This year is quickly winding down, and before it comes to a close we are taking a trip down memory lane to look back at the feature stories that captured the attention of B&T readers and sparked industry wide buzz.
From Clive Palmer’s political party’s “stalking” tactics and Sydney Sweeney’s controversial American Eagle ads to one of the biggest acquisitions in adland history and major account moves, these stories are a snapshot of the moments that defined the year in advertising, marketing, and media.
It is important to note that these are the top 10 most read original pieces delivered by the B&T editorial team. So, with that being said, here is the top articles of 2025.
Why You Can’t Opt Out Of Clive Palmer’s Trumpet Of Patriots Texts
Leading up to the Federal Election, Clive Palmer’s Trumpet of Patriots political party had readers hooked on B&T as they were trying to wrap their head around the Party’s questionable tactics. In April, millions of Aussies were hit with unsolicited political text messages and much to the dismay of the recipients, they could not opt-out from receiving them. This led to a lot of backlash on criticism all over social media. And much to the surprise of ex-B&T gun reporter Aimee Edwards, the article created so much buzz that she was asked to speak about it on ABC Radio.
Anna Jackson To Depart Telstra For Westpac
Following two important years as a member of Telstra’s marketing team, B&T revealed to its readers back in August that Anna Jackson would depart the telco to join Westpac. She joined the bank to be head of brand as it was a “rare” opportunity that Jackson saw as an “exciting chapter of growth.”
Report: DDB Brand Set To Retire As Part Of Omnicom’s IPG Acquisition
B&T told the world first, that DDB (Dane Doyle Bernbach) would be dissolved after its acquisition of Interpublic Group, admittedly with the help from Spanish friends at produ.com. Doing further investigation, sources confirmed the creative agencies were going to be consolidated into three core networks: BBDO Worldwide, McCann and TBWA\Worldwide.
Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle Ad Soars, Before Backlash: ‘It’s Racist, Sexist & Eugenics-Coded’
Sydney Sweeney’s controversial American Eagle ad had B&T readers captivated for weeks. The first time we wrote about the sexually suggestive campaign was after ‘Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans’ was getting scolded worldwide for allegedly being “racist, sexist, and eugenics-coded”. This was because American Eagle used language that celebrated Sweeney’s blue eyes and how it is the result of good jeans.
EPL Rights All But Clinched For Nine As Paramount Scores Exhibition Matches
Stan significantly boosted its sport streaming credentials following the announcement that Nine Entertainment had won the rights from Optus Sport for the English Premier League (EPL). The rights transfer was a direct result of Optus Sport officially shutting its operations on 1 August 2025. B&T also uncovered that Paramount acquired the rights to a series of exhibition matches.
Thinkerbell’s First Employee Emma O’Leary Departs After Growing Sick Of Adam Ferrier
Readers absolutely adored the fun and playful Q+A featuring Thinkerbell’s first ever employee Emma O’Leary. The crux of the article delved into why the head of people and culture was departing the creative agency, and what she would miss the most. She humorously and sarcastically admitted that her decision was based on “working with Adam Ferrier for 16 years…” The fun didn’t stop there though, with B&T reporting the next day that Thinkerbell was rebranding to O’Learybell in a last-ditch attempt to retain its first employee.
Katie Rigg-Smith Calls Time On Her WPP Career
May was a big month for major industry moves. Not only did O’Leary sail off in the sunset from Thinkerbell, but B&T also revealed one of Australia’s leading media strategists, Katie Rigg-Smith, was to leave WPP at the end of the month. Following 26 years with the group, she stepped away to pursue her interest as a futurist, providing clients and industry sectors with social and strategic foresights.
Optus Says ‘Yes’ To Accenture Song For Creative & Media Duties, BRX & Apparent Also On Board
B&T’s Arvind Hickman and Tom Fogden put their heads together to do a thorough report on Optus’s account moves. Back in June the combined brain power revealed that Accenture Song and its creative agency Droga5 won the coveted Optus media and creative accounts. In the lead up to the account wins there was industry wide speculation about which agency would receive the media account in a three-horse race between the incumbent UM, WPP Media’s Wavemaker and Accenture Song.
PHD Melbourne Nails Bunnings’ Media Account
These two just don’t miss! Prior to breaking the Accenture Song coup of Optus, Tom and Arvind revealed PHD Melbourne won Bunnings’ media account in a competitive pitch against agencies from GroupM (now WPP Media), Publicis Groupe and IPG.
EXCLUSIVE: Suncorp Moves $140M Media Account To WPP Media ‘Open Era’ Agency Model
Rounding out the original articles that caught the most attention for 2025 is Suncorp Group moving its sizeable media planning and buying account from OMD to WPP Media’s ‘Open Era’ agency model. It seems only fitting that Fogden and Hickman’s joint brain power rounds out this list.
