Daily Signals 28.08.2025

Signals

Irn-Bru blends humour with heritage in new campaign, a singalong screening of KPop Demon Hunters is coming to BIFF and Australians are increasingly listening to podcasts and radio.

Irn-Bru revives Made in Scotland from Girders slogan

Irn-Bru, UK

UK – Irn-Bru is reviving its iconic Made in Scotland from Girders slogan in a campaign led by advertising agency Lucky Generals. Once a celebration of physical power, the line now shifts to strength of character to reposition the drink as a symbol of courage, individuality and bravery.

The brand’s biggest investment outside Scotland to date, the campaign revolves around a Glasgow boy who rejects the label of soft drink with a passionate declaration: ‘This is telling your boss their jokes aren’t funny. This is running into the freezing cold sea, in just your granny pants. No guts, no glory, showing the world who you truly are.’

Known for its irreverent advertising, Irn-Bru has built cultural capital that undercuts convention. As we noted in our Cannes Lions 2025: The Unhinged Humour Opportunity report, brands are increasingly using wit to build deeper emotional resonance. This campaign continues Irn-Bru’s humorous approach and introduces the brand’s heritage to a new generation.

Strategic opportunity

Humour is evolving from light entertainment into a bold brand strategy that cuts through the noise. How can you lean into humour as a tool for cultural truth-telling and emotional authenticity?

Busan International Film Festival to host singalong screening of KPop Demon Hunters

KPop Demon Hunters, South Korea KPop Demon Hunters, South Korea
KPop Demon Hunters, South Korea KPop Demon Hunters, South Korea

South Korea – A singalong screening of Netflix’s breakout show KPop Demon Hunters will take place at the Busan International Film Festival in September 2025.

The event at the Dongseo University campus invites fans to sing along to hit songs from the show, including How It’s Done, Soda Pop, Golden and Your Idol.

Since its Netflix release, KPop Demon Hunters has climbed Netflix’s global rankings and its soundtrack has dominated North American charts (source: The Guardian). By blending K-pop spectacle with occult fantasy, it has captured international attention while reinforcing the cultural export power of South Korea’s creative industries.

In Streaming’s Next Frontier, we identified how entertainment would evolve beyond passive viewing into interactive, participatory formats. The film festival’s singalong taps directly into this shift, transforming a Netflix title into a live community experience where fans can connect, perform and extend the universe of the show together.

Strategic opportunity

Turn passive audiences into active participants. Host activations such as singalongs, watch parties or themed screenings that align your brand with fandoms and build brand universes beyond the screen

Stat: Australians turn to podcasts and radio for regular entertainment

Photography by Seej Nguyen
Photography by Seej Nguyen

Australia – More than half of Australians aged 10 or over (52%) listen to or watch podcasts each month, according to data published in The Infinite Dial Australia 2025 by Edison Research and Commercial Radio & Audio.

The study of 1,543 Australians also reveals that 22% tune in weekly and 13% make it part of their daily routine. Radio is also experiencing a boom in listeners: 84% of those in Australia aged 18+ who have driven or ridden in a car in the past month use broadcast plus streaming, making ‘total radio’ the top choice for in-car audio. 

With one in three 25–54s now streaming radio weekly the importance of audio as a medium cannot be overlooked. ‘For advertisers, audio connects brands across the entire customer journey whether it’s trusted scale for brand awareness, precision targeting or influencing highly engaged audiences – audio’s versatility makes it the most effective and essential medium in any media strategy,’ commented Lizzie Young, CEO of Commercial Radio & Audio. 

For more insight into how brands are increasingly turning to sound as a medium for sensorial storytelling, head to our microtrend report Luxury Listening Rooms.

 

Strategic opportunity

Integrate podcasts and streaming radio into your media mix to reach audiences in trusted, habitual listening moments. Experiment with audio storytelling to build intimacy, brand recall and relevance in consumers’ daily routines

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