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If you asked anyone in the industry what the biggest marketing stories of the year were, you might say the World Cup, the launch of Apple’s iPhone 6 or the debut of Coke Life. But , what the industry knows is important doesn’t always get the the most attention.

Instead we’ve got mankinis, a double appearance from EE, Back To The Future and Simon the Ogre. They are of course embedded between the context of EE dropping its famous Orange Wednesdays, the battle between John Lewis and Sainsbury’s for advertising’s equivalent of Christmas number one, and P&G announcing its biggest restructure for years.

1. 

The jury is still out as to whether Monty the Penguin was a winner for John Lewis in 2014 but in the run up to this years ad launch, the boss of the department made quite a shocking statement. Speaking at an event in Paris, he told the audience that the previous years’ ad had annoyed customers.

2.

This story has the most time behind it, having been posted all the way back in January. It wouldn’t be a marketing story chart without a controversial ASA story and this year Thomson’s advert which aimed to show how its holidays replenished even the most grumpy of dads seemed to strike a negative chord with some viewers.

3.

Ok, so we do have one story about the World Cup in here. Based on its huge success during the tournament, Adidas told marketing how it used content to cut through and reach its intended audience during such a busy time.

4.

The marmite effect that Sainsbury’s depiction of the famous WW1 story had on people helped it rank regularly in top lists for recall and shareability. It’s no surprise then that Marketing’s exclusive on the ad was right up there in our most read stories.

5.

Nevermind what this means for marketing (which is a fairly big deal), my Wednesday date night just got a whole lot more expensive! This story, which only revealed itself in the last couple of weeks, stormed right up the chart as we felt the loss of Orange Wednesdays on a personal and professional level.

6.

Now you look back on it, maybe this was a sign. Way back in Feb it seems our nostalgia was already piqued for the demise of Orange Wednesdays and its adored Gold Spots campaign.

7.

As one of the biggest spenders in the world, when P&G says ‘drop marketing from your job title’, the industry gets in a bit of kerfuffle. The end of job title was actually part of the brands desperate shift towards a simpler, more agile business, in which people became brand managers instead. The company has subsequently sold of some of its brands as part of this process.

8.

If only life was that simple…

9.

Back to the Future had a renaissance in 2014, the year the ‘future’ was set in the film. Riding on this zeitgeist was Phones 4u and it seems it hit the sweet spot with Marketing readers too.

10.

Cementing the idea that our readers are all fashionable, globetrotting types that are well up on the latest platforms and trends, this story ticks all the boxes for the modern marketer. As China becomes a key market for many brands, it’s important for other geographies to take note, even if it is from the comfort of our desks.

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