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South Africa's Pick n Pay banks on humour for its Christmas campaign

December Magic Hits Different! campaign by Pick n Pay, South Africa

South Africa – Grocery retailer Pick n Pay has unveiled its 2025 Christmas campaign, a South African twist on the classic genie tale that taps into humour as a growth strategy. The spot stars legendary band Mango Groove, whose appearance becomes the fulfilment of the protagonist’s first Christmas wish.

Created by Halo and directed by Pete Pohorsky of Plank Films, Halo’s managing partner Dean Oelscheg said of the campaign: ‘One of our goals for the brand is to bring pleasure back to retail and make it fun again,’ executive creative director Coenie Grebe added that working with Mango Groove ‘was a massive privilege… a real dream come true’.

The film opens with an elderly couple walking along a sun-drenched beach, where an enamel kettle discovered in the sand summons a Christmas-only Genie. For their final wish of a big Christmas feast, the Genie transports the couple and their whole family to a bustling Pick n Pay, where choosing ingredients becomes part of the celebration. The film closes on the retailer’s message, ‘The More The Merrier’.

Read our Cannes Lions 2025: The Unhinged Humour Opportunity event analysis to understand why brands are using humour as a growth strategy to gain and keep the attention of consumers.

Strategic opportunity

Consumers crave genuine localism. Leaders should weave national icons, light-heartedness, music and traditions into offerings while designing experiences that delight as authentically as they serve

Why Bombardier is tapping luxury designer Elie Saab for its Global 8000 jet

Global – As further evidence of our New Era of Gilded Luxury Travel trend, luxury brand Elie Saab has partnered with aircraft manufacturer Bombardier to design the interior of its Global 8000 jet, which will be officially unveiled in 2026.

Bombardier customers will now be able to choose a jet featuring an Elie Saab interior design, marking the aircraft manufacturer’s first design collaboration with a luxury fashion brand.

This takes Bombardier’s already first-in-class customer experience and differentiates it further, with the goal of elevating passenger experience through a space where refinement and comfort coexist without friction. The combination of both brands’ respective craftsmanship results in what Éric Martel, president and CEO of Bombardier, describes as ‘an aircraft that reflects the pinnacle of elegance and a spectacular attention to detail’ (source: Bombardier).

In our Optimised Odysseys macrotrend report, we unpack how a new era of gilded luxury travel has begun, in which the journey is as meaningful and intentional as the destination. Bombardier’s collaboration with Elie Saab speaks to premium travellers’ heightened expectations and transforms travel into an immersive brand touchpoint for the luxury fashion house.

Elie Saab and Bombardier

Strategic opportunity

With premium travel spending at an all-time high, identify partnerships that open new spheres of the luxury experience and generate value where few brands are looking

Stat: UK school satisfaction improves yet disparities persist

Photography by Norma Mortenson

UK – A new consolidated report from the Department for Education (DfE) reveals that British secondary school pupils are becoming more positive about their school experience, with motivation, safety and belonging all trending upwards. The findings draw on three years of omnibus survey data from pupils and parents, mapping sentiment across belonging, safety, relationships and enjoyment.

The research shows a notable uplift in pupils’ day-to-day experiences. Some 70% of secondary pupils now feel fairly or very motivated to learn, a slight decline from 75% in 2024 but still strong overall. Feelings of belonging have also improved, with 69% of pupils in years 7–11 saying they feel they belong in school most or every day, up 12 percentage points from May 2024 and reversing a two-year decline. Safety perceptions have similarly strengthened, rising from 72% to 78% year on year, while school enjoyment has climbed to 59%, an 11-point increase.

Yet the report highlights uneven progress. Girls, older pupils, those eligible for free school meals (FSM) and pupils with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) consistently report lower levels of belonging, safety and enjoyment, signalling where targeted intervention remains essential.

Beyond education, the findings offer a view of the emotional climate shaping the next generation of consumers. As explored in our Neo-education Market, Gen Alpha’s expectations of psychological safety, motivation and relational support may increasingly influence workplaces, digital platforms and brand engagement.

Strategic opportunity

Persistent gaps in belonging and motivation highlight opportunities for ed-tech firms to deliver personalised learning, real-time wellbeing-tracking and support-on-demand tools that ease pressure on overstretched staff while meeting Gen Alpha’s rising expectations of psychological safety