On Wednesday afternoon, while much of the country was preoccupied with England’s World Cup semi-final against Argentina, the Advertising Association gathered MPs, ministers and industry leaders at the House of Commons to mark its 100th year. Damian Hinds MP hosted, opening with a tour of advertising’s place in British cultural life, from the Gold Blend couple (Nescafé’s long-running coffee romance) to Nick Kamen’s 1985 Levi’s 501 launderette and what he called those awful meerkats (Compare the Market), which drew gasps from the audience, before handing over to AA President Andria Vidler.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy sent her apologies; she was in Atlanta for the match. And as Times Radio’s Kate McCann reminded the room, Andy Burnham is expected to become prime minister by the end of the week. A trade body celebrating a century of continuity was addressing an industry, and a political class, in the middle of a rupture.
