This week, we held our AA Council meeting, bringing together industry leaders to discuss the big issues facing us all, particularly public trust and the collective actions we will take in our centenary year to build it.
Looking to the weeks and months ahead, we have been busy planning some new events for our Front Foot members including an AA/WARC adspend breakfast at News UK and our Front Foot(ball) event at WPP Media where we will explore how brands are unlocking the power of sports marketing. Do register online here if you’re a member.
It’s also just under three months to go until our flagship Media Business Course returns. We’ll be gathering the next generation of media planning talent in Eastbourne to hear from the very best in the business. The stellar speaker line-up includes the7stars’ Jenny Biggam, ITV’s Simon Daglish OBE, feral’s Richard Huntington, DCM’s Davina Barker, Thinkbox’s Elliott Millard, Ogilvy’s Imogen Coles and author Kevin Chesters. Don’t forget to get your talent signed up via our website.
Our must reads:
- ‘Less healthy’ food advertising bans won’t reduce obesity, says our CEO Stephen Woodford. (The Grocer)
- Our Public Policy and Regulation Director, Konrad Shek, has described his career so far and his role in shaping the policy environment for the UK ad industry. (Mace)
- AdGreen have described how to produce a lower-carbon advert, as there are ‘quick wins’ to help companies slash their advertising emissions. (edie)
- WARC’s data guru James McDonald looks at the implications for advertisers and media spend due to the war in the Middle East. (WARC podcast)
Our pick of the ads:
- Our Ad in the A is ‘See My Pain’ by McCann London for Nurofen, promoting greater equality in women’s health.
- Ogilvy UK have ‘Uncanned Emotions’ for Coca-Cola.
- adam&eveTBWA have encouraged more people to use Marmite in their cooking in ‘Dishes of Love and Hate’.
- Leith have brought back IRN-BRU ice cream in ‘Mr Softie’, as part of the brand’s 125th anniversary celebrations.
Dates for your diary:
- The IPA Talent and Diversity half-day conference is taking place on 28 April to explore talent, inclusion and representation and how we can do better. Book your place here.
- Our President Andria Vidler will be having a fireside chat with James Longhurst at Future of Brands on 29 April at 180 Strand. AA members can get a 30% discount by using the code AA30 via this link.
And finally, congratulations to our advertising literacy programme, Media Smart, which has been shortlisted for a PR Week Purpose Award. It has been recognised for its Teens, Social Media & You campaign with TikTok (created by Livity), helping parents and young people have conversations about their online environment. You can now also catch Media Smart on its new platform, Snap, and I’d encourage you to share Media Smart’s resources with the young people, parents and teachers in your lives.
