UKCF22: Everyone’s Skint. Why Are We Advertising to Them?

The first day of talks at the UK Creative Festival 2022 kicked off the topic that’s at the top of everybody’s mind right now: the economy. 

LBB’s very own Alex Reeves, embarked on what quickly became a ‘collective therapy session’ with Ogilvy’s partner for behavioural science, Tara Austin. Under the frank title “Everyone’s Skint. Why Are We Advertising To Them?”, the discussion began with addressing the cost of living crisis, which has spiralled into a looming recession, with rising food and energy prices and a 40-year high for the UK’s inflation rate.

With millions facing fuel poverty across the country, the conversation kicked off by asking whether advertising can actively help ordinary people navigate the crisis or “will winning brands be those who cynically capitalise on consumers’ hardships”? All pretty bleak stuff. 

Tara was categorical that what adland has to first do is work on shaping consumption, rather than driving it. As a member of the Conservative Party herself, who voted in the recent leadership election, she explained that although she believes in capitalism, she thinks that consumers are the ones who shape it. Rather than standing on the sidelines and claiming “it won’t work”, the creative communicators together with the public can shape the dynamics of the system. “This is why I’m in the Conservative Drug Policy Reform group,” she said. 

“Together, we can shape and inform consumption - the means we have are not evil, it’s the ends that are that. For me, it isn’t about those means, it’s about what we are doing with the tool of communication. For example, if we encourage people who haven’t got any money to gamble, that is very clearly a horrible thing to do,” Tara explained. 

Tara talked about recent guidance for brands issued by Ogilvy -but ultimately she thinks it boils down to authenticity. “Demonstrate empathy and understand people’s suffering beyond the surface, and most crucially, get the tone right. Empathy and action are key here,” she said. A profound understanding of consumers’ situation is vital. 

Tara then went on to explain the importance of framing. “[The] main thing to do is frame this as positively as we can, but still remain in a world where we recognise it’s not good. And, at least we have each other.” 

Indeed, from Tara’s perspective, the biggest opportunity for brands and agencies during this crisis lies in finding the most appropriate way to reframe - to shape consumption. “Freezers are the first bins of the nation,” she notes. “People put meat in there that they forget about and come back to it a year later, to throw it away, which is a huge amount of food waste. If we reframe the usage of freezers and make people feel better about eating frozen food, as opposed to the current consensus that it is bad for you, we will change the way consumers behave.” She also gave Sainsbury’s SmartShop app as an example of the crucial reframing process, in which the word ‘smart’ plays a very important role in removing the shame people might feel because of having less. 

Tara also touched upon the huge psychological impact the situation has on young people: “We are essentially raising a generation with the fear of uncertainty - they don’t know what will happen next and have lost the sense of control. The fear is tangled up in the never-ending uncertainty. To retain that control that consumers want so badly we can do a lot - how about a campaign about next Easter and how great it will be?” She said that although promises might not solve the situation right now, they give people what they need right now, which is a sense that…next Easter everything will be fine. 

Looking forward for more substantive actions from businesses and opportunities for brands to gain favour Tara suggested a new take on what she called a “rap battle”: “How about brands start competing with each other about which one paid their taxes? How about we talk about taxes appropriately and honestly? That’s a rap battle I’d like to see - who’s contributing the most in taxes and how has that contributed to achieve a world they want to see.”