As temperatures rise, so does consumer appetite for colour, mood, and meaning in campaigns.
This season, marketing campaigns seem to be tapping into seasonal storytelling, using colour, texture, and tastes associated with summer to create consumer experiences that spark instant emotional connection. As we kiss goodbye to spring’s butter yellow trend and make way for summer’s latest and trendiest colour of the season, lemon yellow, we also see the rise of guava as the unofficial fruit of the summer season, and pop-ups are here to stay for Euro summer.
This summer’s campaigns are trading minimalism for maximal summer mood, as brands aren’t just selling products, they are bottling the season with their latest campaigns.
Zest For Success: Butter Yellow Gets a Tangy Upgrade
We’ve all known and loved the butter-yellow trend this spring, but as summer is fully underway, this colour is here to stay, but with a tangy twist. The soft, minimal aesthetic of the butter yellow trend has been replaced by the new and improved citrus lemon yellow as the latest colour of the season.
Hailey Bieber’s Rhode Beauty signalled the end of the butter-yellow trend and announced the latest colour of the season in their summer campaign. Rhode fully tapped into this trend, branding the aesthetic as ‘lemontini summer’ to tease their latest limited edition lip peptide treatment in shade lemontini and two new pocket blush shades in tan line and sun soak. This lemon-filled campaign gives all the Italian Riviera energy, with Instagram carousels selling this aesthetic from limoncello martinis to sorbet-filled lemons and citrus nails.
So why is this switch from the soft hues of butter yellow to the vibrance of lemon yellow so significant in summer campaigns? It sells a summer mood and vibe that consumers want a piece of; rather than selling a product, it bottles the summer season.
Guava Girl Summer
Alongside lemon yellow as the colour of the season, guava is the unofficial fruit of the summer season particularly in beauty brands’ campaigns. So why has guava become the unofficial fruit of the beauty marketing scene? Guava hits the sweet spot between visual appeal, sensory marketing, and storytelling.
It offers a colour palette and imagery that photographs beautifully and a flavour and scent profile that instantly evokes a summer mood. As well as this, guava feels new and not overdone like other fruits associated with the summer season, such as pineapple and watermelon. ‘Guava Girl Summer’ gives brands something fresh to work with, literally and figuratively.
Some brands tapping into this trend include Summer Fridays, by releasing a pink guava butter balm alongside posts and carousels embodying this ‘Guava Girl Summer’ aesthetic. This makes the campaign more of a character and something that consumers want to emulate with this product; the guava girl is glossy and glowing, inviting customers to become her. Other brands tapping into this fruit are Eadem with their Guava Fresca shade of lip balm, Anna Sui’s launch of a Sundae Neon Twist fragrance inspired by guava ice cream, and Tarte and Dunkin released a guava girl drink collaboration.
Euro Summer Pop Ups Are Here To Stay
We have seen brands using pop-ups throughout 2025, and it is clear that they are here to stay for the summer season, as brands and tourists alike are gearing up for ‘Euro summer’.
Luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Jaquemus, and Dolce and Gabbana are all heading to Europe, in hopes of catching the summer crowds in the most affluent holiday destinations. Whether it’s a Dior cafe in Capri or a Jaquemus boutique in Ibiza, luxury brands are using the summer season for social sharing and strategic location tagging by blending seamlessly into the aesthetics of European summer.
Some luxury brands using pop-ups for their summer branding include James Perse, taking over St Tropez’s Indie Beach, Alo arriving at the Mandarin Oriental, Bodrum and Jaquemus taking over Monte Carlo with yellow and black stripes. This trend reinforces that branding is not confined to shop floors and billboards, it is jet-setting, sun-drenched and social first, with Euro summer pop-ups reflecting a larger shift towards seasonal, experience-driven marketing.
