UK Advertising's Social Contribution to be Showcased at Westminster

The Advertising Association’s 2020 Parliamentary Reception will celebrate the industry’s contribution to society. Hosted by Damian Collins MP, the reception takes place during Advertising Week Europe on the evening of Tuesday, March 17th in the Churchill Room of the House of Commons. It will bring together an audience of more than 100 people, made up of politicians, civil servants and industry leaders. It will showcase the new Credos report, Advertising Pays 8: UK Advertising’s Social Contribution as well as advertising work from companies including Channel 4, ITV, Sky, and industry CSR initiative Media Smart. Speakers include Advertising Association President Keith Weed, Advertising Association Chair Philippa Brown, and Damian Collins MP. 

The theme of this year’s reception reflects the Association’s newly launched mission - To promote the role and rights of responsible advertising and its value to people, society, businesses and the economy. The industry’s contribution to society was recently revealed by the latest in the Advertising Pays series of reports from the sector’s think tank Credos. The report shows the industry annually contributes £1bn of media inventory and resources while agencies provide 3% of their time (or £75m) to pro bono work, across good causes, health and wellbeing campaigns and CSR activities. The reception will highlight the industry’s desire and ambition to do more, particularly around areas such as climate action, mental health and wellbeing, inclusion and diversity. 

Keith Weed, president, Advertising Association, said: “This year’s Parliamentary Reception is the perfect forum to demonstrate the huge contribution that advertising makes to society. By sharing with political leaders and the public the extent and examples of the positive impact advertising makes, we will help to rebuild the bond of trust between our industry and the general public, which is a core tenet of my role as President.” 

Stephen Woodford, chief executive, Advertising Association, said: “Our thanks to Damian Collins MP for hosting the Advertising Association at the heart of Westminster. Advertising makes a huge contribution to the economy, supporting nearly one million jobs and helping businesses to grow in the UK and around the world. But there is more to advertising than just economic growth - advertising also contributes in areas such as in health and wellbeing, promoting diversity and in action on climate change. It is important we recognise this and consider how our industry can work in partnership with the government to make even more of a contribution to society in the years to come.” 

The reception will include an exhibition of advertising campaigns that have had a real impact on society. Among the campaigns to be featured at the event are: 

• Disability Works - Channel 4 and partners donated inventory to social enterprises that highlight the economic contribution of disabled people. This was part of the #PurpleLightUp campaign to demonstrate the economic contribution made by disabled people. The campaign included donating a minute-long spot to three social enterprises. These aired on December 3rd as part of celebrations marking International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
• Eat Them To Defeat Them - In January 2019 ITV launched a partnership with Veg Power supported by an alliance of 12 supermarkets and food brands to encourage children to eat more vegetables. ITV and Veg Power worked with adam&eveDDB to develop the Eat Them To Defeat Them campaign. Outdoor and cinema companies also donated media space and supermarkets ran activation events promoting vegetables. The campaign reached two thirds of households and 57% of children aged 6-11 said the advertisement made eating veg more fun. 
• Ocean Rescue - Sky set out the goal of helping to reduce the amount of plastics that pollute oceans by drawing attention to the impact that plastic pollution can have. The Ocean Rescue campaign featured an exclusive 45-minute TV documentary, promotions at events, and celebrity endorsements. Sky also announced that they would invest £25m to the Ocean Rescue Innovation Fund. Over 33.5m people interacted with the Sky Ocean Rescue campaign and over 220 MPs and MEPs signed up to reduce their consumption of single use plastics. 

The Advertising Association promotes the role and rights of responsible advertising and its value to people, society, businesses and the economy. Responsible businesses understand that there is little point in an advertisement that people cannot trust. That's why, over 50 years ago, the Advertising Association led UK advertising towards a system of independent self-regulation which has since been adopted around the world. There are nearly thirty UK trade associations representing advertising, media and marketing. Through the Advertising Association they come together with a single-voice when speaking to policy-makers and influencers.