Ad Matters 01.11.2024

It’s tough to write Ad Matters this week without centring on the Budget which finally arrived after dominating the political debate for weeks. It’s here and there is a huge range of views being expressed about the announcement, and what it means for the UK, people, businesses, public services, and growth. We issued our perspective which you can see here, and we have drawn from our bigger announcement yesterday about the latest AA/WARC ad spend figures which show, once again, how the industry’s performance is ahead of growth more generally.

We believe it is important to remind everyone that advertising is an investment in growth, and that this remains true and critical at a time when business costs are under increased pressure, but the need for growth is even more intense. Advertising at its best promotes competition, supports innovation and helps create jobs.

It’s timely then, that we look forward to next week with excitement as the Battle of the Christmas ads hits full stride – after successes for the likes of Aldi’s Kevin The Carrot, and Coca-Cola’s The Holidays Are Coming last year, who will win this time round? We’ll be tracking and discussing our favourites so expect next week’s edition of Ad Matters to have a full-on festive feel.

Our must-reads:

• Our latest AA/WARC figures revealed that UK Advertising surpassed £10bn in the second quarter of 2024, with ad spend for the first half of the year reaching £19.6bn. (Campaign)
• UK chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered Labour’s first Budget since 2010 – here’s the latest industry reaction. (The Media Leader)
• Spooky season is an annual event more marketers could tap into. (Creative Salon)
• New analysis by the IPA of Christmas ad campaigns reveals the most effective combination is fame, emotion and TV. (Campaign)
• Diwali, the Festival of Lights, takes place this week with brands responding to the commercial opportunities. (LBB)

Our pick of ads:

• Lloyds has expanded its multichannel campaign, ‘The power to do it all’, with the help of adam&eveDDB.
• Decathlon has launched its buy-back campaign by AMV BBDO, incentivising customers to give their sportswear a second life.
• Youth charity YoungMinds has unveiled ‘Crushed by a million pressures’, a sculpture at Kings Cross Station created by Livity.
• Dr Martens has had a reboot with its new campaign by The Midnight Club.
• NOT Wieden & Kennedy has launched a fresh visual identity for Upwork called ‘A new dimension of work’.

Dates for your diary:

• IAB Debrief is back for its third year! Join marketers, agencies, and digital innovators on 19 November as they showcase how digital platforms can drive positive change. Book your ticket here.
• Our All In How-To Sessions are back! Learn about implementing the updated actions from our inclusion action plan, across Black Talent on 27 November, Disabled Talent on 4 December and Social Mobility on 10 December.
• Along with the IPA and ISBA, we will bring our industry’s annual gathering, LEAD, to the QEII Centre on 6 February 2025. Book your tickets here.

And finally, it’s Journalism Matters week. Our member, the News Media Association, has been speaking with local journalists across the country about the work they do in their communities. One of the important roles of advertising is to help fund journalism, so have a watch here.