Dame Carolyn McCall, Chief Executive of ITV, has called on brands to take a long-term and authentic approach to purpose-driven marketing.

Speaking at the Advertising Association’s LEAD conference in London today, McCall said, “Advertising is about amplifying your values, not creating them.”

In the midst of a media ecosystem in which some marketing commentators have already called ‘peak pupose’, McCall explained that if there is a gap between what brands say in the advertising and the reality of their business, then purpose-driven messages risk becoming a negative.

In a wide-ranging conversation with Philippa Brown, Chair of the Advertising Association and Global Chief Executive of PHD, McCall called out Dove as an "amazing example" of a brand placing purpose at the heart of its positioning.

She explained, “Dove is an amazing example; they have single handedly helped raise so many women’s self-esteem, with such a range of diversity.” McCall highlighted the fact that the brand has not focused just on body diversity, but disability and BAME representation as well.

Play the long game

However, McCall noted that brands in general need to take a long-term approach to getting these purpose-driven messages across, as consumers quickly move on to the next thing. She explained, “One of the things I worry about is that it's one campaign rather than ongoing communication...it needs to be long-term.”

She shared the wide-range of campaigns and initiatives ITV is spearheading, not just to reflect society but to be a positive force for social good.

She pointed to examples like the ‘Veg Power’ national campaign the broadcaster launched with 12 different supermarket brands to promote vegetables to kids. The ‘Eat them to defeat them’ campaign was created by adam&eveDDB and is aimed firmly at tackling the mounting childhood obesity crisis in the UK. According to McCall the campaign drove the sale of 18 million more units of vegetables across the 12 supermarket partners.

Talking about the power of creativity to drive behaviour change, she noted, “When you are doing anything that tries to change behaviour, the creativity is very important; it can’t be patronising.”

McCall emphasised the importance of cross platform collaboration as she added that the 'Veg Power' campaign is being expanded to incorporate other broadcasters including Sky and Channel 4.

Changing the narrative

This collaborative approach was also at the top of the agenda in ITV’s Project 84 campaign, in partnership with the Campaign Against Living Miserably and Harry’s Grooming. The campaign successfully drew attention to male suicide through life-size statues of 84 men on top of the ITV buildings at Southbank, representing the 84 men who die by suicide each week in the UK.

McCall also pointed to the example of ‘Britain Get Talking’, created by Uncommon Creative Studio, which was the broadcaster's campaign to encourage viewers to break the silence surrounding mental health.

She noted that the advertisers in the silent ad break got on board very quickly, but she urged brands and agencies to talk to the broadcaster earlier in the creative process. She added, “We never could have done this campaign without all our talent.”

While disruption and digital transformation all too often tops the marketing agenda, McCall emphasised the importance of the broadcasters’ talent and creative output moving forward. She explained, “At a time of great change and great pressure, if we don’t invest in quality content it will be very hard to make a difference.”

Photography © Bronac McNeill