Ad Matters 23.02.2024

It’s been a BIG week for Team AA.

We’ve moved into our new offices at 95 Aldwych and we cannot wait to host you all here at our new home! It’s been a few months since we’ve had an office, as we moved out of Berners Street in November. Lockdown flashbacks aside, we’ve been working remotely, and begging/borrowing/stealing space from friends across the industry. A special comms thanks goes out to the lovely people at the Advertising Producers Association who shared their Soho offices with us, and to the Newsworks gang who let us hang out with them while we kept everything ticking along. Having a new office is wonderful, a timely reminder of just how important the social aspect of work is, and the value of being together.

Our brilliant Office Manager, Holly, who has led the charge on sorting everything out with our office, has done an amazing job. Of particular note, the fantastic coffee machine and our soundproof Teams calls booths! We’re just settling in, working out what colour to paint the walls, and which posters to hang up. Roll on the office warming gathering…

Our pick of recent ads:

• Here come the first Team GB ads for Paris 2024: ‘Whatever your goals, let’s get going’ for NatWest by The&Partnership.
• Rockin’ all over the world? More like ‘Saving all over the store!’ M&S team up with Status Quo to promote their Cost of Living friendly deals by The Mill.
• A poignant one called ‘Changing narratives’ by M&C Saatchi for Rise.365. A series of outdoor ads showing everyday biases that young black men face in the UK.
• Magnum asks people to enjoy their ice creams during the winter with ‘Find your summer’ by LOLA.
• And our Ad in the A celebrates Curry’s innovative trade-in and recycling initiatives in ‘Drenched’ by AMV BBDO and Spark Foundry.

Our must-reads:

• Big media moves this week. Congrats to Sue Frogley, newly appointed group CEO at Talon, and Zaid Al-Qassab, now group CEO at M&C Saatchi. (Campaign)
• Why is no one in advertising talking about sustainability anymore? Surprise, surprise, I still am. (Contagious)
• How empowering local economies is the key to UK prosperity. Latest from the British Chamber of Commerce, with the report chaired by Ad Net Zero’s Seb Munden. (BCC)
• How a GB news investigation by Ofcom has put the regulator under the spotlight, Ray Snoddy writes. (The Media Leader).

Diary dates:

• Our brilliant UK Advertising Exports team will be heading out with 40 fabulous UK companies to SXSW from March 8-12. Check out the packed programme here.
• Looking for lessons in sustainability leadership? Join the Grace Blue team, Seb & myself at their ‘Future-Proof Your Brand, Attract Top Talent & Save the Planet’ webinar on March 18 from 12-1pm. Register free here.
• It’s 100 days until the TLA London to Brighton ad industry cycle ride on May 31. Help us raise money for two fantastic causes, NABS and Under One Sky, by signing up your team here.
• One week left to enter our UK Young Lions Competition. If you’re ready to compete to land a week in Cannes, sign up here before February 29.

We’ve welcomed a new Front Foot member this week, Open Media, innovative out of home advertising folk committed to three fundamental pillars – People, Planet and Place. Right up our street!

Meanwhile, over at the Alliance of Independent Agencies, they’ve launched a brilliant Leadership Pathway Programme for next generation agency leaders. 16 places up for grabs and AA members can exclusively access AIA member rate of £2,500. Contact suzanne@allindependentagencies.org to find out more.

Finally, we are approaching the publication of Sustainable Advertising, a book that I have been writing along with co-author, Seb Munden, the Ad Net Zero Chair. I’ll share more about that next week, but for now here’s some background on the new book.