What Does Labour’s Landslide Mean for the UK’s Advertising Industry?
A Labour landslide, sort of, a Conservative drubbing after a series of unfortunate events, Reform surging in the vote share if not seats, victories for the Lib Dems and Greens, SNP get hung, drawn and quartered. There were lots of dramatic stories unfolding last night in an election that has, nonetheless, been characterised by a downbeat electorate and low turnout. It's also been an election where data and polling has been more front and centre than policy.
For an election that seemed so predictable, and where the topline story has largely played out as we thought it would when it was called on that rainy day in May, there’s a lot of fascinating dynamics playing out beneath the surface. So what does the industry make of the story that's unfolding about the country? What do they think marketers should be paying attention to? And what does it mean for the industry?
Lucy Jameson
Founder, Uncommon London
The prevailing mood across the UK this morning seems to be one of relief. From all the qual research we’d done on multiple sectors over the last few months, the sense of frustration had become a palpable and overwhelming surround sound. On almost every level people felt like our country was broken. Trust in politicians broken. Public services broken. Infrastructure stalled. Productivity flat. Wages stagnant. Cost of living up.
Unsurprisingly, the rather lacklustre election has been dominated more by a desire to get the Tories out rather than by any great excitement about Labour. However, I’m still hopeful that Labour can start to tackle some of the deep seated problems we’ve been left with after 14 years of Tory misrule. Frankly, fourteen years is just too long for any one party, whatever your political affiliations. That message came through loud and clear. However, Labour’s room for manoeuvre will be far less than Tony Blair’s in 1997, given the parlous economic state of the country. And Labour should also be taking note of the uptick in support for all of the alternative parties – the Greens, the Lib Dems – and the somewhat terrifying surge of Reform.
For most marketers the result will not have been a huge surprise – they will have already priced it into their forecasts. The biggest hope will be that after the last few years of chaos, with a revolving door of leaders and ministers, some stability will encourage more inward investment and therefore an uptick in the economy and investments into the startup ecosystem. Marketers will probably also be looking at the success that the Labour party had on Tik Tok in particular and reflecting with relief that deep fakes, AI and Russian interference seemed less problematic than we’d feared. Now we just have to remind our new prime minister of the important role the creative industries can play in rebuilding the much tarnished brand Britain around the world.
Harjot Singh
Global chief strategy officer, McCann
These election results signal profound shifts in the political landscape and reflect a deeply disillusioned and somewhat disengaged electorate. The Labour landslide, despite its limited enthusiasm, underscores a demand for change amid Conservative lies and failures. Meanwhile the surge of Reform, and gains by the Lib Dems and Greens points to growing dissatisfaction and waning trust in traditional power structures and a yearning for alternative voices. The SNP’s dramatic decline suggests a re-evaluation of regional politics and independence aspirations.
For marketers, an obvious thought to me is that this election highlights the urgency and importance of tuning into the public’s discontent and desire for truth and authenticity. The prominence of data and polling over policy indicates that sentiment analysis and real-time engagement metrics are and will continue to be more crucial than ever. Marketers need to focus on transparency, adaptability and earning a meaningful connection with their audience. We can’t avoid politics anymore because understanding and leveraging the undercurrents of public sentiment in a meaningful way can help brands align and connect truthfully with the evolving values and concerns of a politically and socially restless population.
Richard Huntington
Chief strategy officer, Saatchi & Saatchi
There is one story from last night and that is the low turnout, predicted to be 59.8%. Turnout varies wildly from election to election but it’s in inexorable decline, particularly amongst young people. So, the main parties are now fighting for a share of a declining market – democracy.
When we talk to people across our four nations, they say that those in charge are not in control, and that the government simply can’t make a difference to people’s lives or communities. Not just the old Tory government but all governments. That’s why we see the rise of Reform and the Greens, because they are the last hope for disaffected voters that someone might have a plan to deliver real change – fantastical though their plans might be. The imperative for all of us must now be to turn the tide on trust and democratic disengagement, because the alternative doesn’t bear thinking about.
Malcolm Poynton, Global CCO Cheil Worldwide
"Odd as it sounds, democratic elections are designed to divide a nation; this is especially true in countries like England and the US where's it's traditionally been a two party race.
That said, occasionally you get a party in power that messes things up so badly, they seem to achieve the opposite by uniting voters against them.
And to the delight of a nation, that's exactly what the Tory's seem to have done.
So, despite the fact Google's data tells us Labour spent £1.5m on digital ads vs Rishi's £115k or that 'Who Target's Me'political ad tracker shows Labour's digital push accounted for almost 85% of political advertising, I'd say this election teaches us less about digital-savvy marketing tactics than the importance of long-term brand building – or 'unbuilding' as the Tory's have shown over the past five years - everyone from Theresa May and Boris Johnson to Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak showing how not to.
It's been like watching a single brand lurch from Coke's disastrous recipe change in 1985 to United Airlines' broken guitar debacle, VW's Diesel-gate to Pepsi's Kendal Jenner campaign. A seemingly unprecedented succession of failures.Ouch!
Meanwhile, the politician England loves to hate, Nigel Farage, ended up with the highest engagement rates on TikTok and Facebook. While far from everyone's cup of tea, his IRL performances and provocations fuelled the best organic social and digital presence.
The lesson here is that in the face of declining trust and escalating 'cyber-manipulation', it's looks like personality & authenticity are increasingly necessary to cut through the clutter of 'optimised' content.
But when all is said and done, wit wins the day. So hats off to the YouTuber and Independent candidate Niko Omilana, who held an L Plate behind Rishi Sunak during his Richmond & Northallerton victory speech. You just got yourself another vote."
James Kirkham
Founder, ICONIC
We’re witnessing a shift in the way media and audience consumption interacts and this is a mirror too of marketing as a whole. This is now a case study in how a shattered electorate also reflects the fragmented media it consumes.
Mainstream press are not lovers of Starmer’s manner. His pledge to serve ‘country first’ was barely mentioned against deafening accusations about his seeming lack of personality. But the country have welcomed his pragmatic progressive manner, having suffered so much so recently at the hands of damaging populist personalities (Boris, Trump) who’re born from the reality TV era.
This was more the Whatsapp election than the TikTok election; The latter served up content ‘on the charge with Farage’ which atomised the ‘I’m a celebrity’ personality and took it swiftly to millions of us. And with not insignificant effect.
But Whatsapp joined the dots in every family in the land, where younger family members would share memes, videos, and biting comedic content which would have derided and destroyed a Conservative government. This can’t fail to have affected their parents who might consume media differently, but who cannot fail to be swayed by the continual reminder of the near lunacy in which the departing government operated.
Sir William Sargent
Chair and CEO of Framestore Company 3 (former Cabinet Office permanent secretary and Treasure board member)
If you come back to the basics of what business wants, and therefore our clients want, therefore it affects us, it is stability and to be able to plan. It’s what everybody wants. And from that point, it doesn’t matter who’s in power as long as there’s stability. I think that the change of government will bring stability, because what was really not helpful was all the political shenanigans going on. It just didn’t help make people feel comfortable.
I think the first thing is that the ability to look forward to a period of political stability, in terms of the government itself, is very helpful. The market’s already showing that… I think that’s the first good news and that certainly affects advertisers, brands and consumers. Touch wood, we have inflation back in the right place and that affects consumers. It feels cautiously positive in terms of a stable economy and there’s all of the evidence in there that we will get some growth. Labour’s number one priority, as they’ve said, of their five priorities is growth.
There is very strong support for the business of culture in the Labour party, and LBB members now do things in the cultural sector, museums and advertising in support of the arts, so again there will be coherent support for that. I think if you look across the overall agenda it feels cautiously positive in all the areas. That’s countered by the fact that there’s a lot of things that are not great in the economy and society and, therefore, the money to do things is not really going to be available.
Rob McFaul
Co-founder, Purpose Disruptors
Citizens in the UK are united in wanting boulder climate action. A recent Climate Outreach report revealed that a staggering 84% of people in the UK believe we should strengthen our commitments to address climate change. Labour's stance on no new oil and gas licences and commitment to scaling up the green energy transition has resonated.
We now ask: What does climate leadership look like at this moment? There is an opportunity for a unified response to act. We hope the government seizes this opportunity to mark a new era of climate policymaking and action that’s fairer and focuses on long-term impacts. We also hope the government supports the advertising industry’s transition by creating new opportunities for public behaviour change campaigns and helping the industry develop business models that do not rely on high-polluting clients.
We hope that the UK advertising industry supports, not rejects, any changes the government might introduce to support society's climate transition. Exciting times could be ahead for those bold enough to build the future we need.
Kevin Chesters
Author and consultant
Anyone who knows me knows of my dislike of the Tories, so my first reaction is a giant exhale that we can hopefully return some compassion and decency to the government.
Beyond that I think the simplest view is the best one. This is not a ‘sort of’ landslide or a cautionary tale for Labour. This is a massive victory for the Labour party. Anything else is detail.
When I was doing politics A-Level the electoral disaster benchmark was 1906/Balfour. Last night the Tories did worse. Labour has a bigger majority than they got in 1945 and that Thatcher won in 1983.
What does this mean for our industry? Hopefully we leave behind the unthinkable farcical days of Nadine Dorries ‘overseeing’ media (eyeroll). No idea who will be the new minister for Media and Sport (shadow minister lost her seat) but to be honest we couldn’t do any worse than the last few.
Jane Austin,
Founder, Persuasion Communications
I feel exhilarated that the Tories are out personally and professionally. Perhaps the City will now encourage spending and societally we’ll have a government that cares less about the one percent and more about the collective.
But I also feel angry – that the euphoria of 1997’s Labour win is missing. That, to get elected, Labour reverted to comms that could best be described as Cameron-lite and focused not on the future and what they will do, but constantly reminding us of the destruction of the last 14 years. I hope that this was a device to get elected and not a future intent.
I’m also frustrated that many creative businesses don’t want to talk about politics as they believe it's tricky, might not land well with clients, it may affect new business etc.
Although respectful of this, I am disappointed. As business leaders, we need to understand the consequences of governmental decisions (whether we support them or not) and guide our people and clients through this muddy maze and recognise the issues that affect lives.
I advise business leaders - many of them ignore red Jane - to have an opinion about what’s going on, even if they don’t want to say, “I vote Labour” or “I vote Conservative”. Speak up, get involved with the issues of the day, recognise them, talk about them – or at least give a nod to them. You may not think your opinions on politics matters, but clients will definitely be looking at you to try to navigate the consequences of these political decisions.
I didn’t see anything from brands that did a good job of highlighting issues. Influencers such as DJ Fat Tony, Munya Chawawa, Led by Donkeys were exceptional in using wit and insight to speak their truth and design company Johnson Banks created some beautiful illustrations about Rishi’s fate, too. But where were the brands?
Much of the campaigning from the main parties was also relentlessly negative. In contrast, the Lib Dems did well - surfing, joking, showing humanity, talking about the responsibilities of being a carer whilst on a bouncy castle. Instead, Labour seemed hell bent on slagging off the past 14 years.
And whatever you think of him, it was Nigel Farage alone that seemed to understand that polls and data aren’t the same as people’s real feelings. Evil, yes, but Nigel Farage was also phenomenal. Straight talking, populist, intelligent. Rather than roll our eyes disdainfully, we must take him seriously, just as we witness the rise of Le Pen, and Trump and their collective love-in with Putin.
With all the negativity, was it any surprise that so many voters remained undecided up to the day of the election? And no wonder young people stayed away from the polls, why would they bother? Which of the main parties actually listened to them and reflected their concerns over sustainability and identity?
I just want to see brands and the creative industries have a point of view - and to recognise that polls and focus groups aren’t the same as what people really feel. To that extent, we might need to - deep breath - channel Farage’s populist understanding.
Stephen Woodford
CEO, Advertising Association
As we wait for the new prime minister to meet the King and ask permission to form the next government, we congratulate the Labour team on the election result. As one of the UK’s top growth industries and service exporters, we look forward to working with the prime minister and his cabinet to help deliver sustainable growth across the UK’s nations and regions.
UK advertising is big business, a £36bn powerhouse industry which is growing year on year, delivering investment and jobs up and down the UK – from Bristol to Manchester, Leeds to Edinburgh. In 2023, our services exports grew 15% to reach £18bn across key markets in Europe, Asia, and North America, highlighting our world leading creativity.
Advertising plays an important societal role too. Recent examples of this include raising awareness of the need to register to vote, increasing vaccination uptake across hard-to-reach communities, raising awareness of mental health issues, encouraging behaviour changes around areas such as food waste reduction, and providing vital funding to culture, media and sport.
As we enter a new political landscape, creating the conditions for responsible, sustainable business growth is the top priority. The UK needs to remain at the forefront of the data-driven economy. Regulatory certainty and support for the Advertising Standards Authority is key, as well as reforming education and skills policies to ensure our industry has the best creative and digital talent for our continued success and to grow jobs and investment.
Paul Bainsfair
Director general, IPA
We are pleased to welcome a new Labour government and look forward to working with them to progress our mutual success.
We very much hope that they will implement their comprehensive Creating Growth Plan for the Arts, Culture and Creative Industries, as delivered at their Labour Creatives Conference in March.
Earlier this year, the IPA set out the policy areas that we would ask a new government to focus on, and are pleased to note that a number of these align with Labour’s plan, with the following of particular note:
At the top of our list was “the need for an incoming government to champion our industry and help it to continue to thrive in order to help the UK.” And so we were delighted that, in Thangam Debbonaire’s (shadow secretary of state for Culture, Media and Sport at the time of the plan’s publication) foreword she asserts that arts and culture have intrinsic value, stating that: “They and the creative industries as a whole, also have enormous economic value to the UK, and huge growth potential. Their story is already one of growth against the odds, with their value (GVA) increasing by 5% in real terms between 2019 and 2022, compared with 2% growth in the overall economy.”
With regard to talent, we have asked for better investment in education in the creative subjects, something the Labour plan addresses directly: “In Government, Labour will urgently commission a full, expert-led review of curriculum and assessment that will seek to deliver a curriculum which is rich and broad, inclusive and innovative, and which develops children’s knowledge and skills. In doing so, we will consult widely across the creative sector to make sure we are drawing on all the relevant expertise.”
Regarding international talent, we have said that we would like to see an incoming Government explore approaches that might level the playing field to ensure that the UK can attract and retain the best international talent and remain a dominant, international advertising force. This is something that Labour’s plan rightly acknowledges: “Britain is a cultural crucible, and a world leader in the arts and creative industries. Labour is proud of that international position. We recognise that in order to maintain it, it needs to be easy to attract and retain the best talent for UK creative industries.”
Leading on from this, Labour also stated that it intends to create a flexible Growth and Skills levy to replace the existing Apprenticeship levy. As we have stated previously, while we support apprenticeships, we have requested greater flexibility on how agencies can use the levy and look forward to learning how Labour’s new reform may better suit our industry’s needs.
Labour’s plan states that it supports the safe development of the AI sector in the UK. As we said in May, the IPA believes a flexible, cautious approach to regulation is sensible, considering the fast pace of AI development and the need to allow for innovation and creativity. At the same time, we would also ask that Labour maintains international cooperation where possible to try to ensure consistency of approach.
Phil Smith
Director general, ISBA
ISBA congratulates the Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer MP and the Labour party on winning the general election. As the body that represents brand owners advertising in the UK, we look forward to working with the new government - particularly the Department of Culture, Media and Sport – to help deliver Labour’s mission of kickstarting economic growth across all of the UK’s regions and nations.
The UK’s system of self and co-regulation of advertising content and placement has proven to be a world-leading success story. We ask the Government to continue to support this. As a member of the Online Advertising Taskforce, we are committed to working with the government on the Online Advertising Programme as it develops proposals for the future.
As new ministers take office, we urge the government to pass the Secondary Legislation required to finish the introduction of new food and drink advertising regulations. Advertisers are desperate for clarity and certainty on what products, categories and media are in or out of scope of the new regulations. Many brands are already having to plan ad campaigns without the finalised rules and guidance they need. Passing the necessary Secondary Regulations would be an easy, pro-business and pro-growth step for this incoming government to take.
