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  

/ January 28th 2022 / Matt Bourn
Industry News

Scientists sign letter calling on PR and creative agencies to drop fossil fuel clients  

The open letter, released through Clean Creatives and the Union of Concerned Scientists, urges an end to campaigns that ‘obfuscate or downplay our data and the risk of the climate emergency’.  

Portman Group CEO weighs in on ASA changes to low-alcohol marketing 

The Portman Group has responded to the changes made this week by the Advertising Standards Authority to rules surrounding low-alcohol marketing, which now permit low-alcohol drinks to be advertised alongside higher-in-alcohol variants. 

Ritson on the UK’s top 10 sonic brands 

From Autoglass to Netflix to Just Eat, Mark Ritson explores the brands with the most effective sonic assets. 

John Lewis, M&S, Unilever: Everything that matters this morning 

John Lewis has confirmed it will not be changing its sick pay policy based on vaccination status, just days after Morrisons joined the likes of Next, Ikea and Ocado in cutting pay for unvaccinated staff. 

WFA diversity guide details how to ‘block hate and fund positive representation’ 

The WFA has launched a guide to diversity and representation media planning and buying, covering issues ranging from inclusive audience planning to measuring success. 

Sci-fi is influencing the tech barons, and brand strategists should pay attention 

By examining specific cultural influences, brands can learn more about the brave new worlds being built by Big Tech – and even learn how to duplicate visionary thinking. 

Are Brands Compromising Profit For Purpose? 

What does ‘good’ purpose for brands look like? We asked industry stalwarts to interrogate the purpose of brand purpose. 

St Luke’s And Butterkist Capitalise On ‘Partygate’ 

The tactical creative involved distributing popcorn to weary journalists at the 10 Downing Street gates. 

 Ice, ice baby. 

This is a gloriously simple conceit from BBC Creative, and it’s been delivered with beautiful elegance by BlinkInk’s Balázs Simon. It’s understated compared with the kind of song and dance we’re used to when an Olympics is in the offing, and that seems a wise choice in view of the ambiguities created by the Chinese hosting of the Games at a time when their human rights record is once again in the spotlight. 

Government campaign promises to help youth ‘Get the jump’ in their futures 

M&C Saatchi and the Department for Education aim to help young people decide on their next steps. 

TikTok agrees to use AI-powered brand safety measurement 

TikTok has announced the launch of new brand safety and suitability solutions that will be integrated into its Ad Manager. The social video platform will use a post-bid measurement solution for TikTok in-feed ads. It will be available in North America, the UK, and the EU. 

The great M&A consolidation of 2022 will reshape ad industry 

Three powerful forces are driving change. 

Do we need to find the ‘middle ground’ of brand purpose? 

After questions about Unilever’s focus on purpose and comments by Droga5’s David Kolbusz about purpose campaigns, UM’s planning partner argues in favour of ‘meaningful’ brand purpose. 

Market research, data strategy, remote working: 5 interesting stats to start your week 

UK marketing budgets enjoyed their third successive quarter of expansion at the end of last year, but economic pressures have slowed their rate of growth. 

LinkedIn redefines what it means to be a ‘professional’ with new campaign 

The working world has changed a lot over the past few years. Now LinkedIn – one of the world’s largest social networking sites – has launched a new ad campaign aimed at fostering a healthier future of work. 

Toy Story and The Simpsons come to life in ‘House of Disney+’ ad 

Toy Story, The Simpsons and The Walking Dead are among the franchises leveraged by Disney+ in its latest pan-EMEA ad campaign. 

Agencies And Marketers Need To Reset Their Relationships 

Impending economic turmoil means that more flexible performance-related payment mechanisms need revisiting. 

“Prom” By Droga5 For Alexa Shows The Power Of Old Memories 

The Amazon spot illustrates how Alexa-enabled devices can help anyone, regardless of age or ability.  

The Times view on the education commission report: Learning for Life 

A special Times commission report is calling for changes to education that would make it better suited to the world of work and the digital age.  

Oat milk adverts misled public on benefits of ditching dairy 

The advertising watchdog has banned a series of oat milk adverts that made misleading claims about the environmental benefits of abandoning dairy products. 

WACL launches ‘biggest ever’ mentorship programme for next gen of female leaders 

WACL has launched the “biggest ever” round of its mentoring programme, with more than 100 leading women in the industry offering their time as mentors. The programme aims to inspire women in advertising and give them a forum to discuss any barriers they may be facing in the workplace. 

Wait, WTF happened with Google FLoC? We explain 

Out with the old, in with Topics, says Google. The tech giant has announced that it’s scrapping its Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC) scheme – its original cookie replacement plan. In its place is a new proposal for privacy-focused ad targeting: Topics. Here’s what you need to know about how Topics works, and why FLoC flopped. 

Treading On Eggshells? Getting It Right In 2022 

We asked experts how brands can navigate the bleak outlook of the year ahead. 

M&M’s Recreates David Bowie, Rosalía, Kacey Musgraves and H.E.R Album Art 

Today, M&M’S announced M&M’S Album Art packs, a new musically inspired collection featuring the beloved M&M’S characters reimagined as landmark album covers.  

2021 UK’s strongest-ever year for adspend, AA/Warc report says 

Actual figures show the third quarter of 2021 reached the highest adspend on record at £7.3bn. 

Six trends (and some warning signs) to watch in 2022  

As the new year moves on in earnest, both opportunities and risks lie ahead. 

‘Could it really be that healthy?’: GroupM’s Brian Wieser dissects global ad spend boom 

Adland is banking on a strong return to ad spend in 2022 – and that’s just what’s happening. However, Brian Weiser, global president of business intelligence at GroupM, explains why this spend isn’t a return of that in early 2020. 

Advertising and media charity Nabs names Sue Todd as CEO 

Nabs, the support organization for the advertising and media industry, has announced the appointment of Sue Todd its new chief executive officer.  

NFTs are just marketing’s latest idiot magnet 

Marketers just can’t resist pointless fads, which is why you can now buy your own piece of marketing history with my freshly minted series of non-fungible tokens. 

Saatchi & Saatchi scoops global Siemens creative business 

Saatchi & Saatchi already worked on separately owned Siemens Home Appliances. 

Dominic Carter named chair of judges for British Media Awards 2022  

Deadline for entries is 15 February for awards that recognise media owners and platforms. 

Amazon Prime Video is catching Netflix at an ‘astonishing’ rate 

Amazon Prime gained 700,000 new subscribers in Great Britain from Q3 to Q4 2021, while Netflix only netted 70,000, according to a new report about the video-streaming platforms by Kantar. 

Coca-Cola’s CNY Ad Is a Beautiful, Symbolic Father & Son Story 

In this spot for Coca-Cola, Yves Geleyn creates a simple yet symbolic story about a father & son, a homecoming, and family reconnections during the Lunar New Year. 

International Olympic Committee “We’re in it together” by Uncommon Creative Studio 

Ahead of the Winter Games in Beijing next month, the International Olympic Committee has launched a campaign created by Uncommon Creative Studio. 

One meeting away from meltdown 

Working parents are burned out and on the brink. Here’s how you can support them. 

 VCCP pummels rivals on new business for third year 

Agency still holds the top spot in the AAR ranking despite fewer wins in 2021. 

Marketing’s opportunity is huge, marketers just need to believe 

Confidence in business and marketing is returning. Now it’s time for marketers to realise their own potential. 

The Year of Tiger and no hunt for western brands 

The clock is ticking for many western brands in China, predicts Domenica Di Lieto, the chief executive officer of Chinese planning and marketing consultancy Emerging Communications. The Year of the Tiger will be one in which fortunes are turned around, or the planning will be focused on packing up and returning home. 

Tiger Teatime 

Gucci celebrate Lunar New Year in style with this ode to the Year of the Tiger. A coterie of bright young things enjoy a decadent high tea in glitzy, retro surroundings, sporting items from the advertised clothing collection while actual tigers wander around the space at will.