We are entering Christmas in adland which means soon some of the biggest ads of the year will drop across our TV screens, phones, billboards and more.

Both highly anticipated and highly speculated, this episode of The Campaign Podcast goes through what Campaign knows so far about the ads, from Lucy Punch and James Norton featuring in the M&S ad to McDonald's not creating a hero film for the second year, as well as looking back at previous years to predict what trends might appear in this year’s crop of xmas ads.

Hosted by Campaign's tech and multimedia editor Lucy Shelley, Campaign's creative team join the episode: creativity and culture editor Gurjit Degun, deputy creativity and culture editor Charlotte Rawlings and senior reporter Eszter Gurbicz.

Further reading:

Coca-Cola hires Ajaz Ahmed start-up for Christmas campaign

Is the World Cup a bigger opportunity for brands than Christmas?

Oxfam appoints creative agency for 2026 Christmas campaign

The Lists 2025: Top 20 film ads

Peta “Happy Christmassacre” by Grey London

Sainsbury's set to make it three Christmas ads in a row for the BFG

Shelter awards Christmas campaign to Meanwhile following pitch

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WPP Production opened its first global flagship office in September with an AI-powered high-tech studio in Devon’s Point, East London. Deputy creativity and culture editor Charlotte Rawlings attended the opening and gives her perspective on the facility.The opening comes as WPP’s Q2 results showed WPP Production was the only one of the holding company’s four units that reported positive growth.

Also in September, internal guidance from WPP Production was seen by campaign which asked staff to convince clients to insource all production, and avoid traditional commercial bidding by providing all three bids from WPP. This caused furore among independents and reignited a longstanding debate between in-house agency production companies and independents.

In this episode, Campaign's editorial team is looking into why production is such big battleground, and if WPP’s investment marks a step change for the sector. Tech and multimedia editor Lucy Shelley hosts the episode which features Rawlings, alongside creativity and culture editor, Gurjit Degun, and UK editor Maisie McCabe.

Further reading:

WPP Production takes down insourcing guidance

'A risk the work becomes narrower and worse': adland reacts to WPP Production insourcing guidance

WPP closes Hogarth and launches WPP Production

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What is the true balance between human spaceflight and robotic exploration when it comes to science, inspiration, and decision-making capabilities? How is space transitioning from a niche frontier to an everyday commercial workplace? What role do regulatory frameworks, such as the United Nations, the Artemis Accords, and the Astra Carta, play in keeping orbit and the lunar surface safe and sustainable? And how can the UK Government act as an "anchor customer" to bridge the commercial "valley of death" for domestic space startups?

Join Alice and Jonners in this special episode recorded in Chichester Marina with British astronaut Tim Peake as he shares insights on space adaptation syndrome, commercial space stations, lunar research bases, global space traffic management, and the future of human exploration to Mars.

Contributors:

Alice Bunn, President of UKspace

Dr Alice Bunn OBE FIMechE FRAeS CEng | LinkedIn

UKspace: Overview | LinkedIn

Jonathan Davies, The Karman Line

Jonathan Davies | LinkedIn

The Karman Line | LinkedIn

Tim Peake, Astronaut

Tim Peake | LinkedIn

Key topics covered:

• Human spaceflight vs. robotic exploration
• Space Adaptation Syndrome (nausea & gravity adjustment)
• Normalising space as a commercial workplace
• Transition from space stations to commercial Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
• Artemis programme & sustainable lunar research bases
• Astronaut selection mindsets, psychological profiles, and stress testing
• International space cooperation & soft power (ISS legacy)
• Governance, leaseholds, and regulatory frameworks on the Moon
• The Astra Carta & space sustainability
• Human exploration of Mars
• Government as “anchor customers

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.