Ad Matters 30.05.25

With less than three weeks to go until the creative world descends on the Croisette for Cannes Lions’ annual festival, our presence is shaping up to be our biggest and boldest yet. UK Advertising’s trade mission, backed by the Government, will be bringing together the UK’s most ambitious advertising and marketing services companies aiming to win new business from international clients.  

The AA is the UK representative for the world’s largest festival of creativity, so we’ll be on the ground all week, celebrating the wins from Team UK, cheering on our Young Lions – as well as revealing the latest updates from Ad Net Zero and sharing the latest news, views and insights from the UK advertising industry.   

Our latest Ad Pays report showed the UK is among the world’s top three advertising exporters, clocking up £17.9bn in exports last year, and the trade mission aims to build on this. What’s more, UK Advertising has a stellar programme thanks to a huge line-up of partners – including Bauer Media Outdoor, Pinterest, Sky Media, Mail Metro Media, Seedtag, Channel 4, Bauer Media, Marketreach and the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) – which you can check out here.  

But if you’re not planning a trip to sunny France, our UK Advertising team has also curated a fantastic programme in partnership with DBT for SXSW London, which returns next week. We can’t wait to see UK House bring its Austin, Texas magic to London for the very first time! 

Our must reads 

• Credos’ latest report, Advertising Pays 2025, has been featured in the Financial Times’ ‘The State of Britain’ column. The article highlights advertising as a significant employer across cities such as Manchester, Edinburgh and Leeds, as well as our continued success in exports. (Financial Times) 

• Magazine icon Barry McIlheney, former chief executive of the PPA and founding editor of Empire magazine, has sadly passed away. McIlheney was known for his commitment to print media, having worked across the media industry for 40 years. (Campaign) 

• Working with TimeTo, Cannes Lions will introduce dedicated safe zones this year, to offer guidance and education around sexual harassment at the festival. (Campaign)  

• WPP has launched a new AI-driven media company, WPP Media, uniting its media, data and production capabilities. (LBB) 

Our pick of the ads 

• Our Ad in the A is from AMV BBDO Currys with ‘Sigh of Relief’, developed as part of their winning Channel 4 Diversity in Advertising Campaign. 

• Leo Burnett has worked with award-winning filmmaker Nick Ball to highlight Morrison’s direct relationship with British farmers and fisherman in their new campaign ‘Fresh from Market Street’. 

• In a humorous ad for Whiskas, AMV BBDO has featured two cats hosting a podcast in their new ad ‘Purrcast Drinking’. 

• VML reminds us of the importance of the present moment in ‘Here. Now’ for insurance company Generali. 

• Calling has created an eye-catching and sentimental campaign for CoppaFeel! aimed at Gen Z. 

Dates for your diary 

• Have you seen the SXSW London line-up? The event includes speakers from Credos, VCCP, Mediaplus UK, and many more, taking place 2-7 June in Shoreditch. Tickets are still available, and Front Foot members can use the discount code here to get 25% off Platinum and Conference Passes. 

• Media & Telecoms 2025 and Beyond takes place on 3 June, where our CEO Stephen Woodford and our President Andria Vidler will be speaking amongst senior leaders from the media and tech world. 

And finally, we’re looking forward to IAB UK’s flagship event, Engage 2025, taking place on 10 June at Soho Place. It brings together creators along with advertising and marketing experts to explore why content is becoming the currency of effective marketing. Run, don’t walk, to get your tickets here.