Partner Content

There's a better Metta - and it's grounded in kindness

What if the next industry trend was something…different? asks the group strategy director at Zenith

By Zara Bryson

29 March 2022

Does Advertising have a branding problem?

Capitalism's sock puppet or a shallow, manipulative venal business? Either way advertising doesn't receive the best representation in popular culture

By Jeremy Lee

Fiona Gordon: I want Ogilvy UK to be the jewel in the crown of advertising

The Ogilvy UK CEO talks international experience and UK ambitions

By Sonoo Singh

Are Advertisers Losing Patience With Facebook?

Facebook's drop in daily active users isn't the 'watershed' moment everyone says it is, argues the director of MediaCom's Social Practice

By Joshua Gornell

So you want to collect NFT art......

Damien Hirst's NFT art experiment has come to an end revealing that more people wanted the physical than digital version. We asked a few NFT art collectors about their investments

By ian darby

When Brands Buddy up

Bringing brands together for a joint marketing campaign can drive more than profits

By Elliot Leavy

Advertising industry can be Ebeneezer Goode

The Advertising Association's UK House initiative is doing great work overseas, but more needs doing to improve advertising's reputation at home

By Jeremy Lee

Creating more sustainable consumption models

Mediacom UK strategy director argues why sustainable consumption isn't just good for the planet, it also represents a source of business growth

By Helen Brain

People and winning, Swindon and Hammersmith: A few of Annette King's favourite things

Creative Salon caught up with the Publicis Groupe UK chief executive to ask her some serious - and not so serious - questions

By Jeremy Lee

We Need Inclusive Media Marketplaces

Spark Foundry's head of performance insight makes the case for a consciously inclusive media marketplace

By Azad Ali

Mark Read: I Want to make WPP the best place that menopausal women can work at

Panelists at WACL’s discussion on menopause in the workplace urge employers to do more to support female employees

By WACL (Women in Advertising & Communications Leadership)

Female Creatives Reveal Their Finest Work

On International Women's Day let's celebrate the work of female creatives across the industry

By Creative Salon

Campus working means holding companies are now more than stock market names

As agency brands consolidate on single sites, holding companies are no longer the dusty back office shells they once were

By jeremy lee

"I love this industry but I don’t make work for it": Chaka Sobhani on creating work for real people

Leo Burnett global chief creative officer celebrates the joy of populism

By Chaka Sobhani

Healing with fortitude: Kiyan Prince's Father on Dreams And Creativity

Dr Mark Prince OBE, who runs the Kiyan Prince Foundation, talks why advertising needs to sell more dreams to young people

By Sonoo Singh

There's Comfort In Melancholy: Why We Shouldn't Be Afraid Of Sad Ads

"Good vibes only" is bad marketing. It's time brands got comfortable with uncomfortable emotions, says BBH London senior strategist

By Joy Molan

How do you maintain an agency culture in an era of campus working?

Holding group aggregation has become the norm, but it's still crucial - if less easy - to maintain individual agency culture

By Jeremy Lee

Give a little respect

The Coinbase debacle shows that if we don't respect the work how can we expect others to

By jeremy lee

Fashion: a world where logic is eclipsed by magic

It's Fashion Show season so what can advertising learn from the creativity on display?

By Elliot Leavy

Brands and NFTs: A Marketers' Guide

A rundown of what some of the world's biggest brands are doing with NFTs today

By Elliot Leavy

Old Problems Anew

As the pandemic settles, the biggest trend media planners need to contend with is the same as it was in 2019, 2015 or even 2010, writes Zenith's chief strategy officer

By Rich Kirk

Is inflation boosting the case for marketing investment?

Eye-watering levels of inflation are hitting prices at the tills. But how can brands navigate through it?

By Jeremy Lee

Forty years of Total Media's independent thinking

Total Media launched on 1st April 1982. Founders Mike Sell and Mike Dinsdale were no fools though. Forty years later the business is still going strong, and remains proudly independent

By Ian darby

How to survive an era of peak disloyalty? Maximise your Emotional Capital

MSQ’s executive director explains how the group’s proprietary research methodology helps brands earn and measure Emotional Capital so they can get closer to their customers

By Kate Howe

Flopsy, Mopsy & Cottontail: Aline Santos' Ode To Creative Renewal

The Unilever chief brand officer on finding possibilities and opportunities at The V&A Museum

By Sonoo Singh

Ten Must-Know Social Trends For 2022

VMLY&R's head of social identifies what big changes we can expect this year - and what they mean for brands

By Christina Miller

Send help! The Robots Are Taking Over

Having alway been a mainstay in UK ads, robots are making an impression in this year's Super Bowl ads too. We take a look at their enduring popularity

By Jeremy Lee

Why brands and businesses are missing the point on NFTs

We've seen unashamed cash grabs galore. Is there any merit in NFTs or are they just 2022's e-Ponzi Scheme? asks Grey London social strategist

By Joshua Hood

Look who just landed one of advertising's most coveted jobs - CCO at Mother

Droga5's Felix Richter is coming to Mother London and here's what you need to know

By Creative Salon

Chris Kay: The man who wants to lead the most influential creative company in modern Britain

As Saatchi & Saatchi's new CEO Chris Kay has big plans for the big agency brand

By Claire Beale

Levelling the playing field

The advertising scene is bigger than London alone and needs to be bigger still

By Jeremy Lee

Being purposeful in the metaverse

Could purpose-driven brands that are bought and sold in the metaverse one day replace traditional advertising?

By creative salon

Get your creative swagger on

Judging the British Arrows was a reminder why creative confidence should be rocketing

By claire beale

Creativity Is The Skill Of The Future

The idea of opportunity seems to be tethered to new technologies. VMLY&R London's CEO says we need more creative minds to unlock the potential that new technology brings

By Justin Pahl

The Revolution Won't Be Televised

Why agencies shouldn't limit themselves to advertising

By Raquel Chicourel

How can the broken pitching process be fixed?

The Pitch Positive Pledge plan looks to reframe the pitch process to improve mental health, cause less wastage and reduce costs. We asked the industry how

By jeremy lee

Larissa Vince: always disruptive

In the first in our series on new agency leaders we talk to Larissa Vince, the freshly minted CEO of TBWA\London

By jeremy lee

From Customer Experience To Citizen Experience

Global Havas study uncovers an era where customer experience becomes meaningful by integrating citizen expectations

By Sébastien Houdusse

Brands should set culture, not just follow it

Simply mirroring culture can take advertising into a dark place, argues the chief client officer of McCann Europe and UK

By Jessica Tamsedge

“If you want sales to grow and spines to tingle, get yourself a catchy jingle”

Jingles fell out of favour but the growth of new media platforms like TikTok make them more relevant than ever

By Jeremy Lee

How to navigate the cost of living crisis

Competing on price and discounting can only go so far — brands need to think of more imaginative solutions

By Ete Davies

Treading on Eggshells? Getting It Right in 2022

We asked experts how brands can navigate the bleak outlook of the year ahead

By Elliot Leavy

Are brands compromising profit for purpose?

What does ‘good’ purpose for brands look like? We asked industry stalwarts to interrogate the purpose of brand purpose

By Sonoo Singh

Are agencies well placed to weather spiralling inflation?

Inflation rates have doubled since we published this piece in January, making the argument that agencies need to focus on commerciality more resonant than ever

By ian darby

Why Populism is Good

The intersection of popularity and progressivism should be fertile territory for brands, so how can marketers make the most of it?

By Elliot Leavy

Agencies and marketers need to reset their relationships

Impending economic turmoil means that more flexible performance-related payment mechanisms need revisiting

By jeremy Lee

Creativity, Innovation and pay rises: what CMOs expect in 2022

What bets are marketers making this year? Find out from Deliveroo, B&Q, TUI, Skoda, Co-op, Aviva, Costa Coffee, Direct Line, PwC and Cancer Research

By Sonoo Singh

From Goodstuff to great stuff

At the very end of last year, Goodstuff was acquired by the US-listed "challenger" network Stagwell. But what does it all mean?

By Jeremy Lee

The IPA President New Year's Address

The IPA president Julian Douglas delivers his new address to the industry on his plans for the agency business in 2022

By Julian Douglas

Atomic’s energy is pushing the boundaries of brand and performance

Through-funnel creativity seems more relevant now than ever before

By ian darby

Talent, Scandal, Trust: What we're all going to be talking about this year

We asked industry leaders what they think will dominate the conversation in 2022

By Elliot Leavy

Ageism, Social Mobility and Nuance: What We're All Not Going to Be Talking About This Year

There're always lots of stories waiting to be told. But will there be some worthy conversations that will be under-reported in 2022? We asked industry leaders

By Elliot Leavy

Creative Salon Selects 2021

Some of our favourite work of 2022

By Creative Salon

A Time of Change?

How to use this moment of reset to evolve our industry and its creative reputation on the global stage

By Chris Kay

Lessons from 2021

We asked a medley of brilliant minds what they learned this year

By Elliot Leavy

2021: A Year in Review

It's been a challenging, yet also rewarding year

By jeremy Lee

The Dangers of A Yes Person

How do you clash over ideas and still leave the room as friends? The chief executive of Digitas shares her tips, and warns of the dangers of becoming a ‘yes-person’ with no critical view

By Dani Bassil

Sue Frogley: Publicis Media UK Is "More Than A Supertanker"

Having just picked up the bulk of Mondelez's global media business, Publicis Media is on a roll. We caught up with its UK CEO to creativity and entrepreneurship

By Sonoo Singh

VCCP Research Predicts January Caution to follow Christmas boost

New report reveals a consumer ‘last hurrah’ mentality before a more 'ration-like' start to the New Year

By Creative Salon

MSQ: Building back bigger

The global holding company has spent recent months buying agencies to add to its portfolio. We talked to its management team about their growth strategy

By ian darby

Instead of looking inwards let's exercise the funny bone

Who says social impact can't also raise a smile?

By Jeremy Lee

Should Agencies care about the metaverse?

You can't have failed to notice the current interest in the metaverse so we asked a host of agencies what they really thought it means for the industry

By Elliot Leavy

Twenty Years of Xbox...and where gaming goes next

We join with McCann to look back at some of the Microsoft console's most creative campaigns and consider what lies ahead

By Elliot Leavy

Have Yourself A Merry Shoppable Christmas

Christmas TV ads are becoming shoppable thanks to a resurgence in QR codes. This collision of creativity and commerce is likely to leave a lasting mark on the festive advertising season

By Creative Salon

Mainstream populism isn't a dirty phrase

Popular culture - including Peppa Pig - is something that the advertising industry should hold closer

By jeremy lee

Celebrating 10 years of Goodstuff “moving it on”

This week Goodstuff celebrates a decade as a full-service media agency. We spoke to its founders Andrew Stephens and Ben Hayes about the milestone

By Ian Darby

Go Kevin: Why we all love a cute (or cringey) brand mascot

Attaching your brand to a cute character (or even an odd one: Ronald McDonald anyone?) can be a powerful lever of success, and now the brand mascot is back in fashion

By Jeremy Lee

Red mist can cloud creativity

But the constant and unmerited attacks on advertising at least shows that it's culturally resonant

By jeremy lee

The Power Of “No”

Agencies should be having a fine old time of it. Yet some client behaviour has emboldened agencies to consider whether to participate in pitches

By Ian Darby

The Art of Warts and All

Why making a virtue of a brand's perceived shortcomings can be a good advertising strategy

By Elliot Leavy

'No': The Little Word With The Big Impact

There's a large potential upside for those agencies prepared to turn down briefs they don't really want

By jeremy lee

Sonic branding lessons from James Bond

When it comes to sonic branding in film, nobody does it better than Bond. In advertising, next to nobody does it, argues the Engine Creative strategist

By Rob Jennings

In Praise of Songs

We asked creatives about their favourite ad soundtrack and the importance of music in good work

By Elliot Leavy

Purpose Before Profit? A Distracting Question For Advertisers

Unusually for insight mined from the dusty vaults of the IPA’s Effectiveness Databank, the latest research from the trade body on brand purpose has attracted no small amount of controversy

By ian darby

Advertising & distrust: can we solve the industry’s reputation crisis?

Trust in advertising might be growing but there's a very long way to go, argues Publicis.Poke's strategy director

By Diego Chicharro

How Media is evolving

Last week, the internet blew up when fashion house Balenciaga and Epic Games’ Fortnite launched a 3D OOH experience in London, New York and Tokyo

By Elliot Leavy

The ESG Audit: MSQ

This week MSQ Partners CEO Peter Reid talks about helping clients maximise their ESG agenda

By Jeremy Lee

Nadine Dorries: Creative torchbearer?

The DCMS has a new chief but is she what the creative industries need?

By Creative Salon

The ESG Audit: Interpublic Group

Philippe Krakowsky has been chief executive of IPG since January this year. Here he sets out the group's environmental, social and governance strategy

By Jeremy Lee

The ESG Audit: Publicis Groupe

This week Annette King, the chief executive of Publicis Groupe UK, is in the chair to discuss her company's ESG goals

By Jeremy Lee

The rise of the Chief Marketing influencer

Smart and strategic use of social platforms by CMOs has elevated the marketing discipline both within and without brand organisations. We spoke to some marketers about it

By ian darby

'We got very friendly with bailiffs on a couple of occasions'

As Creature turns ten years old, founder and CEO Dan Cullen-Shute gives a glimpse of life behind the Curtain Road agency

By Dan Cullen-Shute

The ESG Audit: Omnicom

This week Omnicom Group's chief environmental sustainability officer Karen van Bergen tells us about its ESG commitments

By Jeremy Lee

The not-so-secret route to boosting effectiveness

If you want to drive your business performance, you need an effectiveness roadmap. So what's that?

By jeremy lee

The ESG Audit: Havas

Yannick Bolloré, the chairman and chief executive of Havas, speaks to Creative Salon about building a business that makes a difference to society

By Jeremy Lee

Welcome To The New Pitch Normal

Has pitching changed forever? What behaviours have changed, and what will prevail? We spoke to the industry to find out more

By ian darby

Advertising's altruism

How driving societal change has become a key ambition for creative companies

Money Making The Metaverse

By being infinitely finite, the metaverse offers us a creatively special moment

The ads that made people drink the beer they did

It's the Great British Beer Festival this week. Last year we looked at some of the most iconic beer ads

Certified Good: B Corp Helps Create Better Businesses

The environment and sustainability were once again in the spotlight at last week's G7 summit. Some agencies have already embraced B Corp status to do their bit