This Week in Public Affairs: 05 June 2020

In addition to our regular work in consultation with Westminster, Whitehall and our membership, these are some of the big things we worked on this week in Public Affairs. 

Diversity 

The events over the past week in light of the awful death of George Floyd have caused us all to reconsider the society that we live in, the power structures in which we operate, and the racism that people of colour suffer. We all have our part to play in tackling the racism, both systemic and overt, which pervades society. 

The AA has joined members and other industry leaders this week in co-signing an open letter which calls on the industry to address inequality, support talent of colour, take action against racism and hold itself more accountable with specific actions. The letter includes 10 actionable points, you can read it here. 

HFSS Advertising 

This week the Obesity Health Alliance published a survey which showed that the majority of the public support a 9pm watershed on high fat, sugar and salt food (HFSS) as a measure aimed to tackle obesity.  

While it may be presented as a simple solution to the country’s health problems, research has shown this would be largely ineffective at curbing obesity levels, yet would impact negatively on   the economy. In the case of children, such a ban would cut just 1.7 calories per day from their  diets (leading to a weight loss of less than 100g a year) yet could remove £1bn from GDP. 

The success of the COVID-19 public awareness campaigns have shown that advertising can be used effectively to bring about positive change in public health. Applying this pro-active approach towards the issues of nutrition and childhood obesity, such as through the Eat Them to Defeat Them campaign, is a far more effective and long-lasting solution.  

You can read our Chief Executive, Stephen Woodford’s, latest statements on the matter here and here. 

Government Input 

We held our bi-weekly C-19 information sharing calls for members and civil servants this Wednesday.  These calls bring together our members, representing all sectors of the advertising industry, with government officials from the Department for International Trade (DIT); Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS); and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).  

Over the weeks the conversation has gradually shifted from survival measures to plans for industry revival. 

Scotland 

This Thursday was also our bi-weekly Scottish C-19 information sharing call. As well as members from across the Scottish industry, we were joined by Deputy Director for Policy at the UK Government’s Scotland Office. Among the highlights of this week’s discussion was the amendment to the Second Coronavirus (Scotland) Bill, which extends business rates relief to publishers.