This week: ‘Comfort creatures’ de-stress streaming, a nude celebration of fitness and a protest against gun violence.

5. Philo: Channel Comfort

Agency: Red Antler

Muppets, Baby Yoda, Mogwai (until they become Gremlins) and Airbnb’s hairy home invaders—nothing’s more loveable than a friendly monster. Live TV streamer Philo channeled the legacy of loveable oddities through its “comfort creatures” to stand out among over-crowded entertainment options. While the campaign boasts the platform’s ability to take the stress out of streaming in a way that very closely resembles a reversion to cable TV channels, its visual recreation of the sensation of carefree bliss is euphoric.

4: Kia: Make Way for Wonderful

Agency: Innocean Berlin

If you’re looking for a tear-jerker, Kia’s latest has two. One spot, “The Message,” is a romantic story of a couple beginning a long-distance relationship. A montage of laughter, tears and longing ends in an act of passion reminiscent of Hollywood rom-coms. The second spot follows a young man rushing to a graduation, where his father is anxiously counting the seconds until his arrival. No spoilers, but the twist ending is sure to elicit an “aww” from any viewer, bolstered by beautiful visual storytelling by director Marcus Söderlund and production by Iconoclast.

3: Peloton: Such a Great App

Agency: Maximum Effort

Peloton finds itself in an interesting conundrum with its latest campaign, starring a naked Christopher Meloni. On one hand, it has created a hilarious and attention-grabbing vehicle for promoting its app with agency Maximum Effort. On the other, none of that matters when the viewer may be preoccupied drooling over Meloni.

2: Magnum: Vegan Dress

Agency: Lola MullenLowe

Sustainability in fashion is a buzzy issue, and Magnum is a surprising brand to lead innovation in the space. The ice cream brand partnered with designer Iris Van Herpen to develop a vegan material derived from cocoa bean husks to 3D print a gorgeous piece of couture, inspired by the frozen treat’s juxtaposition of hard shell and melty ice cream. The design debuted on the runway during Paris Fashion Week, modeled by Cindy Bruna. The campaign is part of a larger sustainability push by Magnum, which includes a partnership with the University of Leeds’ Institute of Textiles and Colour within its School of Design to fund research on the creation of more vegan and naturally sourced materials to be used for fashion design.

1: Change the Ref: The NRA Children’s Museum

Agency: Hungry Man, Ogilvy, Tusk Strategies

Change the Ref was behind last year’s viral campaign “The Lost Class,” which fooled NRA leaders into delivering commencement speeches before an audience of empty chairs representative of the young lives lost to gun violence. Last week, Change the Ref continued its campaigning for stricter legislation on gun sales. It sent a fleet of 52 child-less yellow buses through the streets of Houston to confront pro-gun senator Ted Cruz with a visual representation of the school-aged lives lost to gun violence since 2020, 4,368—surpassing those lost to car accidents, according to the CDC. The buses also carried photos, audio recordings and personal belongings from the children that have died. In tandem with the campaign, Change the Ref launched a new initiative, “Yellow Bus Project” to confront politicians that receive funds from gun lobbying organizations.