The Briefing: October 2026

AI CHATBOTS AREN’T THEMSELVES WHEN HUNGRY

AI chatbots are getting smarter by the day, more knowledgeable with every use and according to Snickers, owned by Mars, AI can get quite hungry too. 

Launched on 31 August, Snickers Hungr.AI is targeted towards AI assistants that are producing unsatisfactory answers or excessively agreeing with a user.

By encouraging the chatbot to ‘take a byte’ of the digital candy bar, which has a code embedded to provide instructions, the Large Language Model (LLM) reconsiders its answer now that its hungry moment is over.

“Whether it’s a person or an AI chatbot, the truth hasn’t changed: when you’re not acting like yourself, we believe you maybe just need a Snickers,” says Ashley Gill, Mars Snacking Brand & Content Vice President.

Being the first confectionary company to target AI, Snickers may have set the future of marketing as the world turns to LLMs more often.

VODAFONE PUTS SPEED INTO ACTION

Vodafone’s new SuperMobile has been launched and brings users up to 4x faster speeds with its 5G+ FastTrack to make them feel unstoppable.

Marking a new chapter of Vodafone, radio star Roman Kemp takes the leading role in its action-movie inspired campaign.

The 30 second hero film positions Vodafone SuperMobile as a core factor for customers being able to squeeze life to the fullest without worrying about connectivity issues.

“When you know you have the UK’s biggest network in your pocket, you have the confidence to do more and go further.”

The campaign also stretches to out-of-home activity across UK locations to create awareness of what customers can now expect from their mobile experience.

After 40 years of keeping countless people connected to everything they love, Vodafone’s latest campaign reinforces its position as a network that the nation can rely on.

LUSH VS THE ALGORITHM

Social Media is Not Free. This is the message that Lush is pushing through its new in-store campaign across the UK, EU, US and Canada.

In 2021, the business did what most couldn’t ever dream of doing – it stepped away from social media and took a stance against the unsafe platforms, realigning Lush’s values to be “more about passions and less about likes.”

“Turns out the platforms are addictive by design, keeping us scrolling so our data can be harvested and monetised.”

Now almost 5 years later, the latest campaign directs customers to its newly launched website, safersocials.com, for resources and links that advocate for a digitally safe world.

Since stepping away from social media in its fight against the algorithm, the brand has invested in brand authenticity through physical presence and human interaction and has become one of the biggest beauty companies worldwide, no social media presence required.

M&M’S MASCOTS HAVE AN APPETITE FOR NEW GENRES

M&M’s well loved strategy has returned to screens – its button-shaped mascots are now featured in an ad campaign that reveals them in popular film and TV genres like crime thrillers and a reality competition series.

The trio of ad spots include the brand’s tagline ‘It’s more fun together’ and positions M&M’s as the ultimate snack to pair with these TV genres.

MCDONALD’S CALLS XBOX FOR HELP WITH SIDEQUESTS

For anyone that has ever thought something from a video game looks good enough to eat, McDonald’s has made that happen.

Its latest partnership with XBox brings in-game food to the real world with product releases including Black Pepper & Garlic nuggets, inspired by Halo’s Moa Nuggets and a Dragonbreath Dipping sauce inspired by World of Warcraft – making food resonate.

YOUTH TAKES CENTRE COURT FOR WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY

It’s not just been the FIFA World Cup everyone’s talking about – The 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup concluded in Berlin on 13 September and with rights to stream the tournament, Warner Bros. embraced Team USA’s younger lineup.

Centering its ad content for the tournament largely on the athletes, it highlighted the players’ eccentric personalities both on and off the court.

HELLMANN’S KICKS OFF NFL SEASON

The new ‘Call for Hellmann’s’ campaign centralises around two 15 second spots – ‘Make the Call’ and ‘Chicky Tenders’ – to celebrate the kick off of the new NFL season.

The campaign aims to further the brands presence in football culture and transfer the language and energy of football to the food fans are eating, such as burgers and chips.

JEEP DOES COUNTRY RIGHT

After 85 years of being an automaker, Jeep looks back on its American roots with the ‘This Is Jeep Country’ campaign and takes on a different approach to most.

It includes nearly its entire current line up, including the Jeep Wave, and connects its history of serving America to now being driven by millions of people daily.

THE MARKETING WORLD EVOLVES… AGAIN

The American Marketing Association (AMA) has released its 2026 marketing report with insights into how the marketing world is evolving providing insights into the evolving world of marketing.

Marketing Chief has summarised the five trends the report highlights.

1. The Age of Autonomous Agents – AI agents are decreasing workloads by handling repetitive tasks while marketers bring human insight to the creative side.

2. Consumer Discovery Shifts to Scroll – Consumers are turning to AI chatbots and creator-led platforms for product discoveries. Brands are rethinking their advertising strategy and pushing content designed for feed-based environments like TikTok and Instagram.

3. The Liquid Workforce and the Portfolio Career – full-time careers are fading out as freelancers are on the rise, aided by AI. Marketers are continuing to develop strategic capabilities that can’t be easily automated.

4. Innovation Imperative in Sustainability – Green storytelling is encouraged for brands in order to meet the growing demand for environmental responsibility.

5. Building Brand Trust in a Fragmented World –There is a global excess of AI-driven misinformation so brands must earn trust authentically, empower authentic ambassadors and turn to modular brand strategies.