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THG Studios takes Squashies advert to TV for first time

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SOFIAH NICHOLE SALIVIO

News Editor

THG Studios has produced a new television advert for Swizzels’ Squashies brand, marking the first time the creative platform has been adapted for TV.

Titled ‘See the Squashies Side of Life’, the advert aired on ITV1 and extends earlier social media work developed for the confectionery range in the first half of the year.

The campaign centres on everyday scenes featuring overly serious characters who are figuratively “squashed” into a lighter mood. The advert was shot across several locations, with visual effects and post-production completed in-house.

Its release comes as food and drink advertisers continue to adjust campaigns to rules covering products high in fat, salt and sugar, known as HFSS. In confectionery, those restrictions have affected both creative execution and media planning, particularly around whether products can be shown and when adverts can be scheduled.

According to THG Studios, the Squashies campaign was designed so the brand’s identity could be conveyed both with and without the product appearing on screen. That approach also informed decisions on pre- and post-watershed placements for different Squashies variants, depending on whether they complied with HFSS rules.

Creative approach

The television campaign builds on social-first ads previously created by THG Studios for the Squashies range. The move to TV gives Swizzels a broader platform for a concept built around the tactile quality of the sweet and the brand’s established light-hearted positioning.

Rob Sanderson described the TV launch as an example of how the idea translated beyond digital channels. “Squashies has always been about not taking life too seriously, and this campaign proves that idea travels brilliantly from social straight onto the biggest screen in the house. Taking a creative platform this playful onto TV for the first time is exactly the kind of work we love making at THG Studios, and doing it in a way that stays true to the brand while squarely on the right side of today’s HFSS rules made it even more rewarding,” said Sanderson, Group Creative Director, THG Studios.

Lawrence Alcock, who worked on the creative, linked the advert’s central device to how consumers physically interact with the product.

“At one point or another, anyone who’s ever been partial to Squashies sweets will have put one between their thumb and four fingers and given it a good squash. In fact, it’s difficult to get through a packet without squashing at least one or two of them. It’s a feeling of satisfaction, a moment of ASMR delight. Imagine being able to do this to the most annoying, uptight people in everyday situations. That same satisfaction for just a few seconds: giving them a gentle squash and helping them see the ‘Squashies side of life’,” said Alcock.

Brand growth

For Swizzels, the advert is part of a broader effort to raise awareness of the Squashies brand as it expands. The campaign keeps the focus on humour and texture, two elements the brand sees as central to the product’s appeal.

Clare Lynch said the objective was to reflect the tone of the brand while translating its physical qualities into a visual idea for television. “In this new commercial, we wanted to capture the fun, feel-good nature of the Squashies brand and the unique soft texture, ‘squashing’ a world that can take itself a little too seriously. THG Studios has brought this vision to life, and their creative, agile approach means we have a playful, engaging advert that perfectly encapsulates Squashies while raising awareness of the brand as it continues to grow,” said Lynch, Senior Brand Manager, Swizzels.

The work also highlights how creative agencies and brand teams are navigating tighter advertising rules without abandoning distinctive brand assets. For confectionery makers, that increasingly means using character, mood and recognisable product traits in ways that still work when direct product depiction is limited.

In this case, the “squash” motif gives Squashies a visual shorthand that can carry across formats and media placements. That flexibility is likely to prove valuable as marketers continue adapting campaigns to a regulatory environment that places more scrutiny on how less healthy foods are promoted.

The advert was filmed by THG Studios across multiple locations before returning for visual effects and post-production.



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Marshmallow Laser Feast exhibition makes Doha debut

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Northwestern University in Qatar’s Media Majlis Museum and ACMI will present All That Is Unseen in Doha, the first major exhibition in Qatar and the wider region by London artist collective Marshmallow Laser Feast.

The exhibition will run at the Media Majlis Museum on Northwestern’s campus in Education City and will be free to attend. It premiered at ACMI in Melbourne and later travelled to the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa before making its Middle East debut in Doha.

All That Is Unseen explores biological and cosmic systems beyond ordinary human perception. Through large-scale video works, guided meditation and interactive elements, the exhibition moves from the formation of a single cell to the birth of galaxies.

Marshmallow Laser Feast is known for immersive installations, film, performance and extended reality projects. Its work explores the relationship between human perception and the natural world, often through collaborations with scientists, ecologists and other researchers.

The Doha presentation has been reworked for the Media Majlis Museum, with the audience journey and context adapted for the venue. The exhibition draws on collaborations with artists, filmmakers, musicians and scientists including Terrence Malick, Edward R. Pressman, Cate Blanchett, Daisy Lafarge, Jon Hopkins, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Meredith Monk, Howard Skempton and Jonny Greenwood.

Seb Chan, Director and Chief Executive Officer of ACMI, reflected on the show’s reception in Australia and New Zealand.

“ACMI is excited to have our survey exhibition of Marshmallow Laser Feast come to Qatar with Media Majlis Museum and Northwestern Qatar. This exhibition has had a transformational impact in Melbourne and most recently in New Zealand, and we hope the exhibition excites Qatari audiences in similar ways,” Chan said.

Regional debut

The exhibition marks another international partnership for the Media Majlis Museum, which focuses on journalism, communication, media and art. The museum describes itself as the first university museum in the Arab world dedicated to those fields and has used exhibitions to examine questions of language, identity, technology and news.

For Northwestern University in Qatar, the project fits into a broader effort to frame media as part of cultural memory and public debate, rather than simply as communication tools. That approach has shaped the museum’s programme since its launch, combining academic and public-facing work.

Marwan M. Kraidy, Dean and Chief Executive Officer of Northwestern Qatar, linked the exhibition to that institutional focus.

“At Northwestern Qatar, we believe that media are not merely technologies of communication, but powerful archives of memory, identity, and human experience,” Kraidy said.

“This collaboration between the Media Majlis Museum and ACMI brings together stories, histories, and perspectives across continents, inviting audiences in Doha to reflect on how media shape the ways we see ourselves and one another. It is a testament to the power of cultural exchange and to our shared commitment to fostering dialogue through evidence-based storytelling,” he added.

Artist perspective

The collective said the works were developed through research ranging from the Amazon rainforest to outer space. Those references reflect a practice that often translates scientific and environmental data into sensory experiences for museum audiences.

“We are thrilled to present All That Is Unseen at the Media Majlis Museum. This exhibition is a celebration of life, and explores our continued fascination with what sits just beyond the reach of our senses. Created through collaborations with scientists, researchers, and technologists, these artworks draw on everything from scanning trees in the Amazon and listening in on black holes to mapping the human body in microscopic detail. Together, they invite audiences to experience the invisible systems that connect us to one another, to the natural world, and to the wider universe. In bringing this work to Qatar for its first presentation in the region, we hope audiences feel these connections too,” Ersin said.

The partnership also extends ACMI’s touring work beyond its home market. As Australia’s national museum of screen culture, ACMI has increasingly developed exhibitions that combine film, digital art and interactive design, placing it within a wider group of museums using screen-based works to attract new audiences.

In Doha, the arrival of All That Is Unseen adds another international exhibition to a cultural landscape that continues to expand through museum openings, imported shows and cross-border collaborations. Its focus on immersive media and scientific storytelling also reflects growing institutional interest in exhibitions that sit between art, technology and education.

The exhibition will remain open until January 21, with public access from Sunday to Thursday between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m.



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Historic British shoe chain closes Oxfordshire store

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First established in 1924, Charles Clinkard has closed its Oxford store, after closing its Teesside Park store in May.

It comes just two years after the North East footwear brand closed its first ever store, which was in Middlesborough.

The store, on Banbury Road in Summertown, stocked a wide range of footwear and accessories

While the reason behind the Oxford store closure has not yet been confirmed, the brand recently confirmed they are changing spending habits on the high street and wider retail sector, forcing it to focus on stronger business performance in other stores and online.

READ MORE: Stoke Row pub forced to close ‘disappointed’ after devastating fire

Charles Clinkard is closing at Teesside ParkCharles Clinkard at Teesside Park (Image: CONTRIBUTOR)

Speaking to Retail Week earlier this year, Charles Clinkard managing director Tim Payne said the brand was considering closing two-fifths of its store portfolio in favour of online sales.

The UK shoe giant celebrated its 100th anniversary two years ago and closed its Keswick store in February.

The Clinkard Group, a family-run business, operates 32 stores across the UK.

The group also runs a store in Witney in Woolgate Shopping centre, as well as a store on High Street in Burford.

It is unknown if these shops will close as well.

The Summertown shoe shop was hit by a blaze in December 2014 caused by a faulty fuse box.

The fire left extensive fire damage and thousands of pounds worth of repair and stock costs.





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Kritmatta launches AI agent platform for SME businesses

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Kritmatta has launched an AI agent platform for small and medium-sized businesses, designed to run workflows across existing business software.

The Hertfordshire-based company is targeting businesses that want to move from AI experimentation to using tools in day-to-day operations. The platform works with email, CRM systems, LinkedIn, messaging platforms, productivity tools and internal data sources.

Kritmatta was founded by Kalpesh Baxi, Duncan Stuart and Manjit Johal. It is backed by Velocity Capital and is part of the firm’s technology portfolio.

The platform is aimed at non-technical teams managing work across multiple systems. Its agents can monitor signals, structure information, identify relationships and queue actions for review.

A central part of the product is an intelligence layer based on a knowledge graph and entity resolution approach. This allows the system to recognise when the same person, company, customer, project or opportunity appears across different systems and treat it as a single connected item of work.

That addresses a common issue for smaller businesses, where information is often split across emails, WhatsApp messages, LinkedIn activity, CRM records, sales updates, documents and internal notes. Staff then have to connect the context manually, decide what to prioritise and track follow-up actions.

More than 60% of registered users have active agents within 24 hours, although the company did not disclose the total number of users.

Kritmatta said the platform operates across three layers. The productivity layer handles tasks such as inbox summaries, meeting summaries and communication aggregation. The intelligence layer connects signals across channels and prioritises activity.

A third layer, Vega, focuses on lead generation, opportunity identification, relationship expansion, account penetration and signal-based outreach. The same workflow model can also be applied across teams handling relationships, projects, clients, candidates, campaigns and commercial activity.

Founder comments

Kalpesh Baxi, Co-Founder at Kritmatta, outlined the problem the company is targeting.

“Most teams do not have a data problem. They have a workflow problem. The signal is already there, but it is spread across inboxes, CRMs, LinkedIn, WhatsApp and internal notes. Kritmatta is designed to connect that signal and turn it into action,” Baxi said.

Manjit Johal, Co-Founder at Kritmatta, described how the product differs from prompt-based systems.

“A lot of AI tools still behave like search boxes with better language. We have built Kritmatta around entities, relationships and context, so agents can understand how people, companies, projects and opportunities connect across a business,” Johal said.

Duncan Stuart, Co-Founder at Kritmatta, said the business wanted to make the software usable by operational teams without specialist support.

“AI only becomes useful when people can apply it inside the way they already work. Our focus has been on designing workflows that operational teams can configure directly, without needing technical expertise,” Stuart said.

Velocity Capital also outlined why it backed the company. Thomas Lindup is Chief Operating Officer at the investment firm.

“Kritmatta is focused on how AI and AI agents can be effectively deployed within the workflows of non-technical teams in small and medium-sized businesses, in a predictable, auditable and safe manner,” Lindup said.

The platform is already being used across recruitment, talent, professional services, SaaS businesses and other commercial settings where teams manage fragmented communication and large volumes of workflow activity. In one example described by Kritmatta, a team might receive a LinkedIn message from a prospect, an email from a client, a CRM note linked to an opportunity and an internal update about the same account. The platform then connects those signals and queues the next action for review.



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