Most Read of 2024: Europe’s Biggest Stories

It’s quite fitting for 2024 that we start with an AI-related story. You were fascinated by Publicis Groupe’s impressive feat of thanking thousands of employees personally. Or, well, through an AI avatar of Arthur Sadoun and other Groupe star guests. What made the feat impressive was that each video included in-jokes with employees, as well as their name, making the thank-you much more personal. What do you think – a good use of AI?

David Coulthard Breaks Into Johannesburg’s Kyalami Racetrack to See If Red Bull’s RB7 Car Has What It Takes

Iconic Agency and RSA crafted a thrilling global campaign celebrating Oracle Red Bull Racing’s support for bringing Formula 1 back to Africa, and you loved it. The centerpiece is a four-minute heist-inspired film starring F1 legend David Coulthard, set at Johannesburg’s Kyalami racetrack. Blending action, comedy, and South African culture, the story features local comedian Jam Jam and drift champion Sam Sam. Directed by Sam Coleman, known for his nuanced storytelling, the film highlights the vibrant essence of Johannesburg with stunning visuals, including a Formula 1 car dramatically airlifted into the city.

Following their ‘Slurp’ campaign for Pot Noodle, adam&eveDDB consulted the data and found out a number of people in the audience were, in fact, offended by noodle slurping. But it seems that a big chunk of you all also knows that slurping – especially in Japan, the origin country of instant noodles – is a sign of appreciation for the scrumptious dish. The agency took it upon itself to widen the appeal for the campaign, and with a healthy dose of sarcasm, overlaid the slurping noises with… well, other noises. We approve!

I mean, with names like these in the headline, it’s no wonder you wanted to read it. But the campaign itself is pure gold too – a celebrity squad repping Squad Busters, embarks on a mission to turn a real-life player’s life into a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, following him from morning to night. In a series of comical scenes, directed by Jody Hill, the cast accompany our gamer to a job interview, into a toilet cubicle, and cram inside a car to give a Carpool Karaoke-style rendition of the Nickelback classic ‘How You Remind Me’.

Ah, memories of a hot Euro summer when all we cared about was the Euros and the Olympics. Non-stop sports activations, al fresco dining everywhere, a constant flow of beer and pure vibes. Hellmann’s jumped on this wave just in time, as they always do, and you appreciated it. After all, they were the official BBQ partner of the UEFA Euro 2024. The campaign ‘Up Your Game!’ invited several markets across Europe to keep this rhythm going by elevating their BBQ experience with some sauce. Sigh. All we can do today is reminisce and look forward to the next time the sun will set later than 4pm. 

Another light-hearted quick campaign that you loved was this April Fool’s exercise by London-based studio The Or. A bit of dry humour never hurt nobody, and while this mini heart-attack moment would have been a total wind-up, the reward of getting crisps instead of a parking ticket went down a treat with Londoners. It went down a treat with LBB readers too.

Sky Media and Call of Duty launched ‘The Replacer’ campaign to promote Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, in October this year. Featuring Peter Stormare reprising his role as ‘The Replacer’, the campaign humorously takes over Sky Sports News, with presenters Mike Wedderburn and Hayley McQueen replaced so they can play the game. Blending sports and gaming, the campaign targeted both fandoms through Premier League broadcasts, including Chelsea vs. Newcastle. 

At the very start of the year, you got the scoop on WPP’s Capital Markets Day presentation, where the holding company acknowledged 'slower growth' in 2023, and CEO Mark Read and the team lent into WPP’s structural simplification, AI-driven future and strategies for growth. Reported by LBB’s Laura Swinton, much of the presentation focused on the AI technology and platforms that the holding company believes will both create efficiencies for the bottom line and open up opportunities for clients – as well as the more streamlined WPP structure which has seen the selection box of agency networks whittled down to just six hero brands (VML, AKQA, Ogilvy, Hogarth, groupM and Burson). 

In February, you were curious about what’s the ‘Good Way to Bank’, and Nationwide answered. In this iteration of the campaign platform, we see Nationwide’s friendly ground-level branch juxtaposed with a scary all-glass building, full of angry banker men, more specifically “out-of-touch boss of fictional A.N.Y Bank.” And, you guessed it, he’s totally out of touch and seems to not understand why customers would need a SavingsWatch service that notifies them of changes to their savings accounts, annual savings reports and newly launched accounts that might be better suited to their needs. Nationwide’s already doing that.

Burger King’s ‘Foodfillment’ brand platform served us with a divisive iteration this year. A campaign centred around mums that have just given birth and are enjoying a Burger King. The idea was born after a survey conducted by Mumsnet on behalf of Burger King UK, found that for many mothers, the food you have straight after birth is one of the most amazing and unforgettable feelings ever. Mumsnet surveyed more than 2,000 mums, and found that over a third of respondents (39%) said their first post-birth meal felt like the ultimate version of that meal. A third also said that burger and fries is their most wanted meal after delivering a baby!

CALM knows a thing or two about somber messages, and this was one of their most gut-wrenching. A display of thousands of balloons in the middle of London’s Westfield undoubtedly gave passersby a shot of excitement when they saw the installation from afar. That would be until they realised that each of the over 6000 balloons represented a young person who has died by suicide in the last decade, and the birthday they did not reach.

This has come up a few times in our roundup pieces, always with great accolades attached to it, so it’s safe to say – people loved it. And I think there is some satisfaction to starting this article with a heavily AI-ed campaign, and finishing it on a beautifully analog note. Photographs of curious eyes, filled with hope and excitement, looking out of an airplane window. We certainly hope to be taking pictures of the clouds very soon, and we hope you do too – when you’re off to see family, friends, and loved ones. Happy Christmas LBB readers, and we’ll see you in the next one!