2025 in five campaigns.

A good campaign is not measured by its numbers alone. Some stand out because they succeed, others because they go off the rails, and both are instructive. Here are the five that filled my conversations, my feeds and my notes in 2025, from fifth place to first.

N°5 · Cracker Barrel, the logo that should have stayed

In August 2025, the American restaurant chain Cracker Barrel unveiled a modernised, cleaner logo, without the character leaning on his barrel who had been with it for decades. The reaction was immediate and massive: for part of the public, this was not a logo being removed, it was a piece of childhood. A few days later, the brand backtracked and returned to the old one.

The lesson: a rebrand is not decided against your community. Modernise, yes, but knowing exactly what people love about what you are about to change.

N°4 · American Eagle, the pun that divides

In summer 2025, American Eagle launched a campaign with actress Sydney Sweeney around a double-meaning slogan: “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans”, where “jeans” sounds like “genes”. The pun sparked a heated debate about what it implied, far beyond the fashion world.

The brand got people talking like never before. But the campaign raises a real professional question: how far can you play with polarisation? A divisive message grabs attention, but it also chooses who the brand speaks to, and who it lets go.

N°3 · Astronomer, a crisis turned around in one video

July 2025: at a Coldplay concert, the kiss cam landed on the CEO of Astronomer, a software company, and a colleague. Their awkward reaction went viral within hours. A few days later, the company released a video in which actress Gwyneth Paltrow, ex-wife of Coldplay’s singer, introduced as a temporary spokesperson, answered the questions… by talking only about the product.

It is a rare lesson in crisis communication: acknowledge the absurd instead of denying it, and take back the floor with a wink. A company unknown to the general public the day before turned an embarrassment into a moment of fame.

N°2 · Nike, back at the Super Bowl

In February 2025, Nike returned to the Super Bowl after years of absence with “So Win”, a film starring female athletes that flips the demands placed on them. No product in the foreground, no overwhelming logo: a manifesto.

What I take from it: a big brand gains by taking a stand on what it knows. Nike does not talk about shoes, it talks about sport as it would like it to be, and that is exactly what makes it credible.

N°1 · Duolingo, the death of Duo

My first place goes to the campaign analysed in Notebook N°07: Duolingo announcing the death of its own mascot and letting its community write what came next. An absurd idea on paper, only possible because the brand had built its character for years.

To me, it is the campaign that best sums up 2025: the brands that leave a mark are the ones that give the audience a role.

See you next year for the special issue on 2026. Until then, the Notebook goes on, one issue a month.