Advertising news

Follow @advertising_uk1

• UK watchdog bans ‘shocking’ ads in mobile games that objectified women

  20-03-2025 01:01
  
  Investigation uncovered eight adverts that portrayed women in a harmful or degrading way, says ASAAn investigation by the UK advertising watchdog has found a number of shocking ads in mobile gaming apps that depict women as sexual objects, use pornographic tropes, and feature non-consensual sexual scenarios involving “violent and coercive control”.The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) used avatars, which mimic the browsing behaviour of different gender and age groups, to monitor
  
  Read more

• Australian government gave $2.7m to Elon Musk’s X for advertisements in billionaire’s first year as owner

  09-04-2025 04:05
  
  Exclusive: Spending came after the Albanese government paused ads for a week amid reports ads were appearing next to inappropriate contentElection 2025 live updates: Australia federal election campaignGet our afternoon election email, free app or daily news podcastThe Australian government spent nearly $3m of taxpayer dollars advertising on Twitter/X in the first year after the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, took over the platform, despite warnings of brand reputation damage that caused t
  
  Read more

• Facebook, Fortnite and FREE TAFE: nowhere to hide for voters in the Australian election campaign | The shadow campaign

  05-04-2025 22:00
  
  The Liberals have pressed hard on the negatives, while Labor has a button of its own. Plus: Nick McKim’s surprisingly authentic gaming personaElection 2025 live updates: Australia federal election campaignRead more from the shadow campaignPolls tracker; election guide; full federal election coveragePeter Dutton has been noisy in recent weeks in calling out Labor’s “dirt unit”, a “sledge-a-thon” and “industrial-scale” personal attacks from the gover
  
  Read more

• Marketing’s ‘woke’ rebrand has ultimately helped the far right | Eugene Healey

  05-04-2025 10:00
  
  Our industry must reckon with how we’ve trivialised activism by turning it into comms strategy – only to abandon itNobody likes to admit we need marketing, but the discipline has always been necessary to match people with the products and services that fulfil their needs and desires.It started simply enough, with us focusing primarily on brands’ features and tangible benefits. But as consumer society evolved, we moved on to symbolic benefits: identities, lifestyles. Finally, we
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Percy Pig’s US adventure may be short-lived as M&S responds to Trump tariffs

  03-04-2025 16:07
  Retailer’s ‘gift to America’ could be hit by new taxes as it also adjusts to rules on advertising high fat, sugar and salt foodsPercy Pig’s US invasion could be called to a halt amid fears that Donald Trump’s tariffs could affect sales of Marks & Spencer’s popular confectionery brand which has just launched in Target stores across the Atlantic.Archie Norman, the chair of M&S, has described Percy as the retailer’s “gift to America” but
  
  Read more

• Advertising giant WPP cuts diversity section from annual report

  30-03-2025 18:32
  Owner of Ogilvy and Grey agencies follows other multinationals in dropping or downplaying DEI policies since Trump’s electionThe British advertising giant WPP has become the latest company to cut the phrase “diversity, equity and inclusion” from its annual report as the policies come under attack from the Trump administration.The agency, which counts the US as by far its largest market, boasts the storied “Madison Avenue” agencies J Walter Thompson, Ogilvy and Grey
  
  Read more

• Advertising giant WPP cuts diversity references from annual report

  30-03-2025 18:32
  Owner of Ogilvy and Grey agencies follows other multinationals in dropping or downplaying DEI policies since Trump’s electionThe British advertising giant WPP has become the latest company to cut the phrase “diversity, equity and inclusion” from its annual report as the policies come under attack from the Trump administration.The agency, which counts the US as by far its largest market, boasts the storied “Madison Avenue” agencies J Walter Thompson, Ogilvy and Grey
  
  Read more

• Sound the trumpet: Clive Palmer’s carpet-bombing begins again | Josh Butler and Dan Jervis-Bardy

  11-03-2025 15:00
  
  The United Australia party is no more but Trumpet of Patriots is making a lot of noise – and its ads look uncannily similar. Plus: policy bantz with BandtRead more from the Shadow campaignSee all federal election coverageFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastClive Palmer has a new party and a new slogan but it’s still the same old ads from the mining magnate. Not content with pouring hundreds of millions into
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• The perfect time for ads at the cinema | Brief letters

  10-03-2025 18:07
  
  Film frustrations | Fighter jets | Defence splurge | Triple brandies | Top dog at CruftsRegarding your article (Longer pre-film ads ‘wasting time’ of frustrated cinema fans, 8 March), you published my letter in 2015 suggesting that cinemas put on adverts after films, so those who want to watch them can stay behind, while those of us who find ads irritating can leave. Ten years have passed, and now is the time to implement my sensible suggestion.Richard Ross
  London• I s
  
  Read more

• Longer pre-film ads ‘wasting time’ of frustrated cinema fans

  08-03-2025 08:00
  In past decade, pre-film reels have extended to about 25 minutes for ads and trailers, according to expertsMovie buffs already lamenting the length of time it takes to get to the start of a film might be disappointed to learn that pre-cinema ads are getting longer.Over the past 10 years, adverts for products and brands have taken up a larger proportion of pre-film reels in cinemas, according to experts. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• ITV profits more than double as production arm reports record earnings

  06-03-2025 10:53
  
  CEO refuses to comment on deal speculation as broadcaster benefits from hits including Mr Bates vs The Post OfficeBusiness live – latest updatesITV’s profits jumped in 2024 thanks to record earnings at the British broadcaster’s production arm, ITV Studios, as it benefited from hits including Mr Bates vs The Post Office, the Jilly Cooper adaptation Rivals and Fool Me Once.The FTSE 250 company said revenues were down 3% to £4.1bn in 2024 compared with the previous year, but
  
  Read more

• What’s the worst that can happen if Labor wins the election? Six-toed nightmares if online trends hold | The shadow campaign

  03-03-2025 02:44
  
  In the first of a series highlighting online strategy, social media wars and podcast forays in the federal election campaign, we look at a disturbing Liberal TikTok and Labor’s optimistic merch. Plus: who are the ‘Liberals for Independents’?The Liberal party’s strategy on TikTok is a bit more zoomer-friendly than Labor’s approach: think trending memes and audio, rather than politicians talking into the camera for 90 seconds at a time. We’ve previously brought
  
  Read more

• Sora, OpenAI’s video generator, has hit the UK. It’s obvious why creatives are worried

  28-02-2025 15:07
  
  The technology, just released in Europe and the UK, clearly has the potential to transform the film, TV and advertising industriesOpenAI launches Sora video generation tool in UKIf you want to know why Tyler Perry put an $800m (£635m) expansion of his studio complex on hold, type “two people in a living room in the mountains” into OpenAI’s video generation tool.The result from artificial intelligence-powered Sora, which was released in the UK and Europe on Friday, indicat
  
  Read more

• Signs of the times: the stories behind Australia’s biggest and best-loved billboards

  23-02-2025 15:00
  
  The Coca-Cola sign at Kings Cross has hit its 50th anniversary – but other big ads around Australia have even older tales to tellGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailOne of Sydney’s most renowned signs – and the largest billboard in the country – has received a makeover to mark its 50th anniversary. At 41 metres wide and 13 metres high, the Coca-Cola sign at Kings Cross presides over one of Sydney’s busiest thoroughfares, William Street, and has widely been re
  
  Read more

• ‘Misleading’: Gina Rinehart’s mining firm breached environmental code with ‘clean gas’ job ad, panel rules

  21-02-2025 07:13
  Ad Standards Community Panel upholds complaint over Hancock Prospecting’s promotion in the Weekend AustralianFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastThe advertising regulator has found that Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting misled consumers with an unsubstantiated claim that gas was clean, in an online advertisement in The Australian last year.Ads for Hancock Prospecting’s recruitment webpa
  
  Read more

• New Zealand’s tourism campaign is not the world’s worst – and I should know | Arwa Mahdawi

  19-02-2025 12:00
  The slogan ‘Everyone must go!’ is being rubbished, but is it really that bad? Hong Kong and Vilnius have much stronger claims to this shameful title ...Having worked in the advertising industry for a while, I can tell you that creating a great ad is a lot more difficult than skewering a bad ad. That’s partly why I left a full-time gig in adland to focus on writing. Although the bigger reason, if I’m honest, is that I wrote a column saying I was going to quit my stupid adv
  
  Read more

• Everton FC sponsor Stake.com to give up gambling licence in Great Britain

  12-02-2025 19:39
  
  Move follows Gambling Commission review of online casino’s practices, including promotion fronted by porn actor Stake.com, the online casino that sponsors Everton Football Club, is to give up its licence to operate in Great Britain, amid a regulatory review of the company’s practices, including a promotion fronted by a porn actor.The Gambling Commission began an investigation in response to the appearance on the social media platform X of a video featuring the adult star Bonnie Blue,
  
  Read more

• Next ad banned over ‘unhealthily thin’ model in digitally altered leggings

  12-02-2025 06:00
  
  Watchdog upholds complaint about advert that digitally altered clothing and used low angle to accentuate long legsThe UK advertising watchdog has banned an advert from high street retailer Next for featuring an “unhealthily thin” model in digitally altered clothing.The advertisement, which ran on its website, featured a model marketing Next’s “power stretch denim leggings”. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Super Bowl: Kendrick Lamar, the ads, Taylor Swift and everything but the football – as it happened

  10-02-2025 04:38
  While the game goes ahead, it’s a big night for culture with a much-anticipated half-time show, a string of big name ads and a returning role for Taylor SwiftFollow the game hereBrad Pitt is making sure you know that football is culture. The actor just showed up in a PSA for … the Super Bowl? That was essentially a rambling collage of American propaganda. Appearing in New Orleans – an interesting choice, given the many issues with homes his foundation built there post-Katrina
  
  Read more

• Super Bowl commercials 2025: When Sally met Hellman's to Seal being kissed from a lime – video

  10-02-2025 02:17
  Almost an event in themselves, the most expensive ad slots of the year featured Meg Ryan, Billy Crystal, Sydney Sweeney, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt, Kris Jenner, Greta Gerwig, Charli xcx, Martha Stewart, Sean Evans, Kevin Bacon, Matthew McConaughey and more.Super Bowl 2025 live updates: Kansas City Chiefs v Philadelphia Eagles Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Labour launches ads in Reform-style branding to boast about deportations

  06-02-2025 15:31
  Exclusive: Some MPs and activists upset at tone of party’s Facebook campaign aimed at countering FarageLabour has launched a series of adverts with Reform-style branding and messaging as the party seeks to combat the rise of the rightwing party.The Facebook adverts include a series from a group called UK Migration Updates boasting about how many people the government has deported. The adverts do not display the Labour logo and are in a similar shade of blue to that used by Reform UK. Conti
  
  Read more

• Scottish Power advert featuring architect George Clarke banned by watchdog

  05-02-2025 07:00
  Advertising Standards Authority said promotion, which ran in ad break of Amazing Spaces, was likely to mislead viewers, who would think it was part of showA TV advertisement for Scottish Power featuring the architect George Clarke has been banned for misleading viewers into thinking they were watching his Channel 4 show Amazing Spaces.The promotion ran on the same channel as the show, during its ad breaks, and opened with the text “George Clarke’s amazing green spaces” in the s
  
  Read more

• UK betting giants under fire for ads targeting at-risk gamblers

  01-02-2025 20:40
  Judge condemns firm for use of customer’s data after problem gambler was sent 1,300 emails over two years‘I lost 10 years of my life’: how UK betting giant’s unlawful marketing kept suicidal gambler hookedGambling companies in Britain could be forced to overhaul their advertising practices after a betting firm was ruled to have unlawfully targeted a problem gambler who was bombarded with more than 1,300 marketing emails.In a ruling at the high court, a judge found that Sk
  
  Read more

• Google hit with two class-action lawsuits by Australian publishers claiming misuse of dominance

  31-01-2025 05:56
  Claimants say tech giant’s actions have led publishers receiving less in ad revenue, but company says there is ‘intense’ market competitionFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGoogle is facing two class-action lawsuits over its dominance in the ad tech sector amid claims it is hurting news outlets, with one regional publication stating its ad revenue from the company amounts to just $20 a month.The fede
  
  Read more

• Harrison Ford’s MCU debut can wait. I prefer his whisky ads

  30-01-2025 12:16
  Yes he’s about to be Red Hulk in Captain America: Brave New World, but a YouTube series featuring the Hollywood star being grumpy in Scotland is the best thing he’s done for yearsIn the next few weeks, Harrison Ford will officially join the Marvel Cinematic Universe, starring in Captain America: Brave New World as both the president of the United States and Red Hulk. However, the film is shaping up to be a critical and commercial flop – maybe even the biggest Marvel flop yet &n
  
  Read more

• 30-second ad slots for Super Bowl reported to be selling for $8m-plus in US

  29-01-2025 16:14
  
  Chiefs and Eagles play in New Orleans on 9 FebruaryViewership expected to top 120 million in USBrands such as Budweiser, Pepsi, Frito-Lay, Taco Bell and Uber Eats will vie to win over the more than 120 million viewers in the US who are expected to tune in for the Super Bowl on 9 February, with adverts selling for millions of dollars.The game, between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles, will be broadcast on Fox and livestreamed on Tubi in the US. Demand for ad space was robust this ye
  
  Read more

• Oliviero Toscani obituary

  20-01-2025 11:38
  Photographer and art director who oversaw a series of controversial ad campaigns for the Benetton fashion brandThe art direction and photographs of Oliviero Toscani were provocative not for what they showed – real life, he said, complex and contradictory – but where they were seen. The images, subjects ranging from a bloodied newborn baby to the condemned of death row, would have been unremarkable on the editorial pages of a classic photo-reportage publication such as Life or Paris M
  
  Read more

• Labor MPs worried Albanese government may sideline gambling reform until after election

  18-01-2025 20:00
  Exclusive: Labor MPs worried government’s election focus on cost-of-living pressures will leave no room to act on gambling ad reformGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThere is growing unease and disappointment among Labor MPs and advocates that the government may sideline plans for gambling ad bans until at least after the election, with some politicians saying they do not expect any moves in coming months.Eighteen months on from late Labor MP Peta Murphy’s la
  
  Read more

• Everton shirt sponsor Stake under investigation over social media posts

  17-01-2025 21:00
  
  Gambling company’s logo superimposed on imagesAdvertising Standards Authority assessing the postsThe Advertising Standards Authority is investigating the trend of social media posts which superimpose the logo of the gambling company Stake on to viral images, many of which feature disturbing content.Stake, the Australian bookmaker which has been Everton’s front-of-shirt sponsor since the 2022-23 season, has been accused of working with accounts on X to promote its brand via unofficial
  
  Read more

• Google investigated by UK watchdog over search dominance

  14-01-2025 13:00
  CMA to look at impact on consumers, businesses, advertisers and publishers, as well as collection of dataBusiness live – latest updatesGoogle is being investigated by the UK competition watchdog over the impact of its search and advertising practices on consumers, news publishers, businesses and rival search engines.The tech company accounts for more than 90% of general searches in the UK, according to the Competition and Markets Authority. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

Follow @advertising_uk1 on Twitter!