From nipple sponsorship to brand joy, community-powered creativity to unexpected collaborations, MAD//Fest’s Creativity Stage, in partnership with SAMY, proved the future belongs to brands brave enough to be more human.

Ok, we may be biased but we think this month’s MAD//Fest had our best content yet. There was a lot to take in, so to help you make sense of it (and show your boss that the 3 days away from the office were, to borrow from our friends at Gillette, the best a marketer can get) here’s 5 insights for your next strategy meeting:

1.Unleash brand joy

Marketers are drowning in dashboards, last-click attribution and often endless rounds of creative compromise, so it was great to hear a case for an alternative to ROI; ROJ.

Timeout’s Nick Bane and drag superstar Ginger Johnson explored why the brands that make people laugh, connect and feel something are the ones that cut through and get ROJ - Return on Joy. They showed (yes, with data), that positive emotional campaigns drive stronger recall, relevance and brand uplift. Best Cities guides, Timeout Markets and things to do recommendations are all solid examples of discovery, social connection and anticipation that deliver ROJ.

Other brands we’ve seen bringing the joy include Duolingo, using humour via the antics of Duo the Owl (more on that from a session at last year’s MAD//Fest); LEGO with joy from imagination; Coca-cola with joy from connection; and Dove with joy from confidence and celebrating difference.

The message? Stop sanding off the weird, wonderful and human edges of creativity. From anticipation and shared experiences, to moments of unexpected playfulness and delight, if you can unleash a little joy in someone’s world, you’ve got more than a customer.  You’ve got a brand advocate. 

2.Tap into human truths

Perhaps only at MAD//Fest could you see “Nipple Sponsorship” on the agenda. Enter Vaseline.

In the elusive hunt for the next big idea, we can often overlook something simple. A ritual widespread across a community that may, for whatever reason, not be talked about. In this case, using Vaseline to stop nipple chaffing. Nathalia Amadue, Global Brand Director at Vaseline, showed us how they turned this runners’ hack into a global platform. This campaign is an extension of Vaseline Verified, which has seen double-digit growth for the brand placing it in Unilever’s 30 Power Brands alongside the likes of Dove, Persil and Hellman’s.

It’s proof that brands don’t win by interrupting culture; they win by understanding it. 

Vaseline didn’t invent a runner’s hack; it noticed one. Spotify didn’t create self-expression; it packaged it. Specsavers didn’t invent human error; it highlighted a universal truth so it became part of cultural vernacular.

If you're tasked with driving brand growth, find the behaviours and rituals people already care about, add value, and you can turn a human truth into something people want to share.

3. Make communities your new creative department

Creativity is no longer reserved for the cool cats in your office. 

SAMY and L’Oreal showed us that by building with creators, not just for them, the brand turned thousands of voices into an always-on source of insight, ideas, advocacy and influence. With L’Orealista, they have created a global community and loyalty platform that connects beauty content creators with their favourite brands through missions, rewards, and exclusive perks.

Tech challenger NOTHING works with its audience as a testing team, collaborating to co-design new products. Red Bull builds communities around athletes, creators and experiences and they generate their often viral stories. And players of Mindscraft are effectively the biggest creative team the brand has.

The best creativity doesn’t always come from inside the business. It comes from listening to the people who already love, use and shape your brand. 

Make communities your creative department, and they’ll help you create work that feels more authentic, relevant and culturally connected.

4. Craft distinctive storytelling

The average consumer scrolls through approximately 300 feet of content every day - that’s about the height of Big Ben (or The Elizabeth Tower to give it its proper name). So, it's perhaps not a surprise that to be remembered you need to be telling a compelling story.

North Face and SAMY proved that distinctive storytelling comes from looking at familiar ideas through an unexpected lens. Rather than simply showing people hiking, the team uncovered the deeper human truths behind why people go outdoors and turned those motivations into memorable characters and narratives. By blending real people, niche passions and a unique creative style inspired by social trends and surreal humour, they created content that felt native to culture but unmistakably on-brand. 

Clare Sadler, Chief Marketing Officer talked about how BHF turned survival statistics into emotional, human stories through real people and real moments. The creative power came from shifting the narrative from “a health issue” to “someone’s life, someone’s family, someone’s second chance.”

Dishoom’s storytelling strength comes from creating an entire universe around the brand - the characters, history, rituals and details behind every café. The story isn’t “come and eat Indian food”, it’s “step into another world.” 

To win attention you don’t need to shout louder, you need to craft more distinctive stories that have true human experience as your protagonist.

5.Build better together

Great collaborations aren’t built by bolting logos together, they’re built by creating a story that is stronger together.

The partnership between Ottolenghi and Botivo showed the power of storytelling-led collaboration: two pleasure brands united around a shared belief that food, drink and connection should be celebrated, not compromised. From the flavour development and ingredient choices to the visual identity and launch moments, every detail added another chapter to the story. The result wasn’t just a new product but a narrative that audiences could buy into, share and extend. 

The somewhat unexpected partnership between Liquid Death and e.l.f. Cosmetics worked because both brands share an irreverent, internet-native personality that became amplified together.

Patagonia and eBay turned shared sustainability values into a service with their Worn Wear resale partnership.

And let's not forget that collaboration is broader than partnerships. With the era of the lone creative genius long gone, brands succeeding today are building multidisciplinary teams and creator networks too (see item 3 above).

To carve out a distinctive brand you need to move beyond creating things together to a place of creating meaning and value. 

So what’s our hot-take? The future belongs to brands with a pulse and brands that give a sh*t. The ones willing to be a little braver, a little stranger, more collaborative and a lot more human.