Marketing & Ad Basics
14
min read
This guide breaks down the biggest advertising trends shaping 2025–2026, from AI and retail media to CTV, privacy, and authenticity, with data, examples, and real-world insights. You’ll walk away knowing which shifts actually matter, how to act on them, and how to future-proof your marketing strategies.
The advertising industry feels like it’s spinning, and fast. Marketers are facing shrinking attention spans, rising CPMs, tightening privacy laws, and relentless AI hype. Agencies are stretched thin, in-house teams are overloaded, and creative is being churned out by prompts and templates.
In this climate, staying “on trend” isn’t enough. What matters is knowing which current advertising trends deserve your attention, which ones to ignore, and when it’s time to act.
This isn’t a collapse; it’s a reset. Old playbooks are breaking down, opening the door to smarter tools, leaner teams, sharper creative, and less guesswork. That reset is the opportunity — and much like Claude Hopkins laid out in scientific advertising a century ago, the fundamentals of testing and clarity still apply.
This guide filters the chaos and gives you what you actually need:
For those who want the highlights before diving into the details, here’s the distilled version — a TL;DR table of the latest advertising trends for 2025–2026, why they matter, and how to act on them.
This is your quick-reference map. Each row covers a major advertising trend for 2025–2026, why it matters, and what to actually do with it.
That’s the cheat sheet. But context matters — knowing why these digital advertising industry trends are happening and how to execute them is where strategy lives. Let’s start with the biggest disruptor of them all: AI.
Yes, artificial intelligence is changing everything. But no, it won’t do your job for you.
Right now, it’s best at automating the repetitive parts of ad campaigns: media buying, bid adjustments, A/B testing, and basic asset generation. In fact, 56% of marketers already use AI for campaign management (SurveyMonkey).
Tools like ChatGPT, Midjourney, or other generative AI platforms can spin out campaign skeletons in seconds, but that’s scaffolding. AI doesn’t understand your brand voice, your context, or the emotional nuance that makes messages resonate. That’s where marketing strategies still matter.
The smartest teams aren’t asking, “What can AI replace?” but “Where can we leverage AI to move faster without losing meaning?” That might mean using generative AI tools to spark early concepts, then letting creatives refine them. Or automating bid optimization while strategists focus on narrative and storytelling. Or plugging AI agents into CRM systems to scale personalized outreach.
Heinz offers a great example. The brand used DALL·E 2 to create content from surreal prompts like “ketchup in outer space.” Most of the images looked like Heinz bottles anyway. Fans submitted their own prompts, and the best became part of social and print ads. The campaign was AI-made, but it felt human — playful, confident, and self-aware.
That’s the balance: AI advertising for speed, humans for taste.
Reddit creatives echo this. Many described backlash against overly polished, obviously AI generated content. Campaigns that leaned too hard into generative tools without oversight felt cheap, and brands paid the price. Coca-Cola’s 2024 AI remake of its “Holidays Are Coming” spot is a cautionary tale: it replaced nostalgia with uncanny visuals, and viewers called it “soulless” and “emotionally hollow.” One even joked, “Just saw this ad on Hulu — I thought I was having a seizure.”
So yes, use AI. Automate the dull stuff. Move faster. But don’t confuse speed with quality. You still need human generated content and real storytellers at the helm. And as you’ll see across the other current advertising industry trends, the real advantage comes from balance: applying machine learning where it helps while keeping people in charge of meaning.
And smarter tools only matter if you’re showing up where people actually make purchases, which is why retail media is experiencing explosive growth.
Amazon may still dominate with more than 75% of e-commerce ad spend (Statista.com), but Walmart Connect, Instacart, and Target Roundel are catching up fast. These aren’t just digital shelves; they’re full-fledged ad ecosystems with targeting, analytics, and native placements that hit your target audience in the exact moment of intent.
And here’s the kicker: retail media converts. Amazon’s average conversion rate is around 9.5%, compared to ~2% for most sites. That’s why marketing leaders are shifting advertising dollars toward retail platforms. They deliver results where it matters — at the bottom of the funnel.
But this isn’t plug-and-play. Each platform has its quirks and auction dynamics. What wins on Amazon may flop on Instacart. It takes testing, smart data analysis, and adapting creative to each marketplace.
Thorne, for example, used Walmart’s ad network to promote select products and saw a 67% sales lift compared to similar SKUs that weren’t advertised, according to a case study by Pattern. Timing campaigns with seasonal spikes like Black Friday marketing can amplify that lift even further. That growth came not just from placements but from aligning launch timing and native formats. It shows how ad revenue growth follows when brands integrate retail media into larger marketing trends instead of treating it as an afterthought.
Most marketers use Google and Meta playbooks by default, but retail media is reshaping the map of top advertising trends. It’s a chance for smaller brands to stand out before the space becomes saturated.
What to do:
Retail media isn’t just another shiny channel. It’s the future of content marketing in commerce, tightly integrated with buying behavior and customer experience. Ignore it, and you’re handing digital shelf space to competitors.
But shopping doesn’t just happen on e-commerce sites. People are streaming, scrolling, and snacking on video everywhere, which is where CTV comes in.
TV used to be the top of the funnel. Now it’s the whole funnel, especially for Gen Z and cord-cutters.
Connected TV (CTV) blends the reach of TV with the precision of digital. Major streaming services like Hulu, Roku, YouTube TV, and Netflix now offer programmatic ad slots. Many of these run on an ad supported tier, which makes them affordable for brands of all sizes while still reaching a wide target market.
That’s why video advertising spend on streaming TV is projected to hit $33 billion in 2025. More than 63% of marketing leaders are already prioritizing cross-channel campaigns that align messaging across TikTok, YouTube, and streaming platforms.
But success isn’t just about placement. It’s about sequence. Someone might catch a short TikTok, then a skippable YouTube ad, then a branded segment on their favorite series. These touchpoints connect into a story rather than scattered impressions — the same marketing strategies adapted across channels.
Tubi’s 2023 Super Bowl ad proved this. The disruptive spot faked a remote takeover mid-game. Viewers freaked out, rewound, then flooded social media ads with memes and reactions. A single CTV moment became a viral, cross-platform campaign — the kind of stunt that thrives on trending topics and cross-channel buzz, proof that video advertising trends on CTV can create real emotion, not just impressions.
What to do:
If your media plan still treats “TV” and “digital” as separate, you’re behind. In 2025, it’s all video, and it’s all connected.
More screens mean more data. And with cookies crumbling, how you collect and use that data has never mattered more.
The third-party cookie is finally on its way out. Google’s phase-out is real this time, and consumers have already raised the bar.
According to Cisco, 75% of people say they’ll stop engaging with brands that mishandle their data. This isn’t just about compliance. It’s about trust, and trust has become the new currency in advertising industry.
Marketers are shifting from third party data to first party data and contextual targeting. That means using what you already know: purchase history, email engagement, and site behavior, instead of following people around the web with creepy retargeting.
Clean rooms are also gaining traction. Tools like Google PAIR and Amazon Marketing Cloud allow many businesses to share insights securely while keeping personal information private.
And this isn’t a downgrade. First-party data often performs better. Brands that use it effectively report up to 8× ROAS and 25% lower acquisition costs.The formula is simple: ask for consent, be transparent, and offer something valuable in return. Loyalty points, email marketing designs, and early access all help turn opt-ins into stronger relationships.
The risks of getting it wrong are high. In July 2025, Flo Health, a period-tracking app with more than 70 million users, went to trial in San Francisco after allegedly sharing sensitive reproductive data with Meta and Google. A federal jury ruled that Meta had illegally intercepted details like menstrual and pregnancy information, marking one of the first major privacy defeats for big ad tech.
For marketers, the lesson is clear: adapting to recent trends in advertising around privacy isn’t optional. It’s the difference between building loyalty and facing lawsuits.
What to do now:
The cookieless future isn’t a setback. It’s a reset. Lazy targeting is out, and respect earns results. But even when you win consent, you still have to win attention. That’s where authenticity comes in.
Polished ads are losing their shine. People trust real voices more than brand scripts.
Consumers are showing a clear preference for authenticity, with studies finding they trust employees, micro-influencers, and peers far more than traditional brand ads (Exploding Topics). That shift is part of the larger history of content marketing — moving from polished broadcast to relatable storytelling. For younger audiences especially, staged campaigns feel out of touch.
Duolingo is a masterclass in this shift. Instead of running glossy creative, the language app leaned into TikTok’s chaotic, meme-driven culture. Its green owl mascot, Duo, stars in skits, dances, and jokes that look like they could come from any creator on the platform. The content appears raw and unpolished, closer to short form videos than polished commercials, and that’s why it works.
The results are staggering. Duolingo now has more than 7.5 million followers and 150 million likes on TikTok. Many videos go viral without paid spend. More importantly, the owl has become a cultural reference point, with users tagging Duo in unrelated TikToks. It’s proof that influencer marketing and authentic social media storytelling can scale brand love in ways no polished ad can.
Marketers on Reddit echo this sentiment. One Redditor summed it up well:
What to do now:
For brands, the message is clear: leaning into online advertising trends that prioritize authenticity and human connection is no longer optional — it’s a competitive advantage.
Ads people can play with are no longer gimmicks. They’re becoming standard practice in brand strategy.
Consumers are embracing interactive formats, with augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) transforming ads from interruptions into useful or entertaining experiences.
Cosmetics brands already let customers “try on” lipstick shades with Snapchat filters. IKEA’s Place app projects furniture into a living room before purchase. Nike has experimented with AR shoe try-ons. These tools don’t just showcase products — they collapse the gap between consideration and conversion.
VR, while still niche, is carving its own space. Car makers offer virtual test drives. Fashion houses experiment with digital showrooms. Even B2B companies are adopting immersive tools, using AR for product demos or VR for trade shows.
The lesson is simple: immersive ads create participation, not passive viewing. When someone spends a minute exploring your AR filter instead of skipping your pre-roll, that attention compounds into memory and intent. That’s why so many new trends in advertising focus on making experiences useful, playful, and memorable.
What to do now:
Immersive doesn’t have to mean expensive. The real win is designing experiences that feel useful, playful, or memorable enough that people actually want to engage — the same principle that drives great website design or engaging SaaS landing page examples.
Of course, not every format fits every audience. Generational differences are shaping where and how people engage.
Not all audiences are created equal, and neither are their channels. Marketers who lump Gen Z, millennials, and Gen X into one bucket are burning budget.
Generational differences are shaping media behavior, with Gen Z increasing spending power, millennials driving family and home purchases, and older cohorts remaining active on platforms like YouTube, search, and CTV.
The numbers prove it. Gen Z’s spending power jumped 55% year over year (PwC). Millennials still hold the dominant share in many categories. Gen X and boomers may be quieter on TikTok, but they’re consistent buyers elsewhere.
That means your creative and media plan can’t be one-size-fits-all. A TikTok ad that makes Gen Z laugh might flop with a millennial parent scrolling Instagram. A YouTube bumper that works for Gen X won’t necessarily resonate with a Gen Alpha gamer on Twitch. That’s why brands tracking mobile ad trends alongside generational shifts are better positioned to meet audiences where they are.
Maybelline’s Lì 2.0 campaign showed how to get it right. The brand empowered Gen Z with daring makeup transformations and partnered with TikTok creators and key opinion leaders. The result: strong sales lift and real cultural engagement.
What to do now:
The takeaway: demographic targeting is outdated unless you adapt it to behavior and culture. Precision in 2025 means knowing not just who your audience is, but where they spend time and how they want to be spoken to.
And if audiences are shifting this fast, agencies have to shift too — starting with how they price and position themselves.
The billable-hour model is breaking down. Clients are no longer paying for time; they’re paying for outcomes.
Agencies are under pressure to rethink their value, as brands bring more execution in-house and boutique shops carve out niches in cross-channel strategy, cultural insight, and high-level creative.
Reddit discussions echo this shift. One strategist put it bluntly:
Pricing models are evolving in response. Value-based agreements, performance-linked contracts, and premium add-ons like attribution or AI oversight are gaining traction. For agencies that adapt, this creates an opening to move from vendor status to strategic partner.
What to do now:
Agencies that evolve will stay relevant. Those clinging to hours alone risk being left behind.
We’ve covered a lot of ground — from AI and retail media to CTV, privacy, and authenticity. The challenge isn’t knowing what trends exist. It’s figuring out which ones actually deserve your budget and attention. That’s where a simple filter helps.
Not every “hot trend” deserves a line in your media plan. Use this filter to decide what’s worth testing and what’s just noise:
If a new tactic clears at least three boxes, it’s worth a pilot. If not, skip it. That’s herd behavior, not strategy.
The checklist is useful, but filtering trends is only step one. The real challenge is turning clarity into action, and that’s where future-proofing comes in.
The advertising industry isn’t in freefall — it’s in reset mode. Cookie-based targeting and glossy, one-size-fits-all creative are fading out. That’s not a crisis; it’s an opportunity.
The next era belongs to brands that move with focus, not frenzy.
Advertising in 2025 and beyond is about prioritization. You don’t need to chase every trend. You need to pick the ones that align with your audience, your brand voice, and your growth goals — and double down. Smart marketers know that future advertising trends are not about adding more noise but about building relevance, trust, and measurable impact.
If you’re ready to cut through the noise, TodayMade can help turn the chaos of trends into campaigns that actually grow your business. Start by defining priorities with a killer FAQ page or sharpening your funnel design — the same fundamentals that future-proof every campaign.
