Campaign’s editorial team take to the studio clad in Christmas jumpers and novelty antlers to chat about this year’s crop of festive ads. 

A wave of ads have dropped over the last few weeks, including the likes of John Lewis, Waitrose, McDonald’s, M&S, Coca-Cola, Amazon, Tesco and Sainsbury’s.

In this episode, the team discusses some standout work as well as other spots that didn’t quite hit the mark. Guests also debate whether John Lewis still holds the yard stick when it comes to quality Christmas ads, argue the value of revisiting old strategies and praise the power of music.

Campaign's tech editor Lucy Shelley is joined by Maisie McCabe, UK editor, Alessandra Scotto di Santolo, creativity and culture editor, and Charlotte Rawlings, senior creativity reporter.

Further reading:

• ‘Wonderful nostalgia’, ‘little annoyances’, ‘brilliantly chosen track’: creatives react to John Lewis Christmas ad
• John Lewis Christmas ad depicts 'magical journey of memories' between sisters
• Waitrose & Partners campaign conjures up star-studded festive mystery
• McDonald’s lights up festive season with ‘satisfying’ Christmas campaign
• Sainsbury’s and the BFG serve up a 'phizz-whizzing' Christmas feast
• Gingerbread-fuelled Tesco ad touches on grief during the festive period
• Coca-Cola unveils ‘Holidays are coming’ ad made by AI
• Amazon's Christmas campaign puts theatre caretaker's talent centre stage
• M&S Food's Sharry Cramond hails consistency as Dawn French's festive fairy returns
• M&S Clothing & Home ad imagines Christmas inside a snow globe
• Find Waldo in Etsy’s holiday campaign

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The jury is out and the 2024 awards season is drawing to a close – with adland celebrating the best work of the year at the Campaigns Big Awards 2024 last week.

In this episode, tech editor Lucy Shelley catches up with co-chairs of judges Charlene Chandrasekaran, executive creative director at TheOr, and Nicholas Hulley, chief creative officer at Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO. Alongside Campaign's UK editor Maisie McCabe, they dissect what happened on the judging days and what makes award-winning work in 2024.

Chandrasekaran explains her sausage analogy mentioned in her speech on the night while the duo reveal what they'd like to see in next year's awards circuit including how brands and agencies need to "stick their necks out" and have a bit more "teeth".

Later on the episode, Shelley chats with the big winner of the night Mother, which picked up the grand prix Agency of the Year award as well as five more gongs for its work with Uber One, KFC and Ikea. Katie Mackay-Sinclair, partner at the creative shop, discusses Mother's winning ingredients, why long-term partnerships make the difference and finding the space to take risks.

Other big winners on the night included McCann, Saatchi & Saatchi, Adam & Eve/DDB and PepsiCo's Sips & Bites.

Further reading:

Campaign Big Awards 2024: winners revealed

Uber's and Mother’s partnership demonstrates the value of being annoying

Uber taps Robert De Niro and Asa Butterfield for Uber One spot

KFC and Mother tap into modern anxieties for first phase of brand relaunch

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Campaign's editorial team gather in the studio to question how to launch a successful ad agency.

This year we have seen exciting start ups include Uncharted founded by the female trio (Fern Miller, Hattie Matthews and Laura Jordan Bambach) and Publicis Groupe launching LeShop with 80 staff working across 20 brands. However, in the last five years, data from Avid Panda suggests that 42.5% of new marketing companies have closed and advertising agencies are the hardest to run, with a business mortality rate of 43.9%.

In this episode, the team discusses what happens after an agency is launched, how do you scale and is a sell a measure of success, with comments from James Murphy, founder and chief executive of New Commercial Arts, which he recently sold to WPP, after selling his previous shop Adam & Eve to DDB in 2012.

Hosted by Campaign's tech editor Lucy Shelley, she is joined by editor-in-chief Gideon Spanier, deputy editor Gemma Charles and features editor Matt Barker.

Further reading:

What makes an agency brand?

Croud sells majority stake to boost M&A ‘war chest’ in £180m-plus deal

Would an agency by any other name taste as sweet?

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As Black History Month draws to a close, Campaign's editorial team is questioning has adland lost its commitment to DEI, and if so, why?

After George Floyd's death in 2020, the advertising industry saw a flurry of activity and investment. In this episode, Campaign's tech editor Lucy Shelley is joined by deputy editor Gemma Charles to take a look at what adland has done in the four years since. They are joined by special guests Asad Dhunna, founder and chief executive of The Unmistakables, and Sonia Gilchrist, senior business director and head of DE&I at VCCP.

They discuss why the agency world isn't set up for diverse talent, Heinz' errors in advertising and how adland can recapture the spirit of 2020.

Further reading:

Following the Heinz rows, how should brands respond to accusations of racism?

Heinz faces backlash over negative stereotypes in ad

How to fix the deprioritisation of DE&I

The deprioritisation of DE&I in adland: ‘You talk about race and you see people glaze over’

School Reports 2024: One step forward, two steps back for diversity

Adland has BAME talent

Four years on, adland's diverse talent speaks out on challenges, change and next steps

Chloë Davies officially launches It Takes A Village Collective

Up next in the Campaign calendar:

Campaign Big Awards (5 November)

Campaign In-Housing Summit (5 November)

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A Campaign feature revealed the proportion of people experiencing or witnessing bullying and harassment in adland has increased from 34% in 2023 to 47% this year.

This episode speaks to Lorraine Jennings-Creed, director of wellbeing services and culture change at Nabs, who delves into the issue, digging up why the ad industry has a problem and if it might be getting worse. She talks about how power dynamics in the industry intensify issues of bullying and harassment and what impact this has on businesses and people in adland.

Hosted by Campaign's tech editor Lucy Shelley, Jennings-Creed is joined in the studio by Campaign's UK editor Maisie McCabe and culture and creativity editor Alessandra Scotto di Santolo.

They discuss instances that occurred at Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity this year and what role event organisers should play, including a conversation with Dagmar Bennet, new business and brand partnerships director for Brixton Finishing School, who came forward after experiencing harassment this year. She discusses how the industry has reacted to her openness four months on.

Nabs is a support charity for people in advertising and media, and has been around for over 100 years.

If anyone has experienced bullying or harassment or is in need of support, please call Nabs advice line on 0800 707 6607.

Further reading:

Nabs launches training for managers in mental wellness

Never mind 'wellness', it's time to properly focus on mental health

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The Media Week Awards 2024 took place last Thursday with a theatrical show, Rylan Clark and almost 1000 people in attendance. As one of the most prestigious awards in media, and one of the rowdiest nights in the calendar, this episode catches up with the chairs of judges and top winners on the night.

Hosted by Campaign's tech editor Lucy Shelley, the episode begins with a catchup the morning after with media editor Beau Jackson and deputy media editor Shauna Lewis. They discuss some of the standout moments of the night and also give a backstage look into the judging days that preceded the event.

After their chat, the episode features Lewis on the ground at the awards talking to chairs of judges David Amodio, head of video sales specialists for Northern Europe at Amazon, and Laura Fenton, UK chief executive of Omnicom Media Group. With a G&T in hand, they discuss what makes a winner and the trends seen in the shortlists this year.

Lewis then braved a few midnight interviews with the winners of the biggest awards – Media Agency of the Year and Sales Team of the Year. These were won by MG OMD and Telegraph Media respectively. They discuss why they think they won this year and what it will take to win again.

The Media Week Awards 2024 were in partnership with Infinitum Entertainment, Alight Media, Bauer Media, Clear Channel, Mail Metro Media, Outernet, Radiocentre and Reach Solutions.

Read more about the awards and the winners here: Media Week Awards 2024: winners revealed

Find out more about:

BRiM (Black Representation in Media)

Campaign Big Awards (5 November)

Campaign In-Housing Summit (5 November)

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In a Campaign feature on hybrid working, Thom Binding, co-founder of the Creative Communications Workers union, said culture is “a manipulative term defined by management”, often to enforce compliance, rather than genuinely foster a positive work environment.

In this episode, the Campaign editorial team talk through the culture conundrum, with examples of manipulative culture as well as supportive, and why bad practices still exist.

Hosted by tech editor Lucy Shelley, the studio welcomes features editor Matt Barker, media editor Beau Jackson and deputy editor Gemma Charles. The team discuss how culture impacts creativity, what the new generation want and what agency leaders can do to improve.

Further reading:

One in six agencies increased number of office days in 2023

Is hybrid working killing creativity?

Publicis makes in-office attendance mandatory on Mondays and eliminates consecutive remote work days

Omnicom’s John Wren on the future of work, the business and succession plans

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Publicis Groupe's chief executive Arthur Sadoun breaks his six-year silence from public speaking in the UK at Campaign's inaugural Campaign Live event.

Opening the conference opposite Campaign's UK editor-in-chief Gideon Spanier, Sadoun is questioned on how to sell creativity and what has made Publicis Groupe "extract itself from the agency pack".

In this episode, Spanier and tech editor Lucy Shelley have a brief chat about the interview before heading into the session from the event. The discussion begins with Sadoun making a joke as he sits down in stage about buying Stagwell, who are projected behind him as a sponsor of the event. "I'm not going to buy them," he said.

The question from the audience came from financial analyst and Campaign columnist Ian Whittaker, who asked about the value of creative and how if clients are prepared to pay for it, that could add to the agencies’ share price value.

Further reading:

Arthur Sadoun: 'I have never won a pitch without a creative idea'

Arthur Sadoun on defying doubters, Q2 revenue upgrade, ‘very high’ staff bonus pool and Paris Olympics

Publicis’ mocking ‘taking the BS out of AI’ film goes down badly with agency rivals

M&A rumour mill is buzzing as Publicis pulls ahead of agency pack

More from Campaign Live:

Adam & Eve/DDB's Richard Brim says industry's creative ‘low point’ is an opportunity

Ads 'must accurately represent target audience' say Campaign Live panellists

Black creatives recount 'unapologetic' pushes for industry change

Monzo's AJ Coyne: ‘Creativity is the way to differentiate yourself’

NatWest chief design officer: AI makes brands ‘more creative’

Ex-Unilever CFO says it's now harder to justify marketing and media spend to investors

‘It all comes down to trust’: KFC and Mother on how to create a cult

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Is true, and fair, cross-media measurement possible?

ISBA launched its cross-media measurement platform Origin into beta trails last month, following successful alpha trials in 2023. However, the launch of Origin has thrown some questions and controversies into the air.

In this episode, Campaign's media duo (Beau Jackson, media editor, and Shauna Lewis, deputy media editor) are joined by editor Maisie McCabe to discuss what the concerns are for broadcasters, how the industry is reacting and the complications of measuring views on TV vs digital.

Hosted by tech editor Lucy Shelley, the team discuss Google and Meta's involvement, why it doesn't include Barb data and who else is also attempting to achieve true cross-media measurement.

Further reading:

ISBA starts beta trials of Origin cross-media measurement platform

Media360: NatWest CMO criticises broadcaster scepticism of ISBA's Origin

As phase four launches, what do broadcasters think of ISBA’s Origin?

First phase of Project Origin testing 'exceeds expectations'

Industry shows caution as ISBA's Origin claims proof-of-concept milestone

ITV and Channel 4 unite with Sky for TV ad measurement tool CFlight

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Is it risky for brands to pick a new agency without a proper pitch process, or is it time to reevaluate how agencies win business?

Last month B&Q appointed Leo Burnett without a pitch, pushing out the incumbent Uncommon Creative Studio who had held the account since 2019. In this episode, Campaign's editorial team investigate the risks and benefits of a pitchless process, what is considered good practice and how it impacts creativity.

With Campaign editor Maisie McCabe, deputy editor Gemma Charles, and deputy media editor Shauna Lewis, this episode looks into the role of intermediaries, why public sector clients are mandated to have a pitch process, and what happens to the incumbents when agencies are picked without a pitch. The episode is hosted by tech editor Lucy Shelley.

Further reading:

Why the Pitch Positive Pledge remains a diamond in the rough

Specsavers shows Pitch Positive Pledge commitment with OMD reappointment

Mother calls on clients to shorten pitch process at chemistry meetings

Tesco moves £110m account to BBH

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Last night the great and the glorious in podcasting gathered not around microphones but tables to attend the sold-out British Podcast Awards 2024, presented by Campaign in partnership with Wondery, Audible, Global, Podcast Discovery and YouTube.

From Rylan Clark and Scott Mills to Greg James and the Whitehalls, celebs and independent podcasters alike assembled in London to celebrate the best in the business.

In this episode, Lucy Shelley, tech editor at Campaign, and Adam Shepherd, editor of the British Podcast Awards, talk through the event, its highlights and winners as well as the bittersweet moments including a moving tribute to late broadcaster and health expert Dr. Michael Mosley, whose podcast Just One Thing won this year’s Hall of Fame award.

Backstage at the awards, we chat to some of the winners including The News Agents, YouTube's head of podcasts, and Tortoise Media. We discuss what podcasting brings to news journalism, if a video podcast counts a podcast, and where we're going next for podcasts.

Check out the full list of winners – which include The Rest Is Politics and Help I Sexted My Boss – here.

This episode includes interviews with:

• The News Agents hosts Emily Maitlis, Jon Soper and Lewis Goodall
• YouTube's head of podcasts Sandy Wilheim
• Good Bad Billionaire hosts Simon Jack and Zing Tsjeng
• Tortoise Media producer Rebecca Moore and voice of the Sensemaker podcast Tomini Babs
• Gossip Gays hosts Danny Beard and DJ Billy Andrews

Further reading:

Should podcasts behave more like social media?

UK is trailing behind US in podcast advertising, says Goalhanger founder

Guardian in talks to sell The Observer to Tortoise Media

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