Ad Matters 10.01.2025

Happy New Year!

It can be challenging to set the wheels in motion again in the grey days of January, as the festive sparkle fades. Whilst we attempt to overcome possible feelings of over-indulgence and sluggishness, hopefully we can also see the beginning of 2025 as a chance to start afresh with renewed purpose and optimism.

I was reminded of this at the excellent Adwanted ‘The Year Ahead’ event I attended this week. It gave us a punchy roundup of what many organisations in our industry have been focused on in 2024 and how they plan to prioritise their work this year. My AA colleague Sharon Lloyd Barnes spoke about our fantastic free Advertising and Marketing Training Hub – a vital tool for anyone looking to expand their knowledge this year.

One of the standout facts highlighted at the event was the recent survey by Work Research finding that 60% of people working in our industry are optimistic about the year ahead. Once again, this result puts us a whole ten percentage points higher than almost every other industry – and in my opinion shows why it is such a great place to be, even when times are tough. And even in January.

Our must-reads:

• Let’s start the year with a celebration: The IPA has unveiled its New Year Honours List, including a gong for our former president Keith Weed and Thinkbox’s Matt Hill. (Campaign)
• It’s the first acquisition news of the year: Bauer Media buys Clear Channel Europe. (Campaign)
• Vodafone, working with agency partner dentsu, reveals it has reduced the carbon footprint of its media and advertising activity by a third last year. (Decision Marketing)
• We must change with the times, writes Rob Newman, as ISBA prepares to celebrate its 125^th anniversary. (The Media Leader)
• And what does the industry expect AI to deliver in 2025? (Creative Salon)

Our pick of the ads:

• Our Ad in the A… THIS Changes Everything was created by St Luke’s for plant-based food brand THIS, in an inventive ad to encourage Veganuary.
• The British Arrows and T&Pm have collaborated with CALM to help prompt awareness of discussing mental health amongst Gen Z in ‘This is not a drill’.
• Worth Your While’s campaign looks at how ‘name bias‘ has an unfair impact on pay, job prospects and workplace treatment for ethnic minorities in the UK.
• We love a proper cuppa and this playful Yorkshire Tea ad with Happy Valley’s Sarah Lancashire is full of suspense.
• VCCP has helped to create the latest Cadbury spot, ‘Memory’, a heartfelt tale of generosity and kindness.

Dates for your diary:

• LEAD 2025 has unveiled its full agenda. Top speakers include DCMS Minister Sir Chris Bryant, Sky News’ Beth Rigby, and Absolute Radio Presenter Matt Forde, amongst a host of advertising leaders and political editors. Book your tickets to join us on February 6 at the QEII Centre.
• Would you like to learn more about the Media Business Course? We are holding our MBC Showcase on the afternoon of January 14 at Havas Village, where you will discover first hand from MBC alumni and speakers how the course can transform your/your talent’s potential. Book here.
• Why not get your teams’ grey matter going in January and enter the Media Minds quiz? It’s the ultimate inter-agency quiz for the brightest media brains! Deadline January 31.

And finally, if you missed our Annual Review of 2024, you can catch up on all our highlights by downloading it here. A huge thank you to all our members who have supported our work to build a more trusted, inclusive and sustainable industry – we can’t wait to continue this in 2025.