From gravy-drenched pastries to cats living their best nine lives, this week has served up a smorgasbord of creative campaigns worth savouring. Greggs and KFC joined forces for the ultimate comfort-food collab, Yorkshire Tea proved it can take a joke on the other side of the world, and Whiskas built a feline wonderland to celebrate International Cat Day. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing in PR land — BrewDog’s latest ad found itself on the wrong side of the ASA.
HAILS
Culinary crossover of the century
Two beloved high-street food brands have teamed up to deliver what’s being billed as the “culinary crossover of the century.” Greggs launched a limited-edition sausage roll smothered in KFC’s signature gravy, offered for free this week in Manchester, London and Newcastle. And that’s not all, they also launched a “Gravy Meets Pastry” sharing bucket – six sausage rolls served with gravy – priced at £10 via Uber Eats. This mouthwatering activation taps into rich brand nostalgia, bold flavour-mashing, and product theatre. Yes please!
Yorkshire Tea goes Down Under
Yorkshire Tea boldly entered the Australian market this week, rolling out OOH ads in Sydney and Melbourne with the tagline “Let’s have a proper brew”. The nation then watched on as a local graffiti artist sprayed over “Proper” with Aussie slang like “Good As,” “Decent”, and “Bloody Good”. The brand then leaned in, capturing the creative process in social content. This shows impressive agility – listening, laughing with your audience, and letting brand personality shine. A testament to creative responsiveness and co-creation.
Welcome to purr-adise
Whiskas spread joy with an immersive, one-day-only activation in London this week – Purradise – launching to mark International Cat Day. The playful, multi-sensory experience explores feline fascination via zones like Aroma Island and a Gravy Lake, inviting cat lovers to step into a world designed just for their pets – and their senses. The campaign’s omnichannel reach via digital, OOH, radio, in-store, and PR channels exemplifies seamless, experiential storytelling.
FAIL
Brewdog hit with ad ban
A poster promoting BrewDog’s Wingman Session IPA, seen in May 2025, was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The ad’s copy – “Always Got Your Back,” coupled with scenarios like Wi-Fi failures, bad weather, or a friend being late – was deemed problematic. The ASA ruled these real-life frustrations could evoke feelings of boredom or loneliness, implying alcohol could act as a remedy. Despite BrewDog’s defence that the message was metaphorical (intended to highlight reliability, not emotional support), the ASA judged it violated the CAP Code by suggesting alcohol could solve problems. BrewDog accepted the ruling, withdrew the ad, and committed not to run it again.