The investigation, launched in November 2025 as part of a broader CMA consumer protection drive targeting eight businesses and online pricing tactics, found that customers booking lessons between April and December 2025 were not shown the total price upfront. A mandatory £3 booking fee was instead added later in the checkout process after customers had already selected lesson times and entered personal details. This practice constitutes illegal drip pricing under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, which came into force in April 2025. The Act requires businesses to display the full price from the very first step of any purchase journey.

The original penalty was set at £7 million but was reduced to £4.2 million after the AA admitted to breaking the law and agreed to settle early, triggering a 40% discount under the CMA’s settlement procedure. Affected customers do not need to take any action; refunds will be applied automatically to the card used at the time of purchase or sent by cheque where that is not possible. The average individual payout will be around £9.

CMA CEO Sarah Cardell said the case sends a clear message: “If a fee is mandatory, the law is clear: it must be included in the price from the very start, not added at checkout.” For UK marketers and digital teams, the ruling carries significant practical implications. The CMA has six further investigations ongoing into similar pricing practices at companies including StubHub, Viagogo, Gold’s Gym, Appliances Direct, Wayfair and Mark’s Electrical, signalling that this is the beginning of sustained enforcement rather than an isolated case.

The post CMA Fines AA Driving Schools £4.2m in First Use of New Consumer Enforcement Powers first appeared on PureContent.

The multi-channel campaign runs across addressable TV, Broadcaster Video on Demand, Subscription Video on Demand platforms, YouTube, Twitch, audio, display and social channels. Out-of-home advertising will land in major UK cities including London, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow from 4 May, running throughout the summer. Media has been handled by Mediaplus Connect alongside FlixBus’s internal marketing team. The creative approach has been described by the brand as “playful and cheeky,” reflecting confidence in FlixBus’s growing reputation as a value-led travel option that has built cultural momentum since its UK launch.

Benedetta Chiumenti, Team Lead for Global Brand Management and Communication at Flix, said the network’s growth in the UK required “a bold and impactful awareness campaign” that could reach people who had never previously travelled with FlixBus. She noted the creative concepts were among the most distinctive the brand had ever produced. One Black Bear Managing Partner, Kate Hartshorn, whose agency has a long background in the UK coach and bus sector having previously worked with National Express for over eight years, described “Switch to FlixBus” as a platform that delivers the brand’s message in “a fun, clear and confident way.”

The campaign arrives as coach travel commands renewed consumer interest amid sustained rail fare increases and cost-of-living pressure. FlixBus, which launched UK routes in 2021, now operates in more than 40 markets globally.

The post FlixBus Launches Biggest Ever UK Campaign with One Black Bear first appeared on PureContent.

At the heart of the new scheme is a personalised Sparks hub within the M&S app, where offers are generated based on individual shopping history and preferences customers have chosen to share, such as dietary requirements. Machine learning models power the current system, with advanced generative AI capabilities described by the retailer as coming soon. New rewards drop into the Sparks wallet every Tuesday, and the retailer has structured three earn mechanics, spend and earn, explore new departments, and buy a bundle, all designed to reward customers for deepening their engagement with the brand. The more customers shop with Sparks, the more tailored the experience becomes.

M&S also announced its first-ever Sparks partnership with Virgin Red, allowing customers to earn Sparks wallet rewards across the Virgin ecosystem. This includes up to £130 when booking a Virgin Atlantic Holiday and £80 for switching to Virgin Media broadband. The partnership represents a shift toward a coalition loyalty model that extends earning opportunities well beyond M&S stores.

CEO Stuart Machin said customers had been clear in their feedback that they wanted Sparks to be “simple, rewarding and personalised,” and described the revamp as “another step forward” on M&S’s journey toward growth. The relaunch follows a period of disruption for the retailer including a significant cyber-attack in 2025, which cost an estimated £300 million in profits. M&S was nonetheless named the UK’s strongest brand for a fourth consecutive year in YouGov data published earlier this year.

The post M&S Relaunches Sparks with AI-Powered ‘Pounds Not Points’ Loyalty Overhaul first appeared on PureContent.

Dave O’Deer, designed by boutique animation studio Cahoots Studios, embodies the anxiety drivers and homeowners feel when faced with a stressful insurance claim moment. Kelly’s voice provides the calm counterpoint, positioning esure as an antidote to that uncertainty and bringing the brand promise “Be sure with esure” to life. The campaign centres on the brand’s SureSnap proposition, the ability for customers to upload claim photos digitally, thereby demonstrating how esure speeds up the process during difficult moments. Dave will appear across high-energy, sound-on environments including TV ad breaks, crowded social feeds and high-impact digital out-of-home sites across the UK.

The launch marks a significant strategic shift for esure following its acquisition by Ageas UK, which Gareth Haggerty, Head of Brand and Marketing at esure, described as taking “the handbrake off” marketing investment. Previously owned by private equity, the brand had been largely absent from above-the-line advertising. The campaign performed strongly in pre-launch testing, scoring within the top 2% of more than 1,000 consumer insurance advertisements tested by System1. Andrew Tindall, Chief Growth Officer at System1, described it as an example of how to “win by going against the grain” in a category where half of consumers feel nothing towards insurance advertising.

Sean Mulholland, Creative Director at Guy & Co, said the team spotted “a brilliant opportunity” in esure’s existing heritage, describing the new platform as “a powerful and ‘endeering’ way to create connection” in a traditionally low-engagement category.

The post Esure Returns to TV After Over a Decade with ‘Calm Down, Deer’ Campaign first appeared on PureContent.