Contextual ads embrace surrounding content to emphasise messaging

By Lewis Boulton

Communications Manager

Newsworks

London, United Kingdom

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How many editorial sections of news brands' print and digital offerings can you name? Go on, I'll give you 30 seconds. Politics? Sport? Show biz, perhaps?

Perhaps you'll have come up with many more than that. If you did, then it's no surprise: As readers' lives and interests diversify, so does the news brands' content they rely on to keep them updated. From gaming to gifting, soaps to sport, the nation's conversation takes place in news brands - and Brits are a talkative bunch.

This not only represents a fantastic opportunity for advertisers to get involved in that conversation but also to participate in ways that subvert, entertain, and inform.

Enter the humble but mighty contextual ad. Often subtle but always smart, these campaigns excel in making themselves part of the news agenda and increase consideration in ways more direct ads can't.

Ready to raise a wry smile? Here are some examples of top campaigns making the most of context so far in 2025.

Virgin Media

The beauty of contextual ads is often their simplicity. Given their message derives from the editorial surrounding it, some of the best contextual campaigns add a witty aside that both raises a laugh while cheekily and subtly reinforcing the brand's messaging.

Virgin Media achieves this with a campaign linking the news from the upcoming Formula One event with something much closer to its brand's wheelhouse - its signature colour. With seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton switching to the scarlet red Ferrari team, the brand reminds readers which colour the best teams are.

MoneySuperMarket

If you've not caught up with the final of the latest series of "The Traitors" yet, go and watch it. It's OK, I'll wait.

Back? Good - that means you'll appreciate this brilliantly placed tactical ad from MoneySuperMarket, which has a campaign featured next to show biz editorial about all the fallout from the castle.

The National Lottery

When we talk about editorial, it's easy to think of written stories and columns. However, news brands' diverse content means advertisers can harness innovative ways of landing their messaging.

As part of its long-standing gift-giving campaign, The National Lottery placed ads in Valentine's gift sections to make a potentially life-changing suggestion to readers still stuck for ideas.

Mr Muscle

Tactical and contextual considerations often come as a pair in news brand advertising, but this doesn't have to be the case.

Mr Muscle's cleverly subversive campaign takes advantage of not one but two contextual placements. Reminding readers about the best way to fix hair-clogged drains, the brand appears next to editorial about hairstyle ideas and Metro's renowned Rush Hour Crush column.

Continental Tyres

While some campaigns use editorial outside their brand's remit to make a subtly humorous point, others lean in even further to make the most of where their campaign appears.

Granted, Continental Tyres might not seem particularly linked to athletics. However, as England rugby's official tyre partner and sponsor of a popular rugby podcast, it was only natural for the brand to extend its partnership to The Telegraph's sport section - both to look back at brilliant past England and France clashes and to show how Continental works for both England and its fans.

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About Lewis Boulton

Lewis Boulton is a communications manager at Newsworks in London, United Kingdom. Lewis can be reached at Lewis.Boulton@newsworks.org.uk or @newsworks_uk.

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