Jellyfish vs T&P

Brandtech's Rebecca Sykes on AI Implementation Challenges

In a podcast interview, Rebecca Sykes, partner at The Brandtech Group and head of its emerging technology practice, argues that generative AI can work with messy, siloed data, contrary to conventional wisdom. She emphasizes that brand-specific data, even if disorganized, prevents AI outputs from becoming generic. Sykes highlights that many AI pilots fail at scale because companies only automate isolated steps without re-engineering the entire workflow, using the 'frog in a sock' analogy. She advocates for building new operating models around AI capabilities, focusing on people, processes, and new roles like AI governance. The episode also discusses Brandtech's new global data and AI practice, Jellyfish's 'share of model' tool, and the importance of video in AI brand recommendations.

• Rebecca Sykes is a partner at The Brandtech Group and leads its emerging technology practice.
• Sykes argues that generative AI can work with messy, siloed data, not just pristine data.
• She uses the 'frog in a sock' analogy to illustrate how existing operating models hinder AI transformation.

Black History Month: Culture Chats, with Global Chief People Officer, Annabelle Walters

Annabelle Walters, Global Chief People Officer at Jellyfish, joined The Digital Voice™ Black History Month Culture Chats for a candid discussion, unpacking what it truly means for black women to own their space in executive leadership, whilst navigating the nuanced reality of vulnerability at the top.

Harvard Study: AI Does Not Truly Boost Developer Productivity

A study by Harvard researchers Fiona Chen and James Stratton, based on data from the engineering analytics platform Jellyfish covering 300 million work outputs from over 700,000 employees at 718 companies (January 2021 to March 2026), finds that while AI coding tools increase code output, these gains do not translate into actual productivity improvements. Reactive AI assistants led to a 12% increase in lines of code and a 9% increase in commits, but only the commit effect was statistically significant. Semi-autonomous AI agents showed larger increases (30% more code lines, 20% more commits, 23% more pull requests), but the review bottleneck negated these gains. The average time to review a pull request rose by 49%, the share of pull requests requiring changes nearly doubled, and comments per pull request increased by 35%. The proportion of engineers doing code reviews rose by 14%. Qualitative interviews with 21 professionals confirmed that AI speeds up routine tasks but requires more manual checking for complex tasks.

• Harvard researchers analyzed 300 million work outputs from Jellyfish, covering 718 companies and over 700,000 employees from January 2021 to March 2026.
• Reactive AI assistants increased code lines by 12%, commits by 9%, and pull requests by 5%, but only the commit effect was statistically significant.
• Semi-autonomous AI agents increased code lines by 30%, commits by 20%, and pull requests by 23%.

Toyota's Alice in Wonderland Ad Showcases New Yaris Cross Hybrid

Toyota Europe launched a new advertising campaign for the updated Yaris Cross Hybrid, featuring a modern retelling of 'Alice in Wonderland'. The commercial, created by agency T&P and directed by Rodrigo Saavedra of Agosto, follows a young woman named Alice through a fantastical cityscape inspired by the classic story, with characters like the Mad Hatter as a DJ and the Queen of Hearts as a fashion boss. The ad highlights the car's agility, style, and hybrid performance, and is part of a multi-channel campaign spanning TV, OOH, print, radio, and social media. Creative teams emphasized practical sets over AI-generated visuals, and the VFX team at Post Office Amsterdam handled digital enhancements.

• Toyota launched a new advertising campaign for the Yaris Cross Hybrid.
• The campaign is titled 'Ready for What's Next'.
• The commercial was created by agency T&P and directed by Rodrigo Saavedra of Agosto.

Toyota and T&P reveal making of Hilux tornado, crocodile ad

Toyota Motor Europe and creative agency T&P launched a pan-European campaign for the new electric Hilux, built around eight short films that use extreme but purposeful scenarios. The making-of feature details practical effects, CGI, and AI-generated imagery: the crocodile scene was created with AI video tool Kling, wind turbines were added as CGI, and a winter landscape was shot on a sunny South African beach. The shoot took place in South Africa over three days with more than 60 crew members. Legal constraints required every journey in the ad to have a purpose, and Toyota's product team set limits such as a maximum 42-degree incline. The campaign closes with the warning: 'Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. Please, Hilux responsibly.'

• Toyota Motor Europe relaunched the Hilux with a new electric version through a pan-European campaign created by T&P.
• The hero film was produced as eight separate short films, allowing for market-specific edits.
• Principal photography took place in South Africa over three days with more than 60 crew members.

Dolmio revives puppet family for 40th anniversary

Dolmio has brought back its iconic puppet family after a 10-year hiatus to mark the brand's 40th anniversary. The 20-second spot, created by agency T&P, modernises the characters (including a social-media-savvy teen) while leaning on classic visual cues such as a checked tablecloth. Mars Food & Nutrition (Dolmio's owner) says the campaign celebrates evolving mealtimes and aims to remind audiences that shared dinners still bring people together. The rollout spans nationwide prime-time TV, VOD, creator partnerships, in-store activity and OOH, including a giant 3D billboard in Shepherd's Bush, London. Credits list senior brand and creative leads from Dolmio and T&P.

• Dolmio has revived its puppet family for the brand's 40th anniversary after a 10-year break.
• The 20-second commercial was created by creative agency T&P.
• Mars Food & Nutrition is identified as Dolmio's owner and is quoted about the relaunch.