Fly By News – Week of Oct 17
Ad industry leans into “humanness” as AI looms larger
The creative pendulum is swinging back to the human touch. At Advertising Week New York, speaker after speaker echoed the same mantra: emotion is the last moat. As generative AI floods feeds with infinite sameness, the industry is rediscovering the value of lived experience, imperfection, and storytelling.
The shift is showing up in campaigns like Coca-Cola’s “Create Real Magic,” which started with AI tools but finished with real artists and fans, and in the return of celebrity-driven collaborations that hinge on personality, not polish. Even performance marketers are experimenting with “humanity bias” testing, swapping overly-optimized assets for raw, phone-shot videos that consistently outperform studio versions.
Hawke Media perspective:
AI can amplify creativity, but it cannot replace the instinct that makes a campaign feel alive. At Hawke, we use tools like Hawke.AI to identify performance trends across thousands of ad accounts, but every insight still goes through human editors and strategists who understand nuance. Automation finds the opportunity, and humans turn it into connection. The brands that scale emotional intelligence, not just machine intelligence, will own 2026.
WPP drops $400 million on Google AI
WPP’s new $400 million partnership with Google gives the holding company access to Gemini and Veo across creative, media, and analytics workflows. It is not just a technology play, it is a signal. AI is no longer a side project; it is a requirement for holding companies trying to reclaim efficiency lost to years of fragmentation.
The deal accelerates WPP’s “AI-powered agency of the future,” where planning, production, and post-production all live inside a connected data ecosystem. The move will ripple across the industry as smaller agencies and brands now face pressure to integrate similar capabilities or risk being left behind.
Hawke Media perspective:
This is validation, not intimidation. You do not need a $400 million partnership to operationalize AI. You need actionable data and a strategy team that can interpret it. That is why we built Hawke.AI to democratize this capability for growing brands. It benchmarks performance against the industry in real time, flags wins and opportunities, and gives leaders a dashboard that scales decision-making without scaling headcount. WPP’s investment underscores the same truth: efficiency is the new creative edge.
Fanta goes full horror movie
This year, Fanta’s Halloween campaign was cinematic. From a haunted “Factory of Fears” pop-up to collaborations with Chucky and Five Nights at Freddy’s, the brand turned itself into an experience. The campaign extended across TikTok, AR filters, and limited-edition packaging, blurring the line between CPG and entertainment.
It was a masterclass in world-building. Fanta did not advertise; it staged an event that rewarded participation. The result was record engagement on social, stronger Gen Z resonance, and a reminder that experiential storytelling still sells soda.
Hawke Media perspective:
The future of CPG marketing is immersive IP. Fanta’s playbook shows how brands can borrow tactics from streaming and gaming to create universes instead of campaigns. At Hawke, we have seen this pay off for DTC brands that blend physical activations, influencer narratives, and social-first storytelling. The key is coherence. Every channel becomes a character in the story. To scale, build an ecosystem, not an ad.
Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/coca-cola-fanta-soda-halloween-universal-blumhouse-2025-10
Magazines are shrinking, but going luxe
Condé Nast is trimming issue counts for titles like Vogue and Vanity Fair while doubling down on tactile experiences, archival paper stocks, and collectible aesthetics. It is the luxury pivot: scarcity breeds desire. Print is not dying; it is rebranding as art.
With ad revenue moving online, high-end magazines are repositioning as brand experiences for affluent audiences. In fashion and hospitality, a glossy placement is not about impressions anymore; it is about association. The medium has become a signal of seriousness, craft, and permanence.
Hawke Media perspective:
There is a lesson here for digital brands. Not everything should scale infinitely. Sometimes, limiting access raises perceived value. For ecommerce founders, that might mean releasing seasonal drops instead of evergreen SKUs or producing limited-run content designed to feel “ownable.” In a market flooded with endless content, scarcity is the new luxury. Quality and pacing can be growth levers.
Victoria’s Secret makes its comeback
Once written off as an outdated relic, Victoria’s Secret is pulling off one of retail’s most interesting comebacks. The brand has rebuilt its image through inclusivity, cultural partnership, and multi-platform storytelling. Angel Reese headlined its latest runway show, The Victoria’s Secret World Tour streamed on Prime Video, and TikTok creators are driving conversation around empowerment instead of fantasy.
Sales have begun to stabilize, and sentiment is turning positive for the first time in years. It proves that brand rehabilitation works when it is authentic, consistent, and visible.
Hawke Media perspective:
Reinvention requires both courage and data. Brands cannot pivot by guessing what audiences want; they have to listen, test, and iterate across every touchpoint. At Hawke, we advise legacy brands to build “listening systems” before storytelling systems: social sentiment analysis, CRM segmentation, lifecycle triggers. Rebranding decisions should be rooted in real audience signals. Victoria’s Secret’s transformation was not just rebranding; it was repositioning around truth, not nostalgia.
Closing thought
Across every headline this week, the theme is reinvention. AI is rewriting the rules of efficiency. Human creativity is reclaiming emotion. Brands are moving from content to context, from campaign to connection.
The opportunity for marketers now is to integrate both instincts: to automate what scales, and humanize what sells.