There was so much that was wrong and chaotic about the world in 2025, but there were also moments that brought delight to everyone. And whatever your feelings about globalisation and cynical marketing, there is something very powerful about a brand that creates an authentic human connection and, in doing so, plays a small role in buffering us from the troubles of everyday life. When we look back at the general helter-skelter of 2025, these are the life-rafts of consumerist cheese that I will cling to.

Who can begrudge the ongoing juggernaut of K-Pop which reached new heights with a film that struck a chord with people of all ages. K-Pop has been lauded for articulating the fears of teens and tweenagers – loneliness, the pressures of social media, and friendships – and K-Pop Demon Hunters, whose soundtrack has dominated the charts for several weeks with hits including Golden, What it Sounds Like and Takedown, brought a ray of sunshine into all our lives. Talking of K-Pop, I loved this series which, in an unashamedly cheesy way, set out to find members of a multinational K-Pop group. Now making waves as Katseye.

Toilet Paper: the Who Gives A Cr*p brand has been around for a while, rising from the ashes of post-sustainable consumerism after the pandemic. This year, with their eye-catching patterns and commitment to giving 50% of their profits to water and sanitation projects, this loo roll has put a bit of joy and purpose into the most mundane of daily tasks, becoming a common find in family homes across South London (despite being sadly inappropriate for school craft projects). 

Is the high street making a comeback? After years of grill-fronted shops, rubbish swirling through empty multi-story carparks and tattered To Let signs, the high street is being rejuvenated by the faux-independent coffee shop: Blank Street, Black Sheep Coffee, Buns from Home and Crosstown. These are brands that have been in the UK for a while but have been turbo-boosted by global investors and are providing a more acceptable (better coffee and less care worn) alternative to Costa and Starbucks. All sporting an androgynous Skandi-Manhatten vibe, there is something deliciously bland that you can’t quite put your finger on but, at the same time, they have nothing of the motorway service station about them. Expect one or more in a high street near you.

Can they make up for the baffling high street rebrand of WH Smith, though? Possibly not. Could the fading stationer’s name change to TG Jones be the best-worst PR campaign ever? Quite possibly, judging by the hundreds of column inches the unusual move has produced. It’s almost as if they want to create an anti-brand, but there is a skill in turning a terrible story into an unlikely money-spinner. WH Smith is making chunky if controversial steps in the captive airport market and something tells me this story isn’t quite over yet.

Talking of high streets, I hear Croydon is finally in line for a long due glow-up. Not only has its erstwhile suitor, Westfields, finally started the planning process to redo the very forlorn Whitgift Centre, but Croydon is apparently a hotspot for filming and was recently used as the location for the forthcoming blockbuster Heads of State. The ‘Cronx’s gritty 1960s centre combined with proliferation of green spaces apparently make it the ideal dupe for everything from Istanbul to Gotham City and therefore of course the UK’s answer to Hollywood. 

Other things that have united us this year: Wicked, a hot bed of at times hilarious brand tie ups (from Cambridge Satchell Company to Hovis) and a wonderful example of adoring female friendship between its co-stars Cynthia Eviro and Arianna Grande. And, staying in the world of celebrity, Justin Trudeau and global pop superstar Katy Perry, who went official on X during their visit to the Japanese PM and his wife, in a way that summed up the sheer joyful randomness of this romance .

There have been hundreds of brand fails and PR disasters of course. The Louvre’s not had a great one and Ben and Jerry’s very public spat with Magnum lacks a certain amount of dignity. But the point is that, for all their baggage and corporate clutter, brands can still be very powerful, bring positivity and strike a chord with the cultural zeitgeist, if they manage to get it right. I can’t wait to see who does it best in 2026.
December 2025