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.

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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 29.04.22

/ April 29th 2022 / Matt Bourn
Industry News

Adweek Special Issue: ‘On Ukraine, by Ukrainians’ 

The issue was staffed by more than 20 Ukrainians working together from around the world 

Campaign podcast: Running a Ukrainian ad agency during war 

Tuning in from LA and Kyiv, the team at Cannes Lion award-winning agency Banda reflect on the challenges of life and creating powerful campaigns as the war drags them apart. 

New Report Explores Relationship between Young People and Advertising 

‘Teens and screens’ report by Media Smart and Livity dives into the digital behaviours of 10 to 16 year-olds today 

What’s real? What’s safe? How teenagers see online advertising 

Brands and influencers have a role to play in increasing the media literacy of UK teenagers, according to a new report from Media Smart, advertising’s non-profit education programme. 

Gambling ad rules need reform to prevent harm to children 

A precautionary approach to advertising reform is required to stop footballers and celebrities influencing children. 

Advertising charity Nabs reports 15% rise in calls for mental health support 

Data gathered in the first quarter of 2022 by Nabs, a wellbeing charity for the advertising and media industry, shows that mental health challenges have increased significantly among industry members following two years of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Julian Douglas: advertising’s image problem is really about access 

What’s holding agencies back from making greater progress on diversity?  

What’s the problem with marketing apprenticeships? 

Marketing Week’s Opening Up campaign is calling on brands to democratise access to marketing careers. 

Consumer confidence ‘a whisker away’ from lowest-ever score 

Consumer confidence is expected to hit “new lows” this summer as people’s view of their personal finances and the economic outlook go into freefall. 

Pura releases sustainably made TV ad with Sky Zero Footprint Fund 

Pura, an eco-friendly baby brand, has released its first TV ad via the Sky Zero Footprint Fund. 

Adland’s reaction to Musk’s $44bn Twitter deal: ‘a major disruption to its ad business’ 

Elon Musk didn’t hide the fact that he wanted control of Twitter and now, $44bn later, he has it. 

Musk’s $44bn Twitter buyout a ‘mixed bag for marketers’ 

Media experts and publicists react to the news that Twitter has accepted billionaire Elon Musk’s offer to buy the platform for $44bn. 

Microsoft is exploring how to put ads in games – can it please players and brands? 

Microsoft is investigating the world of in-game advertising, and could use it as a way of increasing access to its games streaming membership the Xbox Game Pass.  

Work Of The Week: Connect With Self 

This week’s creative work shows the power of focussing on the self.  

How Tesco’s Ramadan Billboards Fill Up as the Sun Goes Down 

BBH London’s Ciara Boyle and Chloe Neal on the Iftar campaign which celebrates and collaborates with the Muslim community, writes LBB’s Nisna Mahtani 

Joining the dots: why doing the right thing on climate, people and digital is key to a healthy and sustainable media sector 

Anna Lungley, chief sustainability officer at Dentsu international, outlines how businesses can use materiality to ignite climate action that sparks engagement across an entire business. 

Pringles Launches Nostalgic “Stay In The Game” Campaign 

Pringles celebrates 40th anniversary of the ZX Spectrum in campaign by Grey London. 

Digital ad spend sees biggest full-year growth in 15 years 

IAB says the 41% increase demonstrates that the industry is bouncing back after the pandemic. 

How Maria McDowell is helping adland’s black women rise up 

The Lollipop Mentoring founder tells of being ‘in pain’ when faced with discrimination in the industry, reveals her ambitions for global expansion and explains the importance of being connected. 

Samsung 2am running advert is ‘not representing the truth’ for women 

Samsung’s latest advert has been criticised by some women’s running groups and safety campaigners for being “unrealistic”. 

WPP upgrades forecast after Group M and PR fuel Q1 growth 

No major reductions in client spend despite economic uncertainty. 

Meta warns industry to address ‘uncomfortable truths’ about diversity 

Meta’s Zehra Chatoo called on attendees at IAB Engage to create conditions for audiences to ‘challenge bias and call things out’. 

Radiocentre: Queen’s Speech is a golden opportunity for UK media 

On the surface, radio is in rude health, but with a fifth of listening taking place online, much growth is attributed to Amazon Alexa and Google Nest – an opportunity, but also a threat if this route to market is controlled by US tech giants. 

Retail media inflation ‘through the roof’ and set to continue 

Retail media demand has  soared in the past year, according to new figures. 

‘Big on pledges and small on action’: why is the industry failing on mental health? 

Despite two years of agencies reckoning with toxic working culture through the pandemic, recent data published by Nabs, a wellbeing charity for the advertising and media industry, points to a worsening crisis of poor mental health among workers across the sector. 

Dove Launches #DetoxTourFeed Campaign Through Ogilvy 

Spot uses Deepfake technology to show the sort of harmful beauty messages young girls are exposed to online. 

Tena’s award-winning campaign spotlights menopause 

Tena and AMV BBDO’s two-minute film won Channel 4’s Diversity in Advertising Award last year. 

Government to press ahead with privatisation of Channel 4 

The government is also proposing bringing streaming giants under UK jurisdiction and making them subject to a video-on-demand code. 

Department for Business appoints creative agency 

The contract is worth up to £1.5m per year. 

Why Innocent wants better ‘greenwashing’ governance after ASA ban 

Innocent was the poster brand for ’greenwashing’ earlier this year when it found itself on the wrong side of an ad ban by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). Its CMO tells us how this has been the catalyst for internal change while calling for clearer guidance on making sustainability claims. 

Sustainability x Advertising: Empowering Marketers to Follow their Own Moral Compass 

Michelle Carvill and Alexis Eyre talk about the education challenge around advertising and marketing’s role in the climate crisis – and why community-level thinking is needed to make systemic change 

V&A Explores The Transformative Power Of Creativity 

The creative, by Adam&eveDDB, argues that it is creativity that makes us human 

New report highlights UK Government role as the UK’s largest advertiser during Covid-19 pandemic 

Stephen Woodford, Chief Executive of the Advertising Association assesses the impact of Covid-19 on the industry. 

Pandemic recovery fuels record advertising growth 

Advertising Association and WARC Forecasts see UK adspend rise to £32bn in 2021. 

AA/WARC Q1 2022: UK adspend outpaces expectations 

UK adspend in 2021 reached £32bn, ahead of expectations, according to the latest quarterly Advertising Association/Warc Expenditure Report.