
Adland's Progressive Gaze
How UK Advertising Lost Sight of the People and Things That Matter Most
Steve Harrison(Author)
Adworld Press
Will be published approx. on 1. January 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
290 pages
978-0-9571515-4-3 (ISBN)
Description
For over a decade, the UK advertising industry has been dominated by activists and careerists who've pushed their agenda and ensured that every issue is seen through the progressive gaze.
Their influence has been all pervasive: from forcing a redefinition of creative excellence that meets their ideological ends, to pushing a form of DE+I that sets minority group against minority group, discriminates against many others, and ignores the diverse talent that we should be recruiting.
In the process, they've imposed their groupthink on an industry that used to be a haven for free-thinking mavericks.
But while the champions of social justice have focussed on their objectives, they've been blind to the moral failing that's hiding in plain sight. And that is the holding companies' false narrative of caring for their staff via the progressives' policies - whilst running their agencies, and those who work for them, into the ground.
This, then, is the story of adland's woke elite, their ideological capture of our industry, and the bleak reality that's now staring us all in the face.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Kent
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 203 mm
Width: 127 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
352 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-9571515-4-3 (9780957151543)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Described by Campaign as "One of the most inspirational creatives in UK direct marketing, he won the inaugural Cannes Lion Direct Grand Prix, as well as three other gold, five silver and two bronze Lions for work on clients including IBM, Star Alliance and Microsoft. Steve was European Creative Director (OgilvyOne) and Global Creative Director (Wunderman) either side of starting his own agency, HTW, where, in the seven years the agency operated, he won more Cannes Lions (18) in his discipline than any creative director in the world. His work has subsequently featured in the D&AD Copy Book. He has also authored Changing the world is the only fit work for a grown man; How to write better copy; and How to do better creative work - the latter becoming the most expensive advertising book ever when it traded on amazon for £3,854 a copy.