Ad Matters 18.07.25

This week I was pleased to present at the Media Trust’s Digital Skills Festival, talking about the importance of creating trusted and responsible advertising – and unpacking the key ingredients of successful charity ad campaigns. Through training and industry mentoring, The Media Trust connects media organisations with charities and under-represented talent, to give them a stronger voice and ultimately contribute to a more socially cohesive Britain. This incredibly worthwhile goal is one that many other media companies are also aiming to play their part in, in many different ways. 

Just one great example is our member Radiocentre releasing their report Commercial Radio: A Force for Good at an event in Parliament this week. At a time when trust in information and institutions is declining, the report highlights the role of trusted commercial radio and the part it plays in supporting good causes. The sector raised £27m for charity in 2024 as an important ‘call-to-action’ medium, whilst airtime is often donated for emergency appeals and local community events strongly supported. 

And it is being noticed. Credos research shows that 41% of people feel that advertising drives social change, up from 34% in 2021. It seems that the trend is moving in the right direction, and we will continue to track the organisations and initiatives that come to the fore to support this growing feel-good factor. 

Our must reads:  

• The IPA Bellwether report shows a return to growth for marketing budgets, driven by ‘short-term media’. (Campaign) 

• ISBA and MediaSense have collected their first qualitative report into digital retail media to find 5 key areas to gain digital retail media success. (The Media Leader) 

• Mark Penn, former political strategist and current founder of advertising group Stagwell, shares his opinion on why advertisers should not worry about the placement of adverts on news websites. (The Times) 

• The latest winners of our Trust Working Group’s initiative, The Works, are live. Ads from Virgin Atlantic and Great Western Railway ranked among the UK’s top-performing TV campaigns in the Kantar research. (Marketing Week) 

Our pick of the ads:  

• Our Ad in the A is ‘No Walkers, No Game’ by Sips & Bites with production from LS Productions for Walkers. It features footballers Lauren James and Leah Williamson on a hunt for a pub with the perfect game-watching snacks. 

• England footballer Declan Rice has partnered with Müller UK & Ireland in ‘Dec’s Cafe’ by VCCP Blue, with his own limited edition Müller Rice flavour: Raspberry & White chocolate. 

• Are you a fan of spicy food? Sprite’s ‘Hurts Real Good’, led by WPP Open X, highlights the refreshing power of Sprite against the burn of hot food. 

• Celebrating the return of Oasis, Spotify has launched ‘This is… an Oasis fan’ featuring black and white portraits of fans of all ages. 

A key date for your diary: 

• 7th August is the fast-approaching final deadline to enter the Campaign Ad Net Zero Awards. The awards recognise impactful sustainability initiatives within media owners, agencies, brands, public sector organisations, charities, NGOs and more – check out the categories here. 

And finally, we are pleased to welcome Tesco Media as a new member of our Front Foot Network.