Turn Back Thyme

Uber Eats’ latest campaign takes a clever twist on nostalgia with none other than pop icon Cher, who isn’t just turning back time—she’s blasting all the way back to the 1680s instead of the 1980s. Appearing on top of a cannon (in a nod to her Turn Back Time film clip), Cher lands in an era of Witch Trials, showcasing a funny play on words and historical mishaps. It’s not only a nod to Cher’s timeless appeal but also a testament to Uber Eats’ creative flair for integrating pop culture icons into delightfully absurd scenarios. This campaign had most of the office in stitches. In fact, we love most of the campaigns Uber Eats create – they’re happy to take calculated risks, and perfect examples of how humour can effectively capture the audience’s attention and make a promotional message stick.

Full Stream Ahead

Video content just keeps getting bigger and LinkedIn is going all in. With a whopping 36% jump in watch time over the last year, LinkedIn’s latest video updates are a really great way for anyone looking to boost their brand’s visibility – be it business or personal – and engagement online. Now, you can enjoy a sleek, full-screen, vertical video display right on your desktop – TikTok style. It’s perfect for making your videos pop in the feed and enhancing discoverability with smarter search functions and a cool swipeable carousel. Plus, LinkedIn’s rolling out some sharp analytics tools and fresh LinkedIn Learning courses to help you nail your video content game. Curious to see how these updates can rev up your LinkedIn strategy? You can read this article here. Want some more info on how to ramp up your video content game? We’ve been making content a big priority for us this year, and in particular, video content. If you’ve got some burning questions, let us know and our videographer, Tim, can share some tips and tricks for creating engaging video content. Need someone to capture some top-notch content for your brand? We can help there too – get in touch to book him in.

Deep Dive Decoder

How cool is this? OpenAI has just unveiled their latest brainchild, the ‘deep research’ tool, and it’s set to revolutionise how we handle data-heavy research tasks. Essentially, what usually takes hours of sifting through documents, articles, and data can now be whipped up by this AI in about 10 minutes! And, according to them, you’ll get a comprehensive report crafted by an AI that can match the prowess of a seasoned research analyst!

As a business that relies heavily on thorough research to back our strategies, we can’t wait to see this tool in action. It’s designed to plow through a mountain of text, images, and PDFs to deliver a well-rounded report. This could be a game-changer for lots of businesses, especially when analysing market trends or exploring new industry territories.

While it’s currently only available in the US for OpenAI’s Pro tier users, we’re keeping a keen eye on this. Once it rolls out more broadly, we will be diving in to test out its capabilities. For anyone whose job revolves around heavy-duty research, this tool could soon become an absolute must-have in your arsenal.

Shopping Shift

Step aside, Google—there’s a new shopping guide in town for Gen Z!

According to the latest buzz from a GRIN survey, Instagram and TikTok are leading the charge as the go-to platforms for product discovery among 18- to 27-year-olds. Instagram is at the forefront with 30.4% of young shoppers browsing their feeds for the latest buys, closely followed by TikTok at 23.2%. Google, while still reigning supreme with Millennials, Gen X, and Boomers, trails behind for the younger crowd.

This shift highlights a broader trend: social platforms are evolving into vibrant hubs not just for finding new products, but for search in general. How will this shape traditional search habits? While SEO is a big part of the marketing puzzle, the puzzle is ever-evolving, and it’s important to stay up-to-date with marketing trends and ensure you don’t adopt an “all your eggs in one basket” approach. You can view the PDF here.

Superbowl Showdown

It’s Monday morning here in Australia, and the Super Bowl buzz is underway as I type, especially with the commercials that are just as thrilling as the game itself. Ad Week has turned viewing these iconic ads into its own spectacle with a live tracker updating ads in real time.

Ads featured everyone from Matthew McConaughy for Uber Eats, and Glen Powell for Ram, as well as a follicle-fuelled frenzy with not one, but two ads featuring flying facial hair – Little Caesars featured Eugene Levy’s eyebrows reaching new heights, while Pringles features Nick Offerman’s moustache taking flight. Silly, strange – and pretty hair-larious that two agencies somehow came up with almost identical ad ideas for the Super Bowl.

Another ad we enjoyed was STōK Cold Brew Coffee’s spot featuring Channing Tatum. Channelling his “Magic Mike” persona, Tatum was in the locker room ready to teach the Wrexham AFC players a thing or two about celebration dances. With a mix of breakdancing, voguing, and some playful jazz hands, the ad flirted with the boundaries of PG, all while keeping it light and humorous. What made the commercial really entertaining was the genuine fun everyone seemed to be having—Tatum included. The nods to his pals and Wrexham co-owners, Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, added a personal twist, blending sports, dance, and a hearty laugh into a perfect Super Bowl cocktail.

Got a minute to relive the magic or catch up on other game day ads? Swing by the Ad Week tracker here to check out all the highlights from this year’s Super Bowl commercials. It’s worth a look.

Reel Results

More Google news, and more video news – this time, it’s Google Ads shaking things up with a nifty new ‘Video’ option in the Assets section, pointing to a major push towards ramping up video content in ad campaigns. This is a strategic move signalling Google’s ambition to make video a heavyweight player in search and across various ad formats in 2025.

Why is this exciting? It simplifies the whole process of integrating videos into campaigns—making it as easy as a click to upload. This could be a great upgrade for advertisers, especially those who’ve been struggling to snag higher click-through rates. With videos now a straightforward part of the Google Ads toolkit, we can expect to see some serious creativity and perhaps even better engagement rates as marketers get more room to experiment.

Keep your eyes peeled on how these videos perform compared to the old guard of text and display ads. Google’s still tight-lipped about any additional features that might roll out with this update, but they’re testing the waters with a select group of customers. This rollout could herald a new era of ad strategies, making it an exciting development for any marketer looking to get ahead in the digital advertising game.

Marvel Mistakes?

Despite discussions swirling on social, Marvel’s sticking to their story—no AI touched their new “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” poster. But with people in the crowd rocking four fingers and what looks to be copy-paste faces, you’ve gotta wonder… Really, no robots? These hallmarks of AI are actually human goof-ups? Hmmm. As we wait for the July release starring Pedro Pascal, we can’t help but give the artwork a little bit of a side-eye. You can check out the poster here.