An irreverent look at the top Google searches last week.

Chris McIntosh | Climb & Conquer

Every Friday at 8:30am, a member of the Climb & Conquer team joins The Red Radio for The Search Party: a look at the stories, names and questions that caught the UK’s attention over the past week.

Here are five topics that made the conversation.

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1. The ASOS “HACKED” notification

ASOS customers were startled by a push notification announcing “ASOS HACKED”. The company confirmed unauthorised activity involving third-party platforms it uses to communicate with customers, and said some basic personal information may have been accessed. With a message appearing through a familiar app, it’s easy to see why people wanted to find out what had happened and whether they needed to take action. ASOS update

2. Tesco’s Christmas sandwich

Tesco’s Christmas dinner sandwich arrived on 12 October. That’s right: Christmas lunch, in sandwich form, while Halloween is still ahead of us. Is October too early for festive food, or is it never too soon for a taste of Christmas? Tesco listing

3. The John Lewis Christmas advert soundtrack

The annual guessing game had already begun, with bookies taking bets on who might provide the soundtrack for this year’s John Lewis Christmas advert. Olivia Dean was the favourite at 5/4, ahead of Lily Allen at 6/4 and Adele at 2/1. Of course, the odds are only speculation—but they’re enough to get people talking. Advert soundtrack odds

4. Twenty-four years of hotel loyalty

Teessider Paul Ingledew was reported to have received a £2,000 TUI holiday voucher after returning to the same hotel in Paphos 75 times since 2002. That’s loyalty on a remarkable scale—and a pretty good reason to stick with a favourite holiday spot.

5. The Nobel Prize announcements

The Nobel Prizes were announced across the week, with the Peace Prize going to Navi Pillay, the former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The 2026 prize amount is 12 million Swedish kronor, worth around $1.2 million. Navi Pillay’s award · 2026 prize amount

Climb & Conquer is a local performance marketing agency helping businesses grow through expert advice and guidance on everything digital, including SEO, PPC, Meta Ads and Email Marketing. The team is proud to sponsor The Red Radio and bring Teesside the week’s hottest trends every Friday at 8:30am. Tune in and join us for the next Search Party!