Ad Spot: The Ordinary, Hatch, Squarespace & more

From exposing beauty industry lies to empowering bystanders against harassment, these campaigns demonstrate how advertising can drive meaningful change while entertaining audiences.

18 Oct 2025 10:00 IST

Updated On 18 Oct 2025 13:56 IST

New Update

In this week's ad spot, we're seeing brands push creative boundaries and tackle important cultural conversations. From exposing beauty industry lies to empowering bystanders against harassment, these campaigns demonstrate how advertising can drive meaningful change while entertaining audiences.

The Ordinary is taking a bold stand against the beauty industry's misleading marketing tactics with their 'Periodic Fable' campaign. Created by Uncommon Creative Studio, the campaign features a surreal, dystopian film directed by Olivia De Camps that depicts a classroom of hypnotized students performing viral skincare trends while chanting beauty buzzwords. The centerpiece is a scientific table that swaps chemical elements for 49 common beauty marketing terms – from "medical grade" to "eternal youth" – to expose the lack of real science behind much of the industry's jargon. With research showing that 51% of UK consumers are more likely to trust products labeled "luxury," and Americans willing to pay $75 extra for "rare ingredients," The Ordinary's transparency campaign couldn't be more timely.

Transport for London is addressing rising hate crimes and harassment on the capital's transit network with their 'Act Like a Friend' campaign from VCCP. Launched during National Hate Crime Awareness Week, the 120-second film shares real stories of bystander intervention, demonstrating how simple gestures like asking "are you okay?" or striking up a conversation can support victims without directly confronting perpetrators. The campaign comes at a critical time, with hate crimes up nearly 50% year-on-year and violent offences on the Underground increasing by 20%. By empowering everyday Londoners with practical, safe ways to help, TfL is turning passengers into active participants in creating a safer transport environment for women, minorities, and LGBTQ+ communities who are most at risk.

Hatch is turning the horrors of modern life into literal horror with their faux movie trailer "Goodnight, Phone." Starring Kiernan Shipka as a chronic doomscroller, the 90-second spot directed by Meredith Alloway brings the nightmares of sleep deprivation to terrifying life. The campaign cleverly uses classic horror genre tropes to illustrate the real consequences of phone addiction before bed, running in theaters before PG-13 and R-rated films across NYC, New Jersey, and Los Angeles. Produced entirely in-house by an all-female creative team led by ECD Rinee Shah, the October launch perfectly captures the zeitgeist of our phone-obsessed culture while positioning Hatch's sleep wellness products as the solution to our collective insomnia.

Here is a look at all the ads that stood out this week.