I love our trips to Scotland to meet up with our fantastic AA Scotland members, and this week’s Scottish Advertising Parliament Reception was no exception. The (relatively) new parliament building was a stunning venue for the hundred plus practitioners and business leaders at our event, kindly sponsored by the super smart digital advertising folks at Ozone. We heard from our CEO, Stephen, and Daniel Johnson MSP, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Business, Economy and Fair Work.
To paraphrase Daniel, he said Scotland needs to be clear about what it wants to sell to the world, what it wants to be famous for and what it can offer that is truly unique to the nation. He said that the government should look to the advertising industry to help it distil and communicate better, in this case, to unlock the full power and offering of Brand Scotland, at home and abroad. His understanding of what advertising can do, in partnership with government, to make a positive economic and social contribution chimes with my long-held view.
Advertising, at its best, helps people from all walks of life (including public service) to articulate what can be done to help people lead better lives. Ultimately, if you don’t tell people what you’ve got to offer, you won’t sell it to them. Maybe it’s time to see some more confidence and drive to sell the vision of a positive future from all parts of our political landscape?
Our pick of the ads:
- Our Ad in the A is McCann Manchester’s ‘Alt by Default’ for Jammie Dodgers, which aims to champion audio description in TV ads ahead of World Sight Day.
- Adam&eveDDB have created ‘Nothing to Hide’ for Quorn featuring the brand’s puppet crew.
- St Luke’s encourages making the most of mornings with ‘Breakfast Better’ for Whole Earth.
- O2’s ‘England, meet your champions’ by VCCP celebrates women’s rugby by teaming up with Lioness and Red Roses fan Chloe Kelly.
Our must reads:
- UK Advertising honoured Cindy Gallop with Leadership Icon Award at their flagship Leadership Reception during Advertising Week New York. (LBB)
- One of Ad Net Zero’s long term supporters, Google, has made its Carbon Footprint for Google ads accessible to all advertisers. (Google)
- Global has launched Global Studios for video-first podcasts and acquired The Fellas Studios, the UK’s leading creator network. (Campaign)
- Sarah Jones and Rupert Smith of The News Alliance described why news needs you. (Campaign)
Dates for your diary:
- We will be presenting at Creator Fest on 23 October, all about the future of influencer marketing. Our members can unlock a 20% discount using the code ‘AAMEMBERSHIP20’ here.
- Are you a highly creative and innovative leader or specialist in your field? UK Juror nominations for Cannes Lions 2026 are still open! Find the full list of categories and submit your nomination here before 24 October.
- The Future of Media London is back on 4-5 November for all media leaders, planners, buyers and strategists. Find out more here.
And finally, a shout-out to our AA Scotland member, LS Productions, and Sarah Drummond, in particular, for their award-winning film, Reality Is Not Enough, about the literary genius, Irvine Welsh. Tickets are available here to see the film in the cinema or, if you’d prefer to kick back at home, it’s available for pre-order on both Amazon and Apple. Congrats to everyone involved in this fantastic film which captures some of that amazing creative energy Scotland offers to the world.
