If October marks the changing of the seasons, then it also marked a moment of reflection for our Zenith team with the second quarterly Think Thursday bumper session. This second such session was focused on the ‘opportunity in adversity’ around Less Healthy Food (LHF) regulations. A topic that at face value could have been very dry, proved to be a really engaged conversation starter.
Kicking us off, our Chief Strategy Officer, Richard Clay, opened with the notion that 2027 could be the year for “a beautiful constraint”, a reference to the Adam Morgan/Mark Barden book by the same name. A moment to use the limitations seemingly in front of us to our advantage by firing up our creativity. Rich went on to take the audience on a fascinating journey demonstrating that “advertising history is filled with examples of the creative and commercial opportunities presented by regulatory constraints”.
As reference points, other sectors that have faced regulation were cited, including the tobacco and gaming industries. Brands like Benson & Hedges’ Silk Cut with their emphasis on their distinctive assets rather than the product were an early pioneer. And others in the tobacco sector pushing innovation with Formula 1 was another intriguing example with bar codes ingeniously re-configuring as distinctive brand colours when the cars are moving at such speed.
A final example everyone could instantly recognise was the mischievous work from Paddy Power, who have often turned to stunts to really bring their messages to life.
Rich’s message was abundantly clear. Out of the adversity of apparent restriction, certain sectors and brands have simply thought and acted differently. So the challenge for all of us in 2027 is that can we use this moment to be more creative.
Following Rich we had an “expert” in the room in the shape of Dale Micklewright, Partner Channels and Advertising Policy Leader from Channel 4, who re-capped the story so far on all the regulation and then unpicked very succinctly how the restrictions do or don’t affect what we can do. There was also a sobering reminder that this conversation has bubbled on for some time and will undoubtedly continue to do so for a while yet. Not least because the Government’s positioning on the topic does seem to have changed somewhat over time.
Offering up an antidote to the regulation we had Bev Buckingham, Senior Agency Partner at Channel 4, who showcased a brilliant range of campaign case studies. Examples where brands had successfully navigated the restrictions, and all of which leveraged Channel 4’s scale (88% reach of the UK adult population each week across linear and BVOD), trust and appetite for creativity.
The variety of ways to navigate the LHF restrictions was very apparent – channel branded intros, sponsorships and branded content to name but a few. Bev’s last words that “LHF is a media constraint with a creative solution” was a brilliant summary.
Bring the session to a close we had the team from Global offering a slightly different channel perspective across Audio and OOH. Farhann Cachra, Strategy Director at Global, kicked things off the provocation that the whole food and drinks sector is under immense pressure all at once – economic, regulatory and cultural. But there is opportunity in this. This perfect storm pressure can serve as a moment for something of a reset, and a chance for us to create advantage through investing in brand.
That beautifully set up the Global duo of Sarah Lord, OOH Agency Manager and Gabrielle Brown, Audio Agency Manager, to walk us through a myriad of creative and distinctive campaigns. Nobody was left in any doubt that Global can help deliver emotion at scale, instant recognition and the ability to own key moments. The team opened by claiming that “LHF brands can make you feel something” and it was fair to say that with a mid-morning finish to the session, and having showed us some large format billboards with everything from a sumptuous looking slice of Chicago Town pizza to a McDonald’s Big Arch burger, the audience were going to be sent on their way feeling hungry!
A big thank you to our partners at Channel 4 and Global for joining us.
The message was loud and clear – we can be brave together, and it can all start with a conversation with our partners to work through what’s possible.
We now look forward to the next session in January, which will be focused on 2027: The Year Ahead. For that we’re looking to once again get a range of voices and perspectives. But if anyone fancies predicting what the year will look like then answers on a postcard!
