This Week: UK Advertising in the Media 03.03.23

Winners of 2022 Young Lions create All In Census campaign 

The campaign highlights the microaggressions employees still face in advertising to drive participation in the Census. 

Mark Read: Fears about agencies were ‘overblown’ after we grew faster than FAANGs 

Inflation encourages clients to invest in marketing, WPP CEO says. 

Is a pitching frenzy back after last year’s slump? 

Campaign asks adland whether ‘the pitch is back’ following a flurry of pitch news, from John Lewis Partnership to Sainsbury’s. 

‘It’s changed me forever’: Dentsu European boss on navigating staff through war 

Dentsu’s central and eastern European CEO shares the story of the company’s year supporting Ukrainian staff. 

Here’s how advertising’s biggest firms are helping rebuild Ukraine’s ad sector 

A year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, we examine how the international advertising industry has worked to support agency workers in the country – and how it’s helping it to rebuild. 

Ogilvy Italy marks one year of conflict in Ukraine with this cinematic ad 

The ad is for the humanitarian aid organization Emergency and questions the kind of peace that people long for. 

Strategists need to be better doctors to prescribe better media medicine 

If we really want to get tasked with solving problems rather than delivering prescribed outputs, then we need to get much, much better at diagnosing problems. But how, asks Havas Media’s strategy head. 

BBH Makes Mischief For Paddy Power At Cheltenham Festival 

Paddy Power’s debut ad by BBH promotes the Irish bookie’s offering for The Cheltenham Festival. 

World Creative Rankings 2023: introducing the 100 most-awarded ads of the past year 

A graduation ceremony for the students lost to US gun violence, a guerrilla tour of the British Museum and a breast cancer self-examination drive in Lebanon are among the 100 most-awarded ad campaigns of the past year. 

Asda’s Christmas campaign tops list of 2022’s favourite ads 

Samsung’s ‘Curious Cats’ ad is the only non-festive themed campaign to feature in 2022’s top 10, according to effectiveness firm System1. 

Don’t listen to the industry sages, they’re not your ad’s target 

Advertising professionals’ view of what makes a good ad is not only biased, it’s usually wrong, as their reaction to Tourism Australia’s last campaign shows. 

ITV added 400 advertisers in 2022, but there’s spend ‘caution’ ahead 

Results from the UK’s biggest commercial broadcaster indicate advertisers are taking recessionary pressures seriously as ad sales slow in Q1. 

ITV puts up £3m in ad inventory for minority stake in architectural tech company 

The tech platform is the agency’s first investment of 2023. 

Reckitt plans ‘significant’ rise in brand investment following return to profit 

In 2022, Reckitt’s brand investment increased by 5.7% while like-for-like revenue grew 7.6%. As a percentage of revenue, spend decreased from 12.6% to 11.8%. 

How Leo Burnett made ‘The Lost Class’, the most-awarded campaign of the past year 

Just how did Leo Burnett Chicago hoodwink NRA members to become anti-gun spokespeople? The agency’s top team give us the inside track on the World Creative Rankings’ campaign of the year. 

‘Advertising can fight disinformation’: GroupM pledge to back quality news publishers 

OOH leaders reflect on how Playout is a sector game-changer 

UK OOH leaders discuss how Playout will change the OOH sector and wider media world. 

Richard Ayoade drops the ‘F bomb’ in HSBC’s latest TV spot 

Campaign by Wunderman Thompson UK promotes HSBC UK’s new, no-fee international banking service. 

Nando’s Launches First Brand Platform With Campaign By NCA 

“This Must Be The Place” launches with a film directed by Jonathan Entwistle and the introduction of the brand’s first sonic logo. 

Australia’s competition watchdog cracks down on greenwashing with investigation 

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has launched investigations into “several” companies for misleading environmental claims, as it crackdowns on greenwashing. 

United Airlines Names Oscar the Grouch as First Chief Trash Officer 

72andSunny LA campaign from directing duo Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton sees the Sesame Street favourite educate travellers on the benefits of using sustainable aviation fuel. 

Should adland feature an ‘automation-first’ mindset? 

Campaign’s question of the week was also posed to the artificial intelligence bot, ChatGPT. 

Mediatel Media Research Awards: Sky & MTM take home Grand Prix 

Saatchi & Saatchi Partners With Pregnant Then Screwed To Make Childcare Crisis Unignorable 

The integrated nationwide campaign supports a new national report into the childcare crisis released by the charity. 

7 insightful slides exploring UK TV advertising in 2023 

Thinkbox’s ‘A Clearer Picture’ conference steered UK advertisers through the world of TV as inflation bites. Here are the best bits.  

DE&I: Accelerating Change with Ezinne Okoro 

Wunderman Thompson’s global chief inclusion, equity and diversity officer on her ‘ah-ha’ moment, inherited behaviour and why everyone is responsible for the change they want to see. 

“The yellow sticker cookbook” by Uncommon CX 

Uncommon CX helps people make their money go further when it comes to mealtimes, with an app responding to the rising cost of living.