For me, 2025 will be the year we change how we look for inspiration.

As an agency, we’re built on the simple idea of Relative Advantage—looking at what others do and then going all-in to explore the opposite. The idea is that this approach propels us further into clear media space or creative territory than if we’d simply attempted a tweaked facsimile of what others had already tried.

But the gravitational pull of other great campaigns is strong. It’s no surprise really, since we compile them in monthly competitive reviews, discuss them endlessly in meetings, train younger team members to decode them, and collectively notice them more readily in the wild. Advertising is our native language, and many of us even think in ads—I know I do. Yes, it can be a useful shortcut to give examples of what we mean, but is it always the best approach to delivering work with true Relative Advantage at its heart?

The same tried-and-tested resources sometimes don’t help either. The annual Cannes roundups are almost required reading—especially for those of us not on the Croisette that year. But inevitably, our eyes are drawn and our minds seduced by what the advertising industry is showcasing. “Let’s do one of those for our brand”, we say, as enthusiastic nods ripple around the room.

And just like that, we’re back in the box, without even noticing.

In 2025, we’re encouraging our media planners, creatives, activation teams and strategists to seek Relative Advantage—not in other adverts or media plans, but outside of the little industry we call home.

To paraphrase a certain Tarantino movie, we'd do well to look at other things that ain't in the same ballpark, ain't in the same league, and ain't even in the same f*****n sport.

To help our teams, the process to get to wider influences is super simple and we ask just 3 questions:

Think about a competition.

Think about who wins.

Think about what they did differently. 

This approach is already beginning to throw up a real spectrum of inspiration that resets minds in a totally different way. For example (and taking Samuel L. Jackson’s advice), a team member has already taken us into a different ballpark, sport and in this case, ice arena.

The story of Yung Jingru is really something. She is a young Chinese speed skater who competed in the short track speed skating 1500m final in the 2024 Winter Olympics.

If you’re less familiar with the discipline and its tactics, the received wisdom is that you conserve energy and skate conservatively at the start of the race, get into position, and then go hell for leather in the final laps. But Jingru did the complete opposite. She sprinted on the first lap, broke away, and then arrived at the back of the pack—confusing her opponents and lapping them in the process.

As the race progressed, the other skaters lost track of her true position. By the end, she casually romped home to gold while spectators, coaches, and commentators scrambled to figure out what had just happened.

A great example of Relative Advantage thinking that got our whole team applauding.

Another team member took up the baton and took us all to the circus. They explored how Cirque du Soleil threw out the conventions, removed all the animals and added a massive dose of theatrical storytelling. Cirque du Soleil now has more in common with high octane gigs than the days of P.T Barnum.

The intention here is to help our teams realise that many people across different fields are striving to stand apart from the competition in order to win. And to do that they often pull far away from normal service.

So, this isn’t just about being creative.

It’s about surfacing—and ultimately delivering—an actual edge for our clients in the battles they face. And that edge is always relative to the competitive sphere they find themselves in. Be that the grown-up entertainment industry for Cirque du Soleil battling it out against spectacular concerts and IMAX experiences, a 3-minute Olympic skating final or (as is the case with one of our clients), a saturated private healthcare sector.

I’m really looking forward to seeing what distant corners are poked at and explored by our teams this year, as they seek out fresh inspiration for the agency.