advertising matters 2.3.18

London gets ready to welcome Ad Week Europe

We’re looking forward to Advertising Week Europe, which is taking place 19-22 March in London. #AWEurope brings together media, marketing, brand, technology and broader industry communities from across Europe and, at the last count, nearly 40,000 attendees will be listening to nearly 1,000 speakers at over 220 events. And, as you’d expect, the AA is really getting in on the ad-action.

We are hosting a lunch with Bing in Central London on the theme of talent on 21 March. The event will be centred on our Great Advert for Britain campaign and the Ad Pays 6 research from advertising’s think tank Credos, which highlighted the importance of the international talent pipeline to UK advertising. So keep your eyes peeled and see you at AWE!

Trust fund, baby

“To seek the truth and live by it” was one of the Advertising Association’s founding pledges in 1926. Nearly 100 years on, truth remains high on the Advertising Association agenda in 2018 and we are determined to tackle one of the biggest challenges the industry faces – trust in advertising.

You can read more about our Trust mission and order our Annual Review here.

Breakfast of champions

On Tuesday the AA Public Affairs team hosted the first PA Breakfast of the year for member policy and public affairs teams. Mark Pallis (Assistant Director, PBS EU Exit Policy and Trade Hub at BEIS) gave an update on Brexit negotiations and his team’s priorities. There was also mention of the AA’s discussions with Government on Free Trade Agreements. The AA has been lobbying the Government to develop a positive trade relationship with the EU that becomes a benchmark for developing trade agreements with third markets post-Brexit.

The advertising of HFSS food and drink was also a key topic of conversation. It was noted that the AA recently met with DCMS officials who have been tasked with proposing measures to tackle obesity, and that PHE reports on sugar reduction and calorie reduction are expected shortly, as is a consultation on the new Nutrient Profile Model.

There was also an update on the AA’s pilot scheme to boost SME advertising across the UK, where pilot schemes are proposed in Scotland and the West Midlands.

From Russia with Love?

Something that has caught our eye recently is this piece in the New Yorker detailing a campaign to enter the supposed influence of Russia in the US Presidential Election into advertising awards, calling it the “most impactful advertising campaign of the century”. The campaign has its own website called Project Meddle which features a very interesting video on the subject.

You’ve read the whole thing! You deserve a treat – our ad of the week: