Among today’s creative highlights, John Cena stumps for McDonald’s McValue menu; Hanes dresses models in past-their-prime underwear; and Wealthsimple puts a slug at the center of a cinematic spot.
Creativity
11 creative campaigns to know about today
Today’s picks include Wealthsimple’s industrious slug endorser and John Cena introducing McDonald’s McValue menu
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John Cena helps launch the McValue menu, featuring new deals at McDonald’s nationwide.
Credit:
McDonald's
Halo Top
The ice cream brand unveiled Dry January Swap Kits, featuring pints of ice cream “rebranded” with the names of alcoholic drinks, to encourage consumers to swap booze for ice cream.
Hanes
A campaign from Special U.S. features models wearing ratty old worn-out underwear—to convince consumers (who keep underwear for three years on average) to buy some new ones.
Happy Egg
A father explains to his daughter what it takes to make a “happy egg” in this lighthearted film from Yard NYC for the organic egg brand.
McDonald’s
The fast-food chain introduces its McValue Menu—featuring new deals at U.S. restaurants—in a campaign starring John Cena. As part of the launch, McDonald’s is also partnering with 16 brands to roll out more than $3 million in promotional offers—such as one free month of YouTube TV, 20 minutes of free WiFi on American Airlines or a free Tinder Gold Premium Access subscription. Those deals will be available via McValue ads on those other brands’ platforms.
National Headquarters for the Protection of Children Online
In Israel, the National Headquarters for the Protection of Children Online is establishing digital police stations in games such as Roblox and Minecraft—addressing the statistic that over 60% of gamers have experienced harm while playing computer games. Investigators and legal professionals from Israel’s police will be available at the stations via a hotline 24/7. The initiative was created by Leo Burnett Tel Aviv.
ParticipACTION
A giant hole in the ground is a metaphor for the free time we can create in our day—if we stop doomscrolling and binge-watching—in Zulu Alpha Kilo’s epic spot for the nonprofit.
Pringles
The Kellanova snack brand revealed silhouettes of four celebs who will star in its Super Bowl commercial from FCB New York. The brand called its upcoming spot its “most stacked and ’stached campaign ever ... and it’s bound to be hair-raising.”
Toast
The digital technology platform for restaurants (and other hospitality businesses) created a short film showing people making demanding—and even borderline absurd—orders at a New York City restaurant, to see how the Toast platform holds up. The spot, from agency Arnold, includes an appearance by Matty Matheson of “The Bear.”
Topps
The collectibles company chose New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge to appear on the 2025 Topps Series 1 cover. This was revealed to him during a surprise video shoot featuring Spike Lee and last year’s cover star, Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Atlanta Braves. Agency Kamp Grizzly developed the spot.
Wealthsimple
A slug proves a surprisingly charming character in Wealthsimple’s new spot about overcoming everyday challenges to achieving one’s goals. Martin de Thurah of Epoch Films directed the piece.
Whitney Museum of American Art
A stunning short film from dancer turned director Ezra Hurwitz, in collaboration with Ailey II artistic director Francesca Harper, features dancers physically situating choreographer Alvin Ailey’s masterworks among the Whitney’s collection. The piece, set to Radiohead’s “Everything in Its Right Place,” promotes the “Edges of Ailey” exhibition at the Whitney.
