In defence of the junk food advert ban (from a marketer)
Many agencies have pushed back against the junk food advert ban, but Ogilvy UK’s Amelia Torode says she welcomes the legislation. That and musings on Marty Supreme, London’s new lido and the Gunners in this week’s Notebook
I welcome the junk food advert ban
This is an important week for my industry, marketing, as brands and agencies grapple with new legislation that came into force on Monday. If you’ve noticed less advertising for fast food, crisps, snacks and fizzy drinks lately, it’s not down to healthy New Year’s resolutions, it’s the new HFSS (High Fat, Salt and Sugar) regulations. It is now illegal to run adverts for HFSS products on UK TV or on-demand services between 5.30am and 9pm, as well as on paid social and influence content. We also can’t run ads directed at audiences where more than 25 per cent are under 16.
Many agencies pushed back when this legislation was proposed, but in my opinion it’s sensible, though bittersweet (pun intended). We have significantly higher obesity rates than our European neighbours, especially among primary school children, and the trend is growing fastest here. It’s definitely the end of an era for the kind of creativity I remember as a child. I can still sing word-for-word the lyrics to Milky Way’s 1980s advert (“the red car and the blue car had a race, all red wanted to do was stuff his face”), the song about a finger of Fudge, Um Bongo and Kia Ora (“too orangey for crows, it’s just for me and my dog”). I loved those ads so much they were probably in the back of my mind when I left university and joined (now deceased) advertising agency J Walter Thompson.
But regulation doesn’t kill growth, it kills lazy growth. It actually opens new opportunities for creativity, specifically in brand building. Brand strength matters more under constraint. Agencies that are just production engines or media optimisation shops will struggle, but agencies that can connect brand, behaviour, culture and commercial strategy suddenly become much more valuable.
Marty (marketing) Supreme
I first heard about Marty Supreme when multiple people forwarded me the supposedly-leaked Timothée Chalamet marketing Zoom call, hilarious and absolutely worth finding on YouTube. The campaign has been some of the best I can remember: Chalamet atop the Las Vegas Sphere, orange Marty Supreme blimps floating around, Susan Boyle in her limited-edition windbreaker, and rumours he was moonlighting as underground rapper EsDeeKid. If advertising is about building mental availability, being front of mind, this brilliantly unhinged campaign succeeded completely. The movie proves equally bonkers and thoroughly enjoyable.
London’s new lido
I believe that people would be happier if they embraced deep cold and extraordinary heat. There’s a reason why the Finns are continually the happiest nation on earth and I think that is because of their Finnish sauna culture and their love of cold water. So I am so happy to hear that the brilliant Sea Lanes from Brighton are coming to London (Canary Wharf) this summer. The project will install a 50-metre six lane floating lido filled with natural water, plus two saunas powered by 100 per cent renewable energy. Can’t wait!
Dull would be of soul
I stopped on Blackfrairs Bridge to take a photo on my (freezing) walk into the office this week. The view out across the river Thames reminded me of Wordsworth’s poem from 1802: “The city now doth like a garment wear, the beauty of the morning, silent, bare….all bright and glittering in the smokeless air.” I am not sure that I will ever work anywhere as beautiful as Sea Containers. I count myself very lucky.
Quote of the week
No one has said this better than Ferris Bueller: “Life moves pretty fast, if you don’t stop and look around you might miss it.”
What I’m listening to
I often say creativity is a team sport. I’m fascinated by high-performing teams and understanding what enables one group of individuals to thrive while others fail. I’m an Arsenal fan, married to an Arsenal, raising Arsenal fan teenagers and the team transformation under Arteta is extraordinary. We all listen religiously to Handbrake Off: The Athletic FC’s podcast. The presenters are sharp and insightful, but it’s football journalist Amy Lawrence who elevates it into something truly thoughtful and illuminating. Too often football podcasts fall into blokey banter, but Amy adds empathy and expertise. Even if you don’t like Arsenal, this podcast unpacks what it means to be a top team today, with lessons as applicable to business as football.
Amelia Torode is group head of strategy at Ogilvy UK