Hails & Fails – February 13th 2026
Love was in the air this week, and not just in the card aisle. ASDA turned supermarket shopping into a matchmaking moment, Warburtons marked a milestone birthday with serious star power, and Pizza Hut proved that even a humble pizza box can spark conversation. But while some brands were rewriting the script, Oatly found itself on the wrong side of the rulebook.
HAILS
ASDA plays cupid in the aisles
ASDA is giving single shoppers a helping hand this Valentine’s Day with red baskets designed to signal you’re open to meeting someone while doing the weekly shop. Simple, playful and very shareable, the idea cuts through a crowded Valentine’s landscape by rooting itself in something genuinely relatable – we’ve all spotted a stunner in the vegetable aisle. A fun social push, including a collab with Sophie Jones, helped amplify the moment and gave it the right level of wink. Not easy to stand out in mid-February, but this did.
Warburtons turns 150 with Morgan Freeman blockbuster
Warburtons has marked its 150th anniversary by going big – very big – with a blockbuster-style campaign starring Morgan Freeman. Following in the footsteps of previous A-list collaborations, the brand leans into cinematic storytelling to celebrate its heritage with humour and scale. It’s confident, unapologetically bold and proof that even a loaf of bread can command Hollywood-level attention.
Pizza Hut thinks outside the box
Pizza Hut UK has unveiled a vertical pizza box – and yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like. Designed to be carried upright like a handbag or briefcase, the playful piece of packaging sparked instant curiosity on London streets before anyone even explained what it was. In a fiercely competitive category, it’s a clever reminder that sometimes innovation isn’t about the product, but how you frame it. One of those ideas that makes you wonder why it hasn’t been done before.
FAIL
Oatly told it can’t call it ‘milk’
Oatly has been banned from using the word “milk” to market its oat-based products in the UK, following a court ruling that plant-based alternatives can’t be labelled as such. The decision has reignited the long-running debate around food labelling and consumer clarity, with critics arguing the terminology is already widely understood. For a brand built on challenging dairy norms, it’s a frustrating setback, and a reminder that regulatory detail can still trip up even the most established disruptors.
