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 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.

Stephen Woodford comments on Labour Party gambling advertising proposals

/ September 20th 2018
Gambling Advertising

The Labour Party has proposed a number of manifesto policies on gambling. Responding to the proposals, Stephen Woodford, Chief Executive, Advertising Association commented:

“The Gambling Commission’s findings in late 2017 drew a clear line with regards gambling advertising after a thorough review of what is undoubtedly an important and complex area. The proposed ‘Whistle To Whistle’ ban goes against the findings and would have a damaging economic effect on our UK commercial media landscape, as well as make watching live sport more expensive and less accessible for the UK public.

“Our industry’s self-regulatory framework, in partnership with the Gambling Commission, ensures businesses adhere to the standards we aspire to in society. The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) code is clear that marketing communications for gambling must be socially responsible, particularly regarding the need to protect young or vulnerable people. Irresponsible or illegal practices are dealt with by the regulator, the Advertising Standards Authority, if companies are found to have breached rules.

“It is important also to note advertising’s role in driving positive behaviour change to address gambling-related problems. The upcoming campaign about the risks of problem gambling, funded by industry and run by Gamble Aware, is a good example of this in action.

“Our industry recognises the gambling sector is one which requires close, consistent and effective monitoring, as well as a concerted effort through public education campaigns, to ensure a responsible role in society. Ultimately, gambling operators should be allowed, within a framework of responsibility, to advertise freely – the funding from these businesses contributes greatly to the high quality sports programming enjoyed by millions of viewers across the UK.”