If someone asks me about advertising, I often liken it to a mirror that reflects society back at us through advertisers’ stories about their products and services. That mirror can subtly pivot too, sometimes angled backwards-looking and sometimes facing into the future. EV advertising is a case in point right now, as the car sector primes customers for a more sustainable way of life away from petrol cars. Keeping a record of ads for us to look back on and learn from is vital and so it’s brilliant to see the hard work of the History of Advertising Trust being celebrated by the BBC this week. Highly recommend checking out their site, or even visiting if you’re ever headed into Norfolk…
Talking of reflections, there’s quite a bit of that going on too about this year’s Cannes Lions and I really enjoyed Steve Scaffardi’s piece on The Media Leader about his experience there this year. I’ve also been sharing my thoughts on the festival when it comes to the topic of trust.
Our must-reads:
- Publicis Media UK released new research surrounding the world of ‘fusion skills’ – blending human capacity with AI skills. (Marketing Week)
- Havas UK’s Mark Whelan has described the benefits of brand collabs to capture audience attention. (Campaign)
- Ben Essen from Iris, looks at how creativity can help make sustainability more desirable (Creative Salon)
- New free virtual work experience, created by the AA alongside Media Smart, will help to open doors for future talent. (Campaign)
- Simon Tunstill from Thinkbox reflects on the latest Global Media Sustainability Framework (Media Leader)
Our pick of the ads:
- Our Ad in the A is Dentsu Creative’s ‘Be The Story’ for NFL, to encourage the next wave of talent and young athletes.
- adam&eveTBWA have rebranded Marmite jars to ‘Wemite’ for England football fans travelling through Heathrow.
- T&P recommend a paddling pool from Argos as a hydration break in ‘It’s Coming Home’.
- AdSmart by Sky has raised awareness in ‘Stop Smoking‘ for Barnsley NHS Foundation Trust.
- System1 have rated Saatchi & Saatchi’s “Yes Boys” for EE, T&P’s “Kaleb’s Leap” for Hawkstone and Tesco’s “Now We’re Cooking” as some of the most enjoyable, sustainable and inclusive ads this month.
Dates for your diary:
- Learn how to avoid creating misleading ads at the ASA’s live virtual training on 21 July. AA members can benefit from enhanced group discounts for this event by applying the relevant promo codes: 35% off for groups of 4–24 delegates (AAgroup35) and 60% off for 25+ delegates (AAgroup60). T&Cs apply.
- CreatorFest 2026 on 14-15 July has a packed two-day agenda of networking and panels. Get 20% off your tickets using the code AA20OFF here.
And finally, it was the ISBA annual lunch this week which included a fascinating talk from the BBC’s Zoe Kleinman, and a handful of awards. A special prize from AA comms, though, goes to my fellow long-time comms colleague, Abi Slater, who celebrated her final ISBA lunch with a group of close contacts. Abi’s moving onto exciting, new things later this month as a specialist comms consultant for our industry and if you’re looking for top-notch communications strategy and delivery, your time will be well spent having a chat with her.
