The case for consistency: staying relevant in a novelty-obsessed world

What does consistency mean in brand culture today? Can brands be consistent with their marketing in a landscape driven by social fads, reactive design, and online viral churn? Some of the most enduring names in British culture suggest that they can – and that consistency, far from being a creative constraint, can actually be the catalyst for bold, relevant work.

Legacy brands like fashion house Burberry, cultural institution the V&A and John Lewis & Partners have a long history of creating instantly recognisable visuals with uncompromising design, quality and craftsmanship. It’s their knack for reinvention that keeps them at the cultural forefront. From Burberry’s star-studded campaigns like Kim Gehrig’s recent Festival spot with Somesuch, timed to release around Glastonbury 2025, to its legacy of high production (case in point the beautiful It’s Always Burberry Weather campaign), and pushing creative formats (for example its Blinkink-produced cross stitch animations, or Dani Coyle’s Burberry Toast), the brand has managed to stay in step with the zeitgeist without compromise. Similarly, the V&A has been a constant cultural fixture since 1852, bridging nostalgia with reinvention through its exhibitions and community engagement to keep it culturally resonant. It’s managed to evolve and attract new generations of visitors, as is exemplary with the V&A East Storehouse and forthcoming V&A East (opening 2026) plans, which signals a forward-thinking chapter and commitment to being more accessible – highlighted by its 2024 tagline, ‘If you’re into it, it’s in the V&A’. Meanwhile, newer brands like Specsavers and dating app Hinge have built their own version of consistency, not through tradition, but by knowing exactly what their audiences expect from them, and leaning into it again and again. Specsavers has maintained its ‘Should’ve gone to Specsavers’ catchphrase since 2003, repurposing this message and its creative to remain fresh but unmistakably familiar; while Hinge carved out a niche as the relationship app that offers an alternative to the category’s swipe culture. With its minimal advertising, famous ‘Designed to be Deleted’ tagline and culture-savvy campaigns like No Ordinary Love and the Phonebook, Hinge plays within culture rather than outside of it, using unconventional storytelling formats and experimenting with new ways of connecting.

These brands are proof that consistency doesn’t need to be creatively limiting, in fact, it can create the foundation for innovation and open up the door for a long game of trust, clarity, and intention.

Legacy, But Make It Last

Despite their historical differences, these brands are known for building distinct brand worlds, established through years of consistent messaging and emotive creative.

John Lewis has a history that stretches back over 150 years, long positioning itself as a brand with a premium reputation. “Our brand is synonymous with quality, service and price, which are at the heart of everything we do,” says Amy Tippen-Smith, brand marketing lead at John Lewis. That promise has come to life across its creative output, from blockbuster-worthy Christmas ads to understated in-store moments, always reflecting its emotional relatability and its aim to make luxury feel within reach. Seasonal campaigns like The Beginner (2022), Snapper: The Perfect Tree (2023), and The Gifting Hour (2024) have each struck a cultural chord, with iconic sonic collaborations from America’s Got Talent singing clown Puddles Pity Party, Italian opera singer Andrea Bocelli and former The Verve singer, Richard Ashcroft, respectively – joining a long list of other musical icons like Lily Allen, Elbow and Ellie Goulding. Its iconic Oxford Street window displays translate the same care and craft into physical form, often alongside in-store merch that extends the world of its adverts. Mascots born from these campaigns, from Monty the Penguin to Moz the Monster, are transformed into toys, decorations and immersive shop-floor activations, ensuring the magic and spirit of the ads live on in real life long after the TV spot has aired.

Specsavers, on the other hand, has built a different kind of cultural equity. As a much younger brand, founded just over 40 years ago, the brand has stuck with a tagline that is instantly recognisable and has become an intrinsic part of culture. Since its inception in 2003, ‘Should’ve gone to Specsavers,’ has become firmly embedded in Britain’s everyday lexicon, becoming shorthand and a go-to punchline for when people miss something obvious and experience a visual blunder. The line has been a part of popular culture for over two decades, keeping the brand functional and funny, practical and beloved.

Knowing When (and How) to Pivot

But consistency doesn’t have to mean staying static. As these brands have proved, they’ve been able to remain consistent in their messaging and their brand values, while also being able to evolve and keep up with changing formats and customer demands.

John Lewis revived its Never Knowingly Undersold pledge in 2023, bringing its century-old quality and value into the modern age with AI-powered price-matching against 25 UK retailers. The relaunch was marked by The Window campaign, a Saatchi & Saatchi-crafted film that traced an Oxford Street shopfront through decades of design, going from 1920s toasters to Lycra aerobics gear to LED beauty tech. The creative reinforces John Lewis’ knack for modernising its heritage and hallmark customer service, which is etched in its brand identity that has become synonymous with sophistication, minimalism and elegance. With geometric typefaces that nod to tradition, refined layouts and clean, candid photography, the brand consistently works within the parameters of its quality-first ethos.

Specsavers has taken a more contemporary route to consistency, by keeping its creative in-house and developing a robust in-house agency. “It helps us stay true to our brand purpose, react quickly and create work that genuinely connects with our audience,” Wright says. “Our team lives and breathes the brand every day, so the work is not only more consistent, it’s more meaningful.”

That in-house perspective has allowed the brand to reinterpret its iconic ‘Should’ve’ creative across formats, age groups, and campaigns. It has even transcended its original optical remit and turned into a catchphrase that can be applied to almost anything – from football matches to missed gigs. Wright calls this cultural elasticity one of the brand’s superpowers: “What keeps ‘Should’ve’ fun and relevant is the way our teams use the theme to tap into big cultural moments and utilise channels beyond TV.”

For Specsavers, consistency means never losing sight of its tone of voice, even as it pushes into new creative territory. A standout example is its recent Best Worst Team campaign, which saw the memorable tagline repurposed to appeal to new audiences. “We identified that ‘Should’ve’ didn’t resonate as much with younger audiences – many saw it as a ‘dad joke’,” Wright says. So the team flipped the narrative: instead of laughing at sporting failure, they spotlighted the underdogs. The campaign followed Britain’s worst football team, backed by Harry Redknapp, in a docu-content series that resonated deeply with Gen Z football fans.The results speak for themselves: average YouTube watch times of five minutes, and a 35 per cent uplift in brand consideration. “It was an activation absolutely rooted in ‘Should’ve’, but reimagined to make it relevant for new audiences.”

Specsavers also understands the importance of adopting a platform-native tone. “We tailor our messaging to each platform without losing our essence,” Wright says. “That means being witty on social, empathetic in community campaigns, and always plain-speaking across the board.”

Consistency today doesn’t mean being inflexible. The brands that thrive evolve with intention, adapting to new behaviours, tech, and new audiences while staying anchored to their original purpose. What John Lewis and Specsavers demonstrate is that brand consistency isn’t about visuals alone. They’ve been committed to building brand trust, familiarity, and meaning in their creative, a sense that, no matter what platform or campaign you encounter them on, you know who you’re dealing with.

These legacy brands proved the value of starting with what people already love and recognise, and pushing that forward. It’s not about throwing the rulebook out, but a case of bending it. In a culture obsessed with reinvention, there’s something radical about sticking to what works.