The UK Advertising Association’s 2020 Parliamentary Reception will celebrate the industry’s contribution to society.
The reception takes place during Advertising Week Europe on the evening of Tuesday, March 17 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 and 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 will include Advertising Association President Keith Weed, Advertising Association Chair Philippa Brown, and host Damian Collins MP.
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.”
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 3 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 Pays 8’ report, published on January 30, 2020, has for the first time measured the contribution of advertising to UK society. It includes new consumer research, which demonstrates 46% of the public feel advertising has a positive impact on society and 52% of adults believe the industry can make the world a better place. Crucially, it has shown that the industry’s social contribution is an important factor in public trust and favourability towards advertising.