Celebrating the centenary of the Yorkshire Publicity Association

The Advertising Association was delighted to attend and support the centenary celebration of the Yorkshire Publicity Association, previously known as the Publicity Club of Leeds, at the Civic Hall, Leeds, on 21 September, in the presence of the Lord Mayor of Leeds and previous Chairmen of the Association.

This Club was one of the earliest local advertising networks set up in the UK, bringing together people in the Leeds area, and providing networking and information exchange opportunities for people across the region.

There were pre-First World War discussions about establishing an association of Advertising Clubs of the UK, and a big Convention at Wembley in 1923, reckoned to be the beginning of a new era of collaboration in advertising, across the UK.

But it was the 1925 British Advertising Convention at Harrogate, attended by around 800 people and organised by the Leeds and Bradford Publicity Clubs, that was a major building block in the creation in 1926 of the nationwide advertising body – the Advertising Association.

“The regional Publicity Clubs were very influential in the wider AA agenda”, said Stephen Woodford, CEO of the Advertising Association.  “So much so, that members of the Publicity Clubs had seats on AA Council and the AA set up the Club Development Committee to coordinate their discussions and activities.  We ran regular regional conferences across the UK including speaker contests to improve the expertise of advertising professionals.  The AA’s Club Development Committee continued to be very active well into the 1960s and early 1970s, by which time it was highly integrated into the AA’s organisation”.

Former YPA chairman, Robert McClements, who organised the centenary celebration, said, “The Yorkshire Publicity Association has a great heritage of awards ceremonies which lives on in the Roses and continues its proud tradition of gathering the advertising community  from across the Pennines at its Christmas and summer parties”.

Pictured above: The Lord Mayor of Leeds presenting a certificate to Shirley Cummings, the YPA’s current Chair, alongside industry representatives including the AA’s special projects lead Sue Eustace.