Ad Matters: The Price of Greatness Is Responsibility

I’m channelling Churchill for this week’s newsletter… Huge congrats to our colleagues at ISBA who have just published the Responsible Media Guide. It’s exclusive to ISBA members, but we’ve had a sneak peek and it’s crammed full of useful insights and tips for advertisers around brand safety, media sustainability, inclusion, data and digital governance and AI. The goal is to do everything possible to support a trusted and responsible advertising environment – can’t argue with that – so if you’d like to know more about what’s in there, get in touch with the team at ISBA.

Thinking about a responsible advertising industry, the 2025 All In Census closes at midnight – this is the final call to take 15 minutes out and fill in the confidential survey. The results will be shared with industry on May 8.

Our must-reads:

• Industry moves of the week include EMEA chief executive Josh Krichefski leaving Group M after 14 years, while Tammy Einav has joined Ogilvy UK as Chief Client Officer (Campaign).
• Omnicom and IPG’s shareholders have approved the takeover with an “overwhelming majority voting”. (Campaign)
• The ASA’s monitoring tools have helped ban some ads in mobile games in a bid to reduce the objectification of women in advertising. (The Guardian)
• Channel 4 Sales’s new advertising emissions measurement tool will provide advertisers with emissions data for digital campaigns running on its platforms. (Campaign)
• PrintGreen’s new initiative provides guidance on how to reduce the carbon footprint of print campaigns, aligning with initiatives like Ad Net Zero. (Roast Brief)

Our pick of the ads:

• Our Ad in the A is Butterkist and St Luke’s “For every movie moment: go grab the Butterkist” playfully shows movie moments interrupted by viewers enjoying popcorn.
• ‘Darcy’s Tale’ created by Aardman for the Environment Agency highlights the devastating impact of groundwater flooding and the importance of communities and flood industry professionals working together.
• Spindle raises awareness for endometriosis through ‘All Up There’ for Endometriosis UK.
• Duracell’s ‘Bitter truths’ by VML UK aims to prevent children swallowing its lithium coin batteries, with its campaign playing on the contrast between children’s book artwork and menacing captions.

Dates for your diary:

• Electric Glue and Open Media are joining forces for a B Corp Month breakfast. It sees four brilliant speakers respond to the challenge of how to grow a brand that cares about both purpose and profit. Book your free ticket to hear from giffgaff, Here We Flo, Green, Black & White and Channel 4 on March 26 from 8.45am – 10.30am.
• The Marketing Week Awards 2025 are now open for entries! This includes our Talent Trailblazer Award which celebrates organisations and individuals opening the industry up to new talent. Enter by April 11.
• Our industry summit, LEAD North, will be returning to Manchester on May 14. First speakers announced here!
• RISE2025, a one-day summit delivering skills, insights and tools for marketers to build inclusive, sustainable brands, will take place on May 15 from 9am – 5pm at the Royal Horticultural Halls. Tickets are on sale now.

And finally, we’re wrapping up the week by welcoming Major Players who have just joined our Front Foot Network – it is great to have them on board.