THIS WEEK: UK ADVERTISING IN THE MEDIA

In this weekly series we pull together, in one place, a selection of must-reads from across our industry media. Hope you find it a useful edit of another week in advertising!

Faster brings us closer – part two

Virgin Media’s second instalment of the ‘Faster brings us closer’ campaign celebrates the power of connectivity and cross-generational influence through the medium of music.

Football kick-started 2021’s unifying cultural moments – Bond plans to keep them here

DCM has hit a key audience milestone on the eve of cinemas returning to maximum capacity, reveals the cinema advertising company’s CEO.

‘It’s vandalism’: dean of ad school asks talent poachers to give back

The School of Communication Arts is in dire straights, recording a loss of £200,000 this year. Its dean, Marc Lewis, is appealing to agencies who ‘shoplift’ talent to give something back to help the school continue to produce great creatives.

Channel 4 Diversity In Advertising Award returns to tackle ageism

This year the annual prize fund has increased to £1.1m, including a bespoke social media campaign.

‘It’s Getting Hot In Herre’. McDonald’s McSpicy Asks The Nation If They Can Take The Heat

Created by Leo Burnett, the ad encourages people to take part in a #McSpicyDebate.

Major brands sign open letter demanding action against racism on social media

Brands including Mars, KFC and GSK have signed an open letter condemning the “lack of adequate action” taken by Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat following the racist abuse suffered by several members of the England squad.

Open Letter From UK Ad Leaders Calls on Social Media Platforms to Stamp Out Hate Speech

Brands and agencies across England come together in support of soccer players Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho.

Marketing budgets on the up for first time in 18 months, IPA says

Events was the marketing category that experienced the most pronounced decline, at 24.7%.

UK marketing budgets are swell again

UK marketing budgets expanded between April to June, for the first time since the fourth quarter of 2019.

They’ve nailed it again’: Channel 4 unveils ‘Super. Human.’ campaign for Tokyo Paralympics

Lauded as ‘the difficult third album’ by the channel itself, the latest campaign lives up to the exceptionally high standards set by the first two at previous Paralympics Games.

ISBA aims to bring whole industry along with new media framework

The 2021 edition aims to be the ‘Windows 10’ of the framework, addressing a series of shortcomings in previous versions.

Ad of the Day: BT visualizes online hate spike with England flag

BT has reacted to the spike in online racial abuse hurled against England football players as part of its ‘Hope United’ campaign.

ITV takes the knee against racist abuse directed at England football players

ITV takes the knee against racist abuse directed against England players in the wake of their defeat to Italy in the Euros 2020 final.

For companies to go All In on inclusion, they must now shine a light on their own data

Some damning statistics emerged from the UK adland census and the onus is on individual businesses to make changes, the founder of Media For All and director of content at PinkNews say in this joint article.

Irn-Bru pays homage to Wild West with gunslinging ad

Irn-Bru pays homage to Wild West with gunslinging ad

Irn-Bru is on a mission to tickle tastebuds with its patented brand of sticky, syrupy sweetness by deploying all the Western movie cliches it can lay its hands on.

Channel 4 sale ‘risk to film and TV industry’

Privatising Channel 4 could transfer cash from independent film and TV producers into the “pockets of multinational corporations”, MPs and peers warned.

The ANA Media Transparency report five years on: a report card

How much progress has been made in the five short years since the ANA investigated the US media market. Nick Manning gives his verdict.

Expect agency fees to go up: ISBA’s new Media Services Framework explained

Brands must be prepared to pay media agencies more to achieve better relationships, ISBA has told its members after releasing new guidelines over how advertisers should write their media contracts.

Lloyds report outlines eight guiding principles for better ethnic representation

Report follows bank’s two previous studies into race and inclusion.

Could your brand benefit from the ‘diversity dividend’?

Diversity in advertising means more customers feel seen. When people feel seen they feel good, and making people feel good drives brand growth.

The Address: Goodstuff Throws Adland’s Doors Open To All

Attracting more state school educated people into the business is not only fair – it’s essential.

Tesco’s ‘Pop to Your Local’ revealed as May’s most effective ad

Tesco’s generous ad campaign encouraging customers to support their local pubs won over the public in May, with its distinctiveness and feel-good factor driving affinity and positive buzz.

Drowning out the social media hate with love

Stamping out racist abuse online is long-overdue and advertisers can play a role in pushing the platforms to do better.

George at Asda “Arrive like you mean it” by Impero

George at Asda is highlighting its sustainability credentials in a new TV campaign for its back-to-school range.

The BBC’s Animated Tokyo Olympics Film Is Simply Spectacular

The lively and vibrant trailer, created by BBC Creative in collaboration with Nexus Studios and Factory Fifteen, is a smorgasbord of Japanese art and culture.

News UK launches cross-brand first-party data platform

News UK has launched a first-party data platform, giving advertisers access to 36.5 million digital readers. 

Digital to power a 10.4% recovery in global ad spend

Dentsu has painted an optimistic portrait of the global advertising sector in its latest ad spend report, with the headline spend expected to surge 10.4% to $634bn this year.

Study reveals ‘effectiveness dividend’ created by diversity in advertising

New research by System1, ITV and DECA has proved the positive impact diverse representation has on both long- and short-term advertising effectiveness.

Pinterest recruits former Guardian commercial chief Nick Hewat to head sales

Hewat left The Guardian at the end of 2020.

‘The most high-profile ad-funded show on TV’: M&S Food on backing ITV’s Cooking with the Stars

Marketing will cover ‘every single, conceivable touchpoint’.

ITV “The phone call. Drama vs reality” by Uncommon Creative Studio

ITV is launching the latest instalment in its “Drama vs reality” ad campaign.

How can remote teams stay connected? St Luke’s says staff surveys are the solution

Agencies across the industry are reimaging what work looks like. Will remote workers return? Can team cultures survive as long-distance relationships? And will agency bosses keep their promises? In the wake of the pandemic, we explore the different ways agencies are evolving to meet the needs of staff and clients in a changed world.

Hotel Chocolat, Channel 4, PwC: Everything that matters this morning

‘Business has boomed but it doesn’t mean we’re coping’

Nick, who makes video games, has seen his industry boom during the pandemic but he says that does not mean he and his team are still “powering through”.

Growth, but not at any cost

Events of the past two years have reshaped the world. And while adland adapted, if it’s to thrive it must transform. Marc Nohr dives into the four key themes of the IPA Business Growth Conference.

Goodstuff partnership to bring media and advertising education to schools

The e-learning module will be available to all school leavers in the UK.

UK to lead the way with increase in ad spending

Marketing spending will move back above pre-pandemic levels this year thanks to a bounce in consumer confidence, according to forecasts out today.