The Advertising Association promotes the role and rights of responsible advertising and its value to people, society, businesses and the economy. We represent UK advertisers, agencies, media owners and tech companies on behalf of the entire industry, acting as the connection between industry professionals and the politicians and policy-makers.

The Advertising Association focuses on major industry and policy areas that have huge ramifications on UK advertising. This section contains our work around public health, gambling advertising, data and e-privacy, trust, the digital economy and more.

Credos is the advertising industry’s independent think tank. It produces research, evidence and reports into the impact and effectiveness of and public and political response to advertising on behalf of UK advertisers in order to enable the industry to make informed decisions.

Front Foot is our industry’s member network of over 90 businesses across UK advertising. It aims to promote the role of responsible advertising and its value to people, society and the economy through a coalition of senior leaders from advertisers, agencies and media owners.

We run a number of events throughout the year, from our annual LEAD summit to the Media Business Course and regular breakfast briefings for our members. We are also the official UK representative for the world’s biggest festival of creativity – Cannes Lions.

Benefits

Five reasons why our network is on the Front Foot:

  1. The only pan-industry coalition of senior practitioners influencing the positive narrative as to advertising’s contribution to people, society and the economy.
  2. Shaping the collective long-term initiatives to address the AA’s broad objectives of responsible advertising, trust and growth.
  3. Informing Government departments on the impact of new measures affecting the industry, and channelling sector-specific requests.
  4. Providing thought leadership towards the AA’s core workstreams, including rebuilding public trust, climate action and inclusion.
  5. Cascading the AA’s best practice and training to wider teams within their organisations
Find out more about joining today
What it means to be on the Front Foot

“The Advertising Association provides a vital and pivotal role, supporting and advising the UK advertising industry. Their knowledge, insight, and passionate drive to consistently champion responsible advertising, ensuring inclusivity, sustainability and trust are at the heart of UK society, is what we as brands find invaluable to the success of our business. I’m really looking forward to further enhancing our partnership into 2024 as we continue to drive forward positive change within the industry.”

Vicky Handley, Lloyds Bank Brand Communications Lead

“From both an individual agency and a cross-industry perspective, the Advertising Association is an invaluable partner in raising awareness, improving standards of best practices, and setting the agenda. At VCCP, we are keen supporters of the great opportunities advanced through the Front Foot network in the UK and internationally through UKAEG as well as the meaningful actions of BRiM. At the IPA, we hugely appreciate the expertise and collaborative efforts of the AA in tackling industry-wide issues through Ad Net Zero, the All In Census and the Pitch Positive Pledge. Only by working together can we tackle the significant challenges we face in relation to climate change, DE&I and mental health. The Advertising Association continues to be a leader and a galvanising force for positive change in our industry and society at large. ”

Julian Douglas, International CEO & Vice Chairman, VCCP & AA Export Champion

“The UK advertising industry is one of the most sophisticated and progressive in the world and the Ad Association is critical in the role it plays to ensure we are fit to continue to create a meaningful, sustainable impact in what we do and how we do it. From the outstanding All In work over the past two years to tackling the issues that matter most in the role we play such as policy changes, trust in advertising and possibly the most important of all: the Climate Action workstream. The challenging topics are getting bigger and more complex so can only be solved through us coming together from all corners of our industry – making the Ad Association more important than it’s ever been.”

Natalie Bell, CEO, MG OMD

“Bringing our industry together to discuss, debate and disseminate information around key issues is vital. The AA’s focus on the whole advertising ecosystem ensures that we are able to share and learn from common challenges, as well as helping to uncover opportunities around emerging trends. Their experience and knowledge around Diversity and Inclusion with their ‘All In’ programme has been particularly helpful. The AA team has provided a number of invaluable resources and sessions that have informed our own work, ensuring we have the data and insight to drive real change. We have benefited from aligning ourselves with the AA’s public affairs and policy team as they ensure a united voice for our industry, helping to accelerate progress on issues that really matter.”

Sajeeda Merali, CEO, PPA

“The Advertising Association plays a vital and active role in helping the industry to go further and to be better. The work that they are spearheading around trust in advertising is a great example of this, and is just one of the many ways that they galvanise us all to work together on issues that really matter. Whether it be on matters of policy, safety or inclusion, they remain focused on bringing all parts of the industry together in meaningful collaboration and debate. They have achieved an impressive amount in the last twelve months; here’s to the next 12 months of going further and being better together!”

Verica Djurdjevic, Chief Revenue Officer, Channel 4
Our Board

Paul Bainsfair

Director General,
IPA

Natalie Bell

CEO,
Manning Gottlieb OMD
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James Best

Chair,
Credos

Matt Bush

SVP Global Agency Partnerships
Smartly.io
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Dominic Carter

Group Chief Commercial Officer,
News UK

Tammy Einav

CEO,
adam&eveDDB

Pete Markey

Front Foot Chair, CMO,
Boots

Charlotte Frijns

Treasurer,
Advertising Association

Sarah Jenkins

Managing Director,
Saatchi&Saatchi London
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Phil Smith

Director General,
ISBA

Karen Stacey

CEO,
Digital Cinema Media
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Stephen Woodford

Chief Executive,
Advertising Association

Simon Daglish

Deputy Managing Director, Commercial,
ITV plc