It seems AI is now at the heart of almost every conversation about advertising – whether that’s how people are using it to inform their work or the impact that the use of Gen AI and machine learning is having on what’s being produced. Our AI Taskforce met earlier this week – huge thanks to VCCP for hosting us at their new offices – and topics covered included developments within agentic AI, responsible use of AI in Advertising, and exploring the world of GEO (the latter led by our friends at ISBA).
Meanwhile, I was in Manchester speaking with the Global ad sales team about trust. The conversation almost inevitably turned to whether advertising generated by AI could be trusted. Faith (part of VCCP) kindly created an amazing video of O2’s award-winning Daisy, their scam-baiting AI granny, to talk to ad professionals about their use of GenAI – it packs a powerful combination of laughs and insights. I pointed to our Best Practice Guide for the Responsible Use of Gen AI in Advertising which is freely available to download here, and to the ongoing work our taskforce is doing to keep up with the pace of change.
‘AI + advertising’ is fast becoming one of the most common terms in all media conversations about advertising that we track, and we’ll be touching on that more at our Industry Reputation Group later this month. If you want to talk more about how and where GenAI is changing what you’re doing, please get in touch.
Our pick of the ads:
- Our Ad in the A is VCCP’s ‘Your Health’s Best Friend’ for Vitality. The nationwide campaign showcases Vitality’s differentiated approach to health insurance and aims to redefine what health and life insurance can do for people.
- Work by Publicis Groupe UK, featuring Saatchi & Saatchi, shows off EE’s rapid connection for the new iphone 18+ through their new campaign ‘Fast Lane‘.
- Leo UK has created ‘Twinings – But First, Tea’, a 30-second film demonstrating the boost of energy that comes after a cuppa.
- Subway and Saatchi & Saatchi have teamed up to create ‘Get Your Own Way’, a new campaign highlighting Subway as the champions of customisation.
Our must-reads:
- After my talk at CIM’s State of the Union 2026 in Brussels last week, a write-up on the event, its speakers, and why trust is key was published (CIM).
- Alongside Marketing Week, we have announced the shortlist for the 2026 Talent Trailblazer Award. The free-to-enter award spotlights the efforts of individuals and organisations to open up the marketing industry to new talent (Marketing Week).
- Research from Effectiveness expert Les Binet and Kantar’s global chief strategy officer Dom Boyd revealed a profit blind spot, as brands invest more in promotions than advertising (Campaign).
- Lucy Hinton’s opinion piece in The Media Leader stated that advertising needs to show the next generation what a career in the industry actually looks like (Media Leader).
Dates for your diary:
- Next Tuesday, the ASA is hosting a virtual training event ‘Climate Change and the Environment’, teaching attendees how to make green claims responsibly, backed by clear guidance from their experts. Buy tickets here.
- The Future of Media London returns to Kings Place on 3-4 November, bringing together more than 1,000 senior industry leaders. Under this year’s theme, ‘Media Means Business’, attendees will explore AI, media effectiveness, growth and investment. AA members can use code AA_FOML2620 for 20% off.
- The Marketing Society is hosting The Global Changemakers Conference on 11 November at the QEII Conference Centre in London, bringing together 500+ senior marketers to discuss this year’s theme: Ambition. Find out more here.
- Our flagship summit, LEAD, will return to the QEII Centre in Westminster on the morning of 28 January 2027. Buy tickets here.
And finally, did you see the latest Global ad spend figures from WARC? A staggering $1.34trn will be spent worldwide this year and that’s projected to grow another 8.4% to $1.46trn in 2027. We’ll be sharing the latest UK ad spend figures at the end of this month, so it will be good to see how the UK market figures within this global story of growth in spend.
