IPA Podcast

This podcast looks at how adverts can help break taboos and normalise the conversations surrounding perceived shameful or embarrassing topics, through the lens of The Gate’s award winning campaigns on Anusol, bum’s the word, a cream for piles and Replens, sex never get’s old, a moisturising cream for dry vaginas. Kit and Vicky discuss bums among other matters, including: • Dissect their adverts on Anusol and Replens • How British humour is the best way to break taboo topics, as the British are leaders in toilet humour • How the Anusol campaign aims to educate by giving a diagnosis as well as removing the shame • Don’t treat the female body as a problem to be solved • The importance of adverts on behavioural change, but also not to exaggerate their impact – the issue with purpose washing • Don’t slip into stereotypes

Ishan Chatterjee, Head of Growth at VMLY&R is joined by Anna Vogt, co-author of The Rebuilders, and Chief Strategy Officer at VMLY&R to discuss how to turn setbacks into comebacks in the world of new business, learning from the experience and using it as a building block for future success.

A special IPA On episode for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Hannah March interviews Yelena Gaufman, both from Fold7, on the need for body positivity in advertising and the detrimental effects that a lack of representation in advertising can have on people’s physical and mental well-being. Their work on the Coppafeel! campaign gives them a particular insight into the dangers of a lack of body representation as it leads to an unhealthy body image and makes people reluctant to check their breasts.

Ayesha Walawalkar and Kate Bruges discuss the representation of over 55’s in advertising, from the perspective of employees within agencies as well as the representation in adverts. Despite the growing shift towards an ageing workforce, this trend isn’t reflected in the advertising industry with the average age of employees reduced from 34.6 years in 2021 to 34.4 years in 2022. Kate and Ayesha discuss this from their personal life experience and their own research. As Kate states what is needed is to “retain, retrain and recruit in that order’.

This episode of IPA On… delves into the critical topic of avoiding tokenism in the advertising industry. Our expert guests, Matthew Chew, EssenceMediacom and Matt Foster, Ogilvy, unpack the complex issue of tokenism in advertising, exploring the ways the industry can create inclusive, meaningful, and impactful change both on and off-screen. Episode Highlights: - The definition of tokenism and its implications in advertising campaigns. - Real-world examples of tokenism's impact on diverse communities. - Personal experiences of our guests, including how tokenism has played out in their careers and campaigns. - The importance of aligning internal policies with external messaging. - Approaches to diversity beyond event-based marketing efforts. - Strategies employed by agencies to tackle tokenism, both internally and in collaboration with clients. - How diverse communities can be actively engaged in the creative process to avoid tokenism. - The Barbie movie, and how it is or isn’t helping representation.

Head of People Strategy Lara Poole and CMO Jess Gibb at St Luke’s, join the IPA On Podcast to discuss how to attract new talent into our industry.