I used to like working in advertising – but now there's a new world order

When I joined the advertising industry a couple of decades ago it was a vibrant and exciting scene to be in. ‘Party hard and work hard’ was the ethos, with 80-hour weeks common but counterbalanced by creating culturally relevant campaigns across multiple channels, from radio and print to TV, and seeing them out in the real world. 

While the digital evolution has reshaped most industries beyond recognition and brought many benefits, the longer-term effect is the distancing of advertising from society and the world we operate in. 

We now have an industry in crisis. While most trade press would suggest job losses – accelerated by AI adoption and industry consolidation – have driven this, I believe the industry is facing a far bigger problem. A crisis of trust. Driven by a lack of trust in the industry and its key figures. 

Previously, key cultural events such as the killing of George Floyd, the overturning of Roe vs Wade and net zero commitments saw leaders stand in solidarity on issues, galvanised employees and signalled an industry that was culturally aware and keen to support its employees as well as wider society.   

The last 24 months have seen the rug pulled out from many employees who believed net zero and inclusivity commitments and policies were deeply embedded principles, not water cooler topics that would be swiftly deprioritised or retracted when revenues stagnated. In 2025 the industry’s own body released its All In census data to reveal 60% of practitioners disagree with the statement that advertising is a trustworthy business, and 56% disagreed that advertising has a positive impact on society.  

And it’s no surprise. Over the last two years industry practitioners have been repeatedly reminded of the relentless pursuit of profit above all else. Employees have had to stand by as years of work on decarbonisation governance and policies are sacrificed in pursuit of large fossil fuel pitches. 

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Colleagues watch as inclusivity initiatives are watered down or rebranded, as the biggest tech platforms redefine hate speech under the pretence of free speech to enable the loudest voices once again to spew misinformation or simply dehumanise and objectify women, immigrants and the LGBTQ+ communities. All the while, employees are expected to keep recommending and spending clients’ budgets on the very same platforms.

In fact 60-70% of the world’s $1.1 trillion advertising spend sits on four US tech platforms, and that budget trend continues to consolidate and increase with the introduction of AI.     

What has compounded this decline in trust is the silence and lack of acknowledgement around these pivots. CEOs of the large holding groups have remained silent or fallen back on the safety of the default vague business language of client centricity, innovation and economic uncertainty.  

When employees directly address these issues, well-trodden tropes are offered as explanation:  

“We are not political arbiters”, “We work with what is legal not morally defined” and “We have a financial obligations to our shareholders”. 

These are not robust enough responses. The acceptance and endorsement of the status quo is contradictory to the very ethos of a creative industry.

So in response I offer a Skunk Anansie quote. “Yes its political. Everything is fucking political.” Choosing to drop these policies and principles is political.

The climate and biodiversity collapse is a scientific fact and a reality that is impacting around the world and in the UK now. And when it comes to delivering great work, diversity within the creative and advertising fields is a superpower. Understanding the communities you operate in, and preventing lazy stereotypes and assumptions, is critical to your clients’ success in the real world.  

The challenge we have here is the modern era. The pace of societal change is so rapid that legislation cannot keep up. And just because we can work with fossil fuel companies doesn’t mean we should.  

Shareholders are looking for a confident leader that has a long-term plan. This is about long-term risk and resilience. Advertisers are witnessing supply-chain fragility and need partners in advertising to help them design new products and solutions and promote new behaviours to adapt to this new world order. 

If your shareholders are not aligned to a five-year plan that recognises the real world context, then ditch your shareholders – not your people or your principles.  

I’m not advocating for the advertising industry to return to the 90s – to borrow from Mark Carney’s recent Davos statement “nostalgia isn’t a strategy” – but we can and must do better.

The people in the industry deserve better and we need leaders who understand that trust is the ultimate currency and recognise that implementing AI is not a differentiator in a competitive marketplace – principles are.

AI is not a signal of progressive values. Investing in a cohesive and sustainable society is and, ultimately, trust is delivered by actions not words.   

Stefan Gardner is a pseudonym. Their name has been changed to protect their identity. But Big Issue can confirm they are a senior advertising professional with more than 20 years of experience working in the industry.

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? Get in touch and tell us more. 

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