The standout college ads that we fell in love with in 2025 were the University of Manchester’s “Do Things Differently,” and UC San Diego’s “Scrippshenge.”
These campaigns moved past the usual “students smiling on a lawn” scenes and delivered something that felt cinematic, honest, and intellectually exciting.✨
By focusing on high-level research, real campus life, and personal student stories, these schools set a new benchmark for academic marketing in a crowded digital space.
Let’s dive deeper into the elements that make an effective college advertising campaign.
Why College Ads Matter in 2025
How College Ads Influence Student Decisions
Choosing a university is still one of the biggest life decisions for students and their families. This choice involves money, time, and four years of emotional and intellectual growth, so ads need to do more than display pretty buildings. They need to communicate a promise.
A strong ad works like the “front door” to a school’s culture, helping future students picture how they might feel and react in real campus situations and during academic breakthroughs.
The timing of these ads has also become highly strategic. Recent trends show that universities get the best reach when they run major campaigns during big events like college football games.
These shared viewing moments allow a school to present its research, reputation, and values to millions at once, shaping the “brand value” that students think about when comparing offers from different universities.
What Makes a College Ad Stand Out
The era of generic commercials with stiff shots of students and teachers is mostly behind us. In 2025, a spike in creativity pushed schools to find new ways to stand out.
The strongest ads are short, uplifting, and cinematic. They often avoid hard selling and instead tell a story that feels like a mini movie.
Authenticity is just as important. Viewers can recognize the difference between hired actors and real community members. Successful ads often show the actual people doing the work, the researchers in the lab, and the undergrads cheering in the stadium.
Digital display panel used for student communication and project funding announcements within a university campus.
Criteria for Selecting the Best College Ads
1. Creative Storytelling Techniques
For our list, we paid close attention to storytelling that felt new and engaging. We picked ads that didn’t just list facts but built a narrative, similar to the long, emotional brand films we’ve seen in past years.
Strong storytelling in a college ad means guiding the viewer from a first spark of curiosity through to the emotional high point of graduation and what comes after. The ads we chose used story structures that felt personal yet relatable to many people.
2. Connection With Prospective Students
A strong college ad needs to make a viewer think, “That could be me.” The best way to do this is often to feature real students and their honest experiences.
We looked for ads that showed the emotions and energy of campus life without feeling fake. This included highlighting diversity in the student body and the many paths students can follow, from cutting-edge STEM projects to creative arts.
3. Message Relevance in 2025
The message of a college ad needs to match what is happening in the wider world. In 2025, topics like innovation, climate modeling, and social justice are front and center. We chose ads that faced these issues directly and showed the campus as a place where students can start real change.
When the message speaks to these current themes, the ad promotes not just a school, but a mission that students want to join.
Students in 2025 want to feel sure that their education will give them the skills to handle real problems outside the classroom.
Want to stand out in the competitive education landscape?
“Do Things Differently” – University of Manchester
The slogan “Do Things Differently” has become a key element of the University of Manchester’s identity, although its origin is unconventional. The phrase comes from the film 24 Hour Party People, directed by Michael Winterbottom, in which Steve Coogan, playing Tony Wilson, says: “This is Manchester. We do things differently here.”
These words, written by screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce, were not a direct quote from Wilson, but a literary reference to L.P. Hartley’s novel The Go-Between.
Despite its cinematic origins, the slogan perfectly captures the spirit of innovation and nonconformity that characterizes both Manchester and its university. 🎬
The University of Manchester adopted the phrase as part of its brand communication, emphasizing its history of groundbreaking achievements.
The Current Strategy “From Manchester for the World”
In 2025, the university launched a new development strategy titled “From Manchester for the World,” which will remain in effect until 2035. This strategy was developed through a year-long consultation process involving over 12,000 students, staff, alumni, and partners. 🌍
The strategy is based on two pillars:
- Foundations: Fundamental commitments that must hold true in every future scenario, such as excellence in research and teaching.
- Leaps: Bold choices that enable faster progress, building a future that only Manchester can imagine.
The campaign emphasizes the university’s deep connection with the city and the northern England region, while also highlighting the institution’s global reach.
The slogan “Do things differently” appears throughout the communication as a reminder of the university’s readiness to tackle challenges and think innovatively.
Impact on the University’s Image
The philosophy of “doing things differently” has helped the University of Manchester build a coherent brand narrative that links its history with the future. In 2024, the university celebrated its bicentennial with a wide-reaching campaign featuring its signature purple branding.
The bicentennial campaign demonstrated how deeply the philosophy of innovation had become embedded in the institution’s identity, attracting the attention of prospective students seeking a place where they can challenge the status quo and shape the future.
“Scrippshenge” – UC San Diego
The “Scrippshenge” campaign from UC San Diego is a unique example of using a natural phenomenon as a powerful marketing tool to build the brand.
Twice a year, typically in May and August, the sunset perfectly aligns with the center of the Ellen Browning Scripps Memorial Pier. It’s an iconic pier owned by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, a research unit at UC San Diego.
This phenomenon, dubbed “Scrippshenge” by the local community, has become a magnet for photographers and nature enthusiasts (similar to unique advertisements on LED screens), drawing hundreds of people to each event.
The term beautifully ties the topography of the location with a cultural phenomenon, creating an easily memorable name that spreads organically on social media.
Viral Photo and CASE Award
In 2023, campus photographer Erik Jepsen decided to capture the phenomenon’s popularity in an unconventional way. Instead of photographing the sunset itself, he patiently waited from behind to capture over 100 people positioning themselves under the pier to watch the sun align.
The photo shows a crowd of photographers, a surfer on a wave, and the magical moment of the natural phenomenon.
This thoughtful approach to photography brought remarkable results. The photo became one of the most viral and widely shared images of UC San Diego in 2023, winning the 2024 CASE Circle of Excellence Award.
The jury appreciated the difference between a “pretty picture” (just showing the sunset) and an “image that tells a story” (showing the crowd of photographers and the surfer).
Integration With Broader Marketing Strategy
UC San Diego skillfully integrated the Scrippshenge phenomenon into its broader brand communication strategy. The university:
- Shared photos on social media, generating massive engagement
- Included Scrippshenge on the list of “15 things to do at UC San Diego before graduating”
- Used the phenomenon to emphasize the university’s connection to oceanography and Earth sciences
- Showcased the unique nature of its campus, located on the Pacific coast
The campaign beautifully illustrates how an authentic connection between place and science can create an unforgettable experience for the campus community.
Scrippshenge became a symbol of UC San Diego. It’s a place where science meets nature, and everyday phenomena inspire research and discoveries.
Lessons for University Marketing
The story of Scrippshenge shows that the most effective university marketing doesn’t always require a large budget or grand film productions. Sometimes, it just takes:
- Authenticity: Using real, unique features of the campus.
- Creativity in storytelling: Showing not just the phenomenon but the people experiencing it.
- Patience and thoughtful composition: Erik Jepsen planned his shot and waited for the right moment.
- Organic spreading: The community naturally shares something truly unique.
Summary
Looking at the future of higher education marketing, it’s clear that the most successful campaigns are those that arise from the authentic values and unique characteristics of an institution.
The University of Manchester shows how brand philosophy can become a consistent narrative that spans years, while UC San Diego demonstrates the power of using natural phenomena and creative photography to build community engagement.
Both campaigns teach that universities don’t need to create artificial narratives. The best stories already exist on campuses, in research, in communities, and even in natural phenomena.
The task of marketers is to discover, capture, and share them in ways that inspire the next generation of students to explore their paths and change the world around them.
Get inspired by our campaigns!