Ad Matters 12.9.25

The theme of learning continues this week as I attended the Business Book Awards on Wednesday evening where our book, Sustainable Advertising, was shortlisted in the Change & Sustainability category. We didn’t win, that honour went to a great book called The Upside of Disruption by Terence Mauri. But it was a real honour just to attend. The evening was an inspiring reminder of just how many people are thinking about ways we can do business better.

It was lovely to see folk from our industry shortlisted in other categories too, including Kathryn Jacob and Sue Unerman for A Year of Creativity and Michelle Carvill and Gemma Butler for Can Marketing Save The Planet? You can find out more about the winners and the final shortlist here. 114 books in total whittled down from 300 entries.

Top prize went to a fascinating book - Hyperefficient by Mithu Storoni – about the world of work right now, what’s happening to the brain with the impact of AI, and how we can cope effectively with this transition.

As one of the judges said, the event was a reminder of our thirst for knowledge – to learn, learn and relearn. Whatever your area of interest, I promise you there’s a book in this list for you.

It’s been a big week too for our members, ITV and the APA. ITV celebrated its 70th birthday earlier this week and there’ll be more to come about its special anniversary celebrations in later editions of Ad Matters this month. It was also the 25th edition of The APA Show which is one of my most favourite events of the year – I highly recommend watching the film from the show if you have an hour spare to sit back and watch some amazing ads. Just get in touch with Steve Davies at the APA to find out more.

Our ad picks:

• Our Ad in the A is VML UK’s ‘You’re Never Too Far from a Pharmacist’ for Boots, featuring pharmacists appearing next to members of the public to help diagnose their illnesses.
• BBH London’s ‘Not Made by Gordon’ features Gordon Ramsay trying and failing to get involved in the kitchens at Burger King.
• Walkers have launched ‘Everyone has a favourite’ created by VCCP, celebrating twelve of its flavours in a multi-channel campaign.
• Affected by the tube strikes? Lime and The Or has created an eye-catching out of home campaign to celebrate ‘good service on all Limes’.

Our must reads:

• Our thinktank Credos has released its report on hybrid working in adland. (Campaign)
• A record 44 agencies have earned IPA Effectiveness Accreditation for demonstrating a commitment to business effectiveness. (The Media Leader)
• Two Ad Net Zero supporters, PubMatic and Cedara, have partnered to advance sustainable advertising across omnichannel campaigns. (Exchange Wire)
• ISBA’s Gen-AI member survey has revealed adoption has grown. (LBB)

Date for your diary:

• MediaCat UK is hosting ‘Live Creativity is Critical’ on 17 September, which will have talks touching on creative media case studies, trends and data, as well as networking. Book your tickets here.
• Two of our directors, Chris Walker and Dan Wilks, will be taking to the stage together to share their political and economic outlook at Future of Media Manchester on 25 September! Book your tickets here.
• Our CEO, Stephen Woodford, will be joining the Drum as it opens its newsroom for The Drum Live! on 24-25 September. Find out more here.

And finally, our member, IAB UK, have expanded the scope of their Gold Standard Certification. They’ve added CTV, retail media, and a new sustainability pillar into their certificate – the aim is to help buyers and sellers tackle fraud, boost transparency, and support a more sustainable digital supply chain. Makes sense… Find out more or get certified here.