Advertising Association Issues Statement on Boris Johnson Appointment

Tuesday saw the confirmation that Boris Johnson would be the next prime minister of the United Kingdom. 

Johnson's views on the potential of a no deal or hard Brexit could have serious, tangible implications on the advertising industry, and the Advertising Association has recently been ensuring that its industry is given proper attention moving forward. The UK organisation had a big presence at Cannes Lions this year to reinforce its message with its 'Creativity Is GREAT' campaign.

With that in mind, Stephen Woodford, the chief executive of the Advertising Association in the UK, has issued two statements. The first addresses the appointment of the new prime minister, the second is a comment on the appointment of Nicky Morgan as the UK's new secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport. 

“We congratulate Boris Johnson on his appointment as Prime Minister and look forward to working with him and his administration for the benefit of the UK across Government: with DCMS as our sponsor department and a crucial partner in our drive to grow the creative industries; with DIT on building exports of UK advertising services; and with DHSC on the important issue of finding solutions to the problem of childhood obesity and how advertising can help in this area.

"UK advertising is a proven engine of UK Plc, delivering £6 for every £1 spent on advertising and our industry is well placed to support ambitious plans for growth, across the economy and wider society. As an industry that has delivered year-on-year growth of 18% in exports in the most recent figures, we also welcome continuing our discussions about how we can help the Government achieve its goals on the world stage. We are a world-class advertising hub because we are part of an open, global facing nation that welcomes the best talent from overseas to power industry at home. We are proud to be a crown jewel in the UK creative industries – a status we must work hard to retain in the coming years. There is much work to do to build constructively upon our standing as Europe’s leading digital advertising marketplace and fulfil all of our responsibilities as an important cog in the economic strength and social wellbeing of our country.”

“We welcome Nicky Morgan to her new role as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and look forward to working closely with her and the team at DCMS to advance the position of advertising as a jewel in the crown of the UK’s £100bn creative industries sector. We would also like to thank the outgoing ministerial team for their dedicated service on behalf of our country’s cultural and creative sector.

"Advertising is a hugely successful engine of our economy. Every £1 spent on advertising sees a return of £6 in GDP, totalling over £132bn in 2018. We are also a powerhouse for growth in exports as well, with an increase of 18% in the last figures to over £6.9bn – the largest trade surplus in advertising services in Europe. However, these impressive figures, and our status as the global hub for advertising, are dependent on a number of factors. These include ongoing access to the best talent from around the world, protecting the flow of personal data between the UK and EU, developing coherent digital policies to cement the UK’s position as Europe’s biggest digital advertising marketplace and protecting our self-regulatory system which allows advertisers to market their products in a responsible way to consumers. These qualities have made the UK a global force in advertising and they must be protected as we manage the next phase of our relationship with the EU and minimise any disruption.”