I had).
Here are the five big takeaways that stuck with me – and what they mean for brands trying to stay relevant.
1. Challenger brands are behaving bigger than they are
There’s a race going on.
On one side: established brands trying to innovate just enough to stay current.
On the other: challenger brands sprinting into culture, reinventing categories and showing up like giants.
Mad//Fest was full of examples: Here We Flo, Beavertown, brands tapping into padel, Blank Street Coffee, and more. These aren’t just ‘cool’ brands — they’re smart. They earn attention by aligning with trends, not just pouring money into ads.
👉 Pufferfish marketing, one speaker called it. Showing up bigger than you are, in all the right places.
2. Birds Eye proves legacy is an asset – if you evolve
Steve Challouma (Birds Eye/Nomad Foods) showed how a legacy brand can stay relevant by updating its language, its products, and even its partnerships.
The numbers are impressive:
Their new chicken shop-style “Fakeaway” range saw a 28% penetration increase
24% were new to the brand
Nearly 40% of buyers were a new audience
How?
By understanding that chicken is the UK’s favourite meat and riding the wave of QSR (quick service restaurant) popularity. They launched on-trend flavours (Spicy Korean tenders coming soon), created a non-HFSS range, and formed partnerships in gaming and pop culture (including Wes Nelson from Love Island).
Birds Eye’s message? Teatime is still sacred – it just looks different now.
3. Creativity is being squeezed – and that’s a problem
Creativity came up a lot. Not just as a buzzword, but as a battleground.
Rory Sutherland put it bluntly: in today’s marketing world, creativity doesn’t always balance the books in the same quarter. And because of that, it’s often the first thing to get cut or diluted.
That short-term mindset is holding brands back. The irony?
The campaigns winning awards and audience hearts tend to come from independent or family-run businesses – the ones free from corporate constraints and spreadsheets.
“Generosity is the most under-explored feature of marketing.” – Rory again.
One of the most quoted lines of the week – and one that says everything about long-term impact over short-term ROI.
4. AI is reshaping everything – fast
Sir Martin Sorrell didn’t hold back. AI is already transforming how campaigns are made.
What once cost £1 million and took 12 weeks now takes 3 days and £100k
S4 Capital has used AI tools like Runway and MiniMax for PUMA campaigns – tools that are already out of date just months later
Media buying roles are disappearing fast, as Meta, Google, and others automate planning for brands big and small
But this isn’t just about automation. It's about capability.
Embedded teams, in-housing, personalised creative at scale… it’s all speeding up. And if your agency or brand structure can’t move with it, you’ll be left behind.
One comparison I loved:
“If your marketing team is full of worker bees, someone still needs to be the explorer bee – finding new pollen, not just harvesting the same old.”
5. Humour and emotion still cut through
It wasn’t all AI and automation.
Haribo reminded us of the emotional power of humour. Birds Eye brought warmth to teatime. And McDonald’s CMO Ben Fox walked us through how they rebuilt emotional trust after the “Supersize Me” era nearly derailed them.
Their three-phase journey – recovery, disruption, and now leadership – included:
Removing salt and fat
Redesigning restaurants
Launching new value, trust and love “pillars”
Using silence in their latest ads – because everyone knows what a Big Mac tastes like
The result?
During COVID, while others ran the same “We’re here for you” ads, McDonald’s stood out by doing something different. They focused on joy. And it worked.
Final Word
From gaming tie-ins to AI-enabled media buying, from fish fingers to frozen chicken shop faves — Mad//Fest 2025 proved that marketing is changing fast.
Some brands are keeping up. A few are getting ahead.
But the ones standing out?
They’re the ones being brave, showing personality, and embracing change.
So here’s your challenge for the rest of the year:
Be bold. Be creative. Be less boring.
The worst thing you can do? Stand still.