The Conscious Advertising Network partners with Dentsu Creative for Podcast Series Conscious Thinking

The Conscious Advertising Network (CAN) has teamed up with DENTSU CREATIVE to launch a second season of Conscious Thinking, the podcast which takes an uncompromising look at some of the most challenging issues facing the advertising industry.

CAN launched in 2019 as an international coalition of over 150 advertisers, agencies, tech providers and civil society organisations, with a mission to break the economic link between advertising and the harmful content that divides communities, excludes diverse voices, exploits children and undermines scientific consensus.  Founded by Jake Dubbins and Harriett Kingaby, CAN works directly with advertising platforms, media owners and publishers to pioneer changes and set new human rights perspectives within the advertising industry. Their achievements include:

●      Working in partnership with the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the UN Forum for Business and Human Rights in Geneva and Bangkok.

●      Building the case for ethical advertising, collaborating with the UNOHCHR on their #standup4humanrights campaign for migration and migrants.

●      Working in partnership with Google to create the first global policy for climate misinformation.

●      Alongside CAAD creating a universal definition for climate change misinformation.

●      Creating an open letter signed by 300 businesses, climate leaders and cultural figures championing this shared definition of climate misinformation including Laurence Tubiana, SSE and Robert Del Naja

●      Partnering with Pinterest on a new policy, based on the universal definition, to reduce climate misinformation across their advertising and content.

●      Addressing hate speech in football, after the racial abuse of players following the 2021 Euros, with the coordination of an open letter to the CEOs of Facebook, Instagram,

●      Snapchat and Twitter from 400 brands, agencies, civil society groups and individuals. This was championed by Thierry Henry and resulted in Snap changing its policy.

●      CAN continues its dialogue with the largest tech platforms and media owners to create policies that align with their key manifestos.

CAN’s mission is perfectly aligned with dentsu’s own commitment to being a force for good in the world, working with clients and the industry to drive forward meaningful progress in society.

Hosted by Ete Davies, DENTSU CREATIVE EMEA chief operating officer, the Conscious Thinking podcast series will address CAN’s seven key manifestos, covering hate speech; dis/misinformation; diversity and inclusion; children’s wellbeing; climate and sustainability; informed consent; and advertising fraud.

To tackle these difficult, yet fascinating, issues, CAN and DENTSU CREATIVE have assembled some of the sharpest, most forward-focused minds from the world of advertising and beyond.

Episode one is on the topic of Climate & Sustainability Accountability, looking at what, if any, meaningful progress the advertising industry has made over the past year – and how to chart the way forward now that COP27 is on the horizon.

Speakers on the panel include Stephen Woodford, CEO of the Advertising Association, Suzie Rook, head of group brand and design at SSE, Jake Dubbins, co-founder of CAN, and Anna Lungley, chief sustainability officer for Dentsu International.

Other topics of discussion in series two include child welfare and safeguarding online; the US midterm elections and the Roe v. Wade ruling; and hate speech in sport in the context of the upcoming FIFA World Cup.

The new host of series two of Conscious Thinking, Ete Davies, is a strategic and operational leader with over 20 years' experience in the creative sector, having served as the transformative CEO of Engine:Creative before joining DENTSU CREATIVE as COO of EMEA earlier this year. He has spent much of his career being a protagonist for representation, equality and social change, as well as advocating for advertising and marketing being a net positive contributor to society.

Ete said: “Advertising has a unique power to spread ideas and shape behaviours to change society and invent the future. Its science underpins some of the most pressing battles facing humanity - from the way we mobilise to combat climate change, to the fight against disinformation in health and global politics, to the fight against prejudice and poverty.

“But while governments have struggled to keep up, nobody knows the stakes better than the very people who’ve shaped behaviours and planted powerful ideas for decades. So is it time for those specialists – from the world of advertising – to step forward and ask what might our solutions to some of humanity’s biggest problems look like? We hope this podcast provokes debate and crucially, inspires change.”

Jake Dubbins, co-founder of CAN says: “Advertising and marketing play a huge role in changing hearts and minds across the world - be that on the topic of climate change, hate speech, child welfare or disinformation. With such influence, we need to carefully consider the impact of our actions, how we create and what we share with the world, from our media spending to the norms we’re projecting. Thinking consciously lies at the heart of our work at CAN, and having the opportunity to promote this message alongside Dentsu is a great step towards generating further positive conversations.”

Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and to find out more go to www.consciousadnetwork.com/podcast

Links to the series:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2vWJoOVlbFNehLaKVomdfl?si=933a17e9a46f44d5

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/conscious-thinking/id1649917942

Podfollow: https://podfollow.com/1649917942