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.

A A A

The Advertising Association focuses on major industry and policy areas that have huge ramifications on UK advertising. This section contains our work around Brexit, HFSS and gambling advertising, data and e-privacy, trust, the digital charter and our Industrial Strategy campaigns.

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 50 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.

Annual Review 2020: A landmark year for our industry

/ February 9th 2021
Coronavirus Response Public Trust in Advertising

By Philippa Brown, Chair, Advertising Association and Worldwide CEO, PHD

2020 has been a year like no other. A global pandemic has resulted
in tremendous changes to advertising, forcing advertisers to rethink their entire approach. While brands seek to strike the right tone during a global health emergency, it has never been more important for businesses to reimagine what it means to be champions for creativity, effectiveness and value.

While there are limits to what the advertising industry itself can control, there is a clear need for advertisers and their partners to embrace inclusion and trust.

Over the past few decades, trust in advertising has declined, an issue the Advertising Association continues to tackle. The coronavirus outbreak provides an opportunity for the advertising industry to rebuild declining public trust, advance the issue of responsible advertising, and fulfil its duty to people, society, businesses and the economy – as reflected in our new mission statement. We must continue to build on this and keep momentum going as we demonstrate the crucial social contribution that advertising makes.

But it’s not just public trust in advertising that has been pushed into the spotlight. Advertisers need to put greater emphasis on diversity and inclusion, and the welfare of their teams.

In times of isolation, the diversification and wellbeing of our teams must be at the forefront of our priorities. A commitment is needed from advertisers to listen, support and evolve to meet the needs of a modern workforce. During heightened moments of uncertainty like this, advertisers must show empathy and reflect the diverse realities of the world.

That is one reason why we created the industry’s ‘UK Advertising Needs You’ hub, showcasing the many diversity and inclusion initiatives in our industry. The hub supports employers seeking to create a more inclusive workplace, whether that’s within our industry or outside of it.

As we brace ourselves for another year that is likely to bring profound change for our industry, we must be bold in our thinking, make the leap in creativity and unite in our determination to see a strong, sustainable future for advertising.