The UK’s £37bn advertising industry is a force for good, according to a new report from the Advertising Association.
Alessandra Bellini, President of the Advertising Association, said: “The brilliant examples of advertising’s social contribution in this report clearly demonstrate the positive impact that advertising can have on society.”
The report on the Social Contribution of UK Advertising draws on research conducted by Credos, the advertising think tank in the UK, which included a survey of 2,400 people.
Some 44% of respondents believe that advertising drives social change versus 34% compared to a survey in 2021.
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The amount of money spent by charities on advertising rose by 14% in 2023 to £872m from £762m in 2022, the report states. Cancer charities made up the lion’s share of that £872m, spending £164m.
The report noted that during the coronavirus pandemic a two-year period of online advertising alone resulted in 95 million clicks to government and NHS websites.
An Ebay campaign on ITV’s Love Island, which drew attention to the role of the fashion industry in climate change, is another example used in the report.
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After the campaign:
- searches for ‘pre-loved fashion’ increased by 7,000%
- Google searches for ‘eBay pre-loved clothes’ increased by 756%
- Google searches for ‘pre-loved’ increased by 660%
The report noted that after the London 2012 Olympics and Channel 4’s Paralympic Games Campaigns: 65% of those surveyed at the time said that this influenced their views towards people with disabilities.
Eoin McLaughlin, 4 Creative’s then deputy executive creative director, said that every Paralympics campaign has two main aims: “One, is to get people watching the Paralympics. And two, change attitudes around disability”.
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