The Advertising Association promotes the role and rights of responsible advertising and its value to people, society, businesses and the economy. We represent UK advertisers, agencies, media owners and tech companies on behalf of the entire industry, acting as the connection between industry professionals and the politicians and policy-makers.

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The Advertising Association focuses on major industry and policy areas that have huge ramifications on UK advertising. This section contains our work around public health, gambling advertising, data and e-privacy, trust, the digital economy and more.

Credos is the advertising industry’s independent think tank. It produces research, evidence and reports into the impact and effectiveness of and public and political response to advertising on behalf of UK advertisers in order to enable the industry to make informed decisions.

Front Foot is our industry’s member network of over 90 businesses across UK advertising. It aims to promote the role of responsible advertising and its value to people, society and the economy through a coalition of senior leaders from advertisers, agencies and media owners.

We run a number of events throughout the year, from our annual LEAD summit to the Media Business Course and regular breakfast briefings for our members. We are also the official UK representative for the world’s biggest festival of creativity – Cannes Lions.

This Week: UK Advertising in the Media 13.05.22

/ May 13th 2022 / Matt Bourn
Industry News

Influencers and followers need more protection, say MPs

MPs are calling for more protection for social media influencers and the children who follow them.

Is pitching broken? Why it needs reform

In a three-part deep dive, Campaign looks at the pitching process to find out where it goes wrong and how it can be improved, ahead of the launch of the Pitch Positive Pledge.

BT horror film details nightmare broadband situation

BT, along with creative agency partner Saatchi & Saatchi, has released a new ad that takes the form of a short horror movie to demonstrate the power of its broadband.

How brands are tackling ageism from the inside out

With the age makeup of marketing teams persistently skewing younger, brands from the Phoenix Group to Saga are putting recruiting and retaining age diverse talent high on the agenda.

Havas partners with Institute of Advertising Ethics to offer staff, clients ethics certification

Havas Media Group has partnered with the Institute of Advertising Ethics (IAE) to offer their Certified Ethical Advertising Executive (CEAE) course to its staff and clients globally at no cost.

Work Of The Week

The best creative, curated.

Tyrrells Raids The Pathe Archive To Launch New Lentil Crisps

The new work from St Luke’s is part of the ‘Tyrrellbly, Tyrrellbly Tasty’ campaign.

Awards Are Only ‘Creative Onanism’ If You’ve Never Won Any

Awards season is upon us and it’s the opportunity to celebrate, learn and progress.

Creatives need to have the guts to sell less

Shifts in consumer behaviour have seen many buying less as they look to do their bit for sustainability.

Colin Stout retires as Campaign’s photographer after 32 years at Haymarket

He captured many of the most important and memorable moments in British advertising.

S4’s Sir Martin Sorrell outlines audit delay comeback plan

In the wake of S4’s long-awaited results, Sir Martin Sorrell talks to The Drum about competition with holding company rivals and his amended expansion plans for the year ahead.

Highlights: The Future of Brands 2022

The leading media strategy event for marketers at the world’s leading brands is done for another year.

As media gets harder, mental health is the superpower

Every week should be mental-health awareness week. Or at least more like Below Deck Med.

Dr Strange will see you now: NHS teams up with Disney’s Marvel Studios

Spot commissioned by Walt Disney Studios UK and NHS Blood and Transplant.

IPA and ISBA launch Pitch Positive Pledge

More than 70 companies have signed up with the aim of improving pitching outcomes and staff mental wellbeing.

Why major brands are pledging to make pitching more ‘positive’

ISBA and the IPA’s newly launched Pitch Positive Pledge aims to ensure all pitch processes are necessary, efficient and mindful of mental health.

Common People and The 93% Club team up to help working-class people into adland

The initiative will break down barriers faced by working-class people in the industry.

Controversial Adidas ads banned for ‘explicit nudity’

While Adidas argues the images of breasts in the ads are a recognition of the diversity of bodies, the ASA has deemed the nudity as likely to cause offence.

Doritos presents 80s gig from the Upside Down in Stranger Things tie-up

Doritos is drawing tortilla chips into the scary Upside Down by taking the brand in a new direction in partnership with Netflix ahead of the Stranger Things season 4 premiere.

Tobii’s Mike Bartels: attention data a ‘no-brainer’ for future of media

Mike Bartels, North American director of marketing research & UX segment for eye-tracking tech company Tobii, believes attention data will become ubiquitous and is surprised it has taken the advertising industry this long to catch on.

Glebe Farm “Oatly sued us. We won” by You Agency

Following a court case concerning Glebe Farm and Oatly, Glebe Farm celebrates its win with some cheeky billboards.

Under-16s’ exposure to gambling and alcohol TV ads plummets, ASA says

Welsh children watch the most TV and are exposed to highest number of gambling ads compared with under-16s in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

If you don’t invest 5% of your budget in research, you don’t know what you’re doing

The BBC’s decision to invest heavily in research should be celebrated by us all and noted by marketers.

Ad industry joins forces to call time on NDAs that protect sexual abusers

A coalition of advertising industry inclusion advocates, trade associations and action groups has been formed to launch the ‘Make NDAs Fair’ campaign and raise awareness of the systematic misuse of NDAs in adland in relation to sexual harassment cases.

Bloomberg takes on UK business press with brand launch

Bloomberg Media has launched Bloomberg UK, an editorial brand catered for British audiences to combat a lack of trust in journalism and a decline in UK business coverage.

Welcome To The Metaverse Of Ad Agencies

How ad agencies are launching into the metaverse.

Guinness “Looks like Guinness” by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO

Summer is around the corner and Guinness’ sun-soaked campaign will certainly get people thirsting for a pint.