Not Just Another Ad: Crafting Campaigns That Stick
The fight for attention has never been fiercer. Consumers are drowning in ads, but most of them barely register. The brands that cut through aren’t the ones playing it safe - they’re the ones that strike a nerve, spark emotion, and mean something.
Few know this better than Eleanor Thornton-Firkin, Head of Creative Excellence at Ipsos, who will be joining us on the panel of our next webinar, to share her expertise on crafting campaigns that connect and build long-term loyalty. With a career spent helping some of the world’s biggest brands turn insights into effective creative, Eleanor understands how to move beyond demographic-driven marketing into bold, culture-shaping storytelling.
So, we caught up with her ahead of the panel discussion to gain just some of her insights into the topics we will be covering on the day. Here we discuss how brands can stop playing it safe and start building campaigns that actually make an impact.
The power of insight in empathetic campaigns.
Campaigns that truly understand their audience and can bring this to life in a unique, often empathic way, are increasingly outperforming others, but many brands still treat consumer research as a validation tool rather than a source of inspiration. Ipsos’ analysis of 1,734 global ad cases found that campaigns blending bold creativity with empathy outperform others by 20% in short-term sales potential¹.
For Tesco’s ‘Together this Ramadan’ campaign, the key insight was that many brands acknowledge major cultural moments, but few make the communities they’re speaking to feel truly seen¹. Instead of taking a broad-brush approach, Tesco worked directly with the Muslim community to create something authentic, tapping into the emotional reality of Ramadan - togetherness, generosity, and the joy of breaking fast with loved ones. The result? A campaign that wasn’t just inclusive - it was genuinely representative, resonating with Muslim consumers in a way that felt meaningful rather than performative.
McDonald’s ‘Reindeer Ready’ campaign was built on a universal truth about childhood imagination and festive rituals. The insight? Christmas magic isn’t just in the big moments - it’s in the tiny traditions that make the season feel special. By repositioning a simple carrot stick as ‘reindeer food,’ McDonald’s tapped into the warmth, nostalgia and sense of wonder that defines the holiday season. That emotional connection was so powerful it translated into £86M in additional profit¹, proving that sometimes the smallest insights can create the biggest impact.
“Successful brands use research to uncover deep human truths rather than relying solely on demographic targeting,” says Eleanor. “Brands that prioritise empathetic storytelling see stronger brand equity and customer loyalty.”
From our perspective, there’s a fine line between cultural relevance and playing it safe. Too often, brands confuse connection with fitting in. The risk? Marketing becomes predictable - designed to blend in rather than stand out. While elements of Ipsos’ research highlights the power of empathy and fitting in, we think fitting in is often not enough. The research also suggests that ads that don't play it safe, that break the category conventions and do things differently have a 21% increase in gaining attention. Brands that merely reflect culture risk getting lost in the noise. Instead of aligning with the status quo, they should be contributing to the culture in which they show up.
Don’t be deceived by the data.
Data is a powerful tool, but too much reliance on A/B testing, AI-optimisation and historical performance has led to safe, repetitive marketing. Ipsos warns that over-reliance on performance marketing results in uninspired work¹, with brands stuck in a loop of optimising what’s already been done rather than creating something new. It becomes an easy trap to fall into, especially for busy teams and dwindling budgets.
Despite this, there are brands that are striking the right balance. Libresse’s ‘Blood Normal’ is a prime example of insight-led creativity done right². Research showed that realistic depictions of menstruation would resonate with modern consumers far more than outdated, sanitised portrayals. The result was a campaign that challenged taboos, sparked conversation and strengthened consumer trust.
“Data should act as a creative enabler, not a constraint,” Eleanor explains. “It can help identify what’s missing in consumer conversations, but the best ideas still come from human creative intuition.”
This is one of the biggest issues brands face today: using research to justify safe creative decisions rather than push bold ones forward. Insights should provoke new thinking, not just reinforce what’s expected. Instead of testing ideas to prove they’ll work, brands should use research to uncover the frontier and explore what hasn’t been done before.
The risk of playing it safe.
Brands tend to avoid polarising creativity for fear of alienating audiences, but Eleanor argues that “being disliked can sometimes be more powerful than being ignored. Some of the most iconic campaigns thrive on division, turning bold creative risks into fierce consumer loyalty.”
However, she cautions that “brands have to know who they are and play to it. If you are an activist brand then absolutely you can push the boundaries. You need to have the rest of the organisation behind you so that you are prepared for any backlash and you need to know that you have more lovers than haters to make it work. Other brands though are more in the mainstream and for them it's more about finding a surprising angle on issues that can bring people together.”
Benetton’s provocative advertising that centred on themes that many shy away from, such as race, religion and justice reforms, challenged social norms, sparking debate but strengthening brand identity². This cements their position as an activist brand, pushing boundaries and making waves.
While Heinz’s Mayo Wars campaign spearheaded a different approach, using the tropes of division to play in culture. This approach is particularly effective in the food and beverage sector, playing into brand rivalry, rather than risking backlash, making consumers pick a side rather than remain indifferent. “Polarisation isn’t about controversy for the sake of it - it’s about having a strong enough brand identity that people feel something about you,” says Eleanor.
It seems to us as Kastner, that too many brands fear backlash more than they fear irrelevance. Understandable considering the general public’s penchant for cancel culture, but in today’s oversaturated media landscape, the bigger risk isn’t being divisive - it’s being forgettable.
Measuring emotional impact beyond the usual metrics.
Traditional success metrics - brand awareness, recall, conversions - don’t always capture the full picture. Research shows that emotionally resonant ads are 23% more effective in building long-term brand value than rational, product-driven campaigns².
While the classic metrics still have their place, we see a growing need for more nuanced ways to measure emotional effectiveness — from implicit emotional response testing to tracking cultural impact and brand distinctiveness. Some brands are already moving in this direction. McDonald’s, for example, used behavioural shifts in response to its Christmas campaigns as a proxy for emotional connection, helping to demonstrate the broader commercial value of storytelling that resonates.
Brands would benefit from rethinking what success can look like. Traditional measurement models can sometimes struggle to capture the cultural impact of a campaign. Instead of focusing purely on brand affinity and conversions, brands could look at alternatives such as tracking fame, conversation and cultural relevance.
So, what now?
Brands have two choices: be bold and create campaigns that people remember, or blend into the background and hope someone notices.
With Ipsos’ research showing that campaigns that combine bold creativity with empathy are 20% more effective than creative concepts alone¹, Eleanor reinforces that “brands that dare to lead with empathy and originality outperform those that stick to what’s safe.”
Eleanor’s insights show that the most effective campaigns don’t just reflect their audience, they move them. But standing out requires courage - going beyond data to uncover human truths, balancing cultural relevance with distinctiveness and embracing creativity that sparks reaction, good or bad.
Join the conversation.
Want to hear Eleanor Thornton-Firkin’s insights first-hand? Join us for our upcoming webinar, The Empathy Revolution for Brands, where we’ll be discussing how to build campaigns that resonate, connect, and drive long-term growth.
Sign up today and be part of the conversation shaping the future of marketing.
References:
¹ Dynamic Effectiveness: Ipsos & Effie UK | Volume 2: The Empathy Gap and How to Bridge It. Giving creativity’s other half the airtime it deserves.
² IPSOS: “Be bold, be creative, do research! How early communication research enables marketers to make more creative, bolder advertising…faster.” By Arnoud Debia. February 2019.