Generative AI hasn’t just changed what people search for; it’s changing how they discover, evaluate, and decide, as a new study from the7stars shows. 

Rituals can turn passive consumption into a ceremony. Ads and brand experiences that nurture them might become fixtures in people’s emotional lives, says Simon Carr.

In a crowded Christmas ad market, more brands are realising that being remembered for creative storytelling is the prerequisite for being loved, says the UK MD of Happydemics.

Made-for-advertising (MFA) sites are thriving and causing the “sloppification” of the internet. It’s time they were stopped and adland has the power to turn off the tap, says Ogury’s Benjamin Lanfry.

Is the festive idealism of families watching your ads together at risk of becoming a ghost of Christmas past? Not if cinema has anything to say about it, argues DCM’s head of insight.

Buzz Lightyear is not the only disruptor making a comeback; direct mail is also on the smart marketer’s radar for 2026, says Marketreach’s Sonia Danner.

A modernisation of the merger rules is long overdue, but change in the public interest is afoot, explains Ray Snoddy. 

If Meta can meet the IAB’s Gold Standard Certification whilst, as Reuters reported, the platform generated $16bn in ad revenue from scams and banned goods, then what is the role of the standard?

After helping many brands over the years develop their HOWs, Perfect Storm’s Dan Svikis has become attuned to the red flags that may signal it’s missing from that vital layer of comms planning.

It may be a ‘fallow year’ for major women’s sport tournaments in 2026, but that shouldn’t stop brands from getting behind the female sporting ecosystem, says EssenceMediacom’s EMEA sports & sponsorship director.