The Advertising Association has unveiled a major new international brand campaign, ‘UK Advertising. Where Creativity Works’, designed to champion the sector’s global exports following its record-breaking £19.4bn economic performance in 2025.
Developed by VCCP, its global content creation studio Girl&Bear and digital experience agency Bernadette, the new identity was unveiled at a special launch event in partnership with Outernet London and supported by Cannes Lions.
The campaign was brought to life across Outernet’s immersive screens, at one of the UK’s most visited cultural attractions, welcoming more than 120 million visits annually. The launch marked the first time a UK business sector has used the venue’s world class exhibition space in this way.
The launch comes as the Advertising Association celebrates its centenary year, and signals the strategic evolution of UK Advertising, its global growth workstream, which is delivered with support from the UK Government’s Department for Business & Trade.
The new identity will be deployed across future international events and trade missions to provide a unified global presence for the industry.
At the heart of VCCP’s creative concept is a distinctive visual system built from modular graphic tiles. These tiles represent the diverse blend of talent, innovation, and creative disciplines that form the UK’s modern advertising ecosystem.
The identity will make its international debut later this month at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The AA will lead a high-profile, Government-backed trade mission to the festival, bringing together agencies, production houses, media owners, and tech firms in a drive to secure new global revenue via high-level roundtables and a dedicated presence at the festival’s Empower Café.
The new campaign creative will be rolled out across social, digital, print and film globally.
Advertising Association chief executive Stephen Woodford commented: “As we celebrate our centenary, UK advertising has never been a more powerful economic engine, proved by our record £19.4bn export figures announced at SXSW London.
“This bold campaign by VCCP gives us the perfect visual launchpad to showcase our unique proposition on the world stage. We are calling on all businesses looking to scale globally to join the UK Advertising workstream. Cannes Lions is just the beginning of a year-round mission to turn UK creative excellence into international commercial results.”
VCCP group chief executive Julian Douglas added: “Pound for pound, the UK is the best creative advertising market in the world. And in a fiercely competitive global market, that matters. The awards we win are great, but the commercial results of UK Advertising drives are what really count.
“‘Where Creativity Works’ is a statement of fact. And the new campaign lands it emphatically. The tile system captures a modern, multifaceted creative industry, all pointing in the same direction.”
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