Better Without Billboards

Series 2 finale

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 12:47:32 GMT

In this episode, Nicola and James take a look back at series 1 and 2 of the podcast, giving updates on some of our previous content. It's amazing how much progress we've seen in just the last 12 months, from fossil ad bans in The Netherlands, to planning reform in the UK, momentum is building to disrupt the influence of major polluters in our lives. We'll be taking a break after this episode but will be back before too long with more from the Adfree Cities team.

Show notes

Carla Denyer's amendment to the Planning Bill: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DK2ar-OpnDs/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Chris Packham's petition: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/700024
Shell and Total complaints: to the ad regulator https://adfreecities.org.uk/2025/04/ad-watchdog-double-standards-on-fossil-fuel-rulings/
The Hague ad ban: https://www.worldwithoutfossilads.org/listing/world-first-the-hague-bans-fossil-adse-through-ordinance/
Fran Bernhardt on the Food Foundation podcast: https://foodfoundation.org.uk/podcast/pod-bites-junk-food-advertising-gambling-childrens-health
Biteback's "Fuel Us Don't Fool Us" report: https://cdn.bitebackmedia.com/media/documents/Bite_Back_Report_Fuel_Us_Dont_Fool_Us_Advertising.pdf
Norwegian alcohol ad ban study: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2210422425000395#sec0020

Find out more about Adfree Cities at https:www.adfreecities.org.uk and on Bluesky and Instagram @adfreecities.

Credits:

Produced, edited and presented by James Ward and Nicola Wilks.

Title music by mishima.

With thanks to all our guests across the first 2 series who have been exceptionally generous with their time, ideas and knowledge. Thanks also to John Sheerman.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Advertising beyond capitalism

Mon, 26 May 2025 05:00:00 GMT

In this episode we explore the role of advertising as a flagbearer for capitalism, and the values and principles on which capitalism relies. We're joined by Simon Mair, lecturer in sustainability at the University of York to discuss growth, Growth, degrowth and post-growth, and the role that advertising does or could play in economies organised along the differing principles these ideas represent.

Show notes

Read Simon's article Language, Climate Change, and Cities beyond Capitalism here: https://utppublishing.com/doi/full/10.3138/jccpe-2023-0012
Listen to our previous episode on advertising and values:https://shows.acast.com/better-without-billboards/episodes/advertising-cultural-values-ruth-taylor
Read more about sociologist Michael Schudson's work on capitalist realism:https://webcontent.indianhills.edu/_myhills/courses/ENG105/documents/lu05_reading_2.pdf
And Mark Fischer's book on the same: https://archive.org/details/capitalist-realism-is-there-no-alternative/page/n1/mode/2up
Find out more about degrowth economics (a.k.a. wellbeing economics): https://weall.org/

Find out more about Adfree Cities at https:www.adfreecities.org.uk and on Bluesky and Instagram @adfreecities.

Credits:

Produced, edited and presented by Nicola Wilks and James Ward.

Title music by mishima.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Selling love: advertising and cultural values, with Ruth Taylor

Wed, 23 Apr 2025 13:48:02 GMT

In this episode, Nicola speaks to narrative strategist Ruth Taylor of the Common Cause Foundation about the ways in which adverts shape our priorities and attitudes to social and environmental issues through appealing to certain cultural values. Ruth offers her take on adverts from Pepsi, Volvo and Apple which seem to appeal to intrinsic values like social unity or caring for nature, but may actually end up undermining these values. Finally, Ruth shares her thoughts on how the advertising industry needs to change in order to genuinely play a positive role.

Show notes

Thanks to Ruth for joining us on this episode. You can read more from Ruth by signing up to her Substack newsletter, Culture Soup: https://valuesnarrativesculture.substack.com/
Here's that Pepsi advert and the criticism it received: https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/pepsi-advert-pulled-kendall-jenner-protest-video-cancelled-removed-a7668986.html
The Volvo SUV advert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQX-QXxwGvA
Here’s Apple giving their status report to Mother Nature: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNv9PRDIhes
Read more about the work of Common Cause Foundation: https://commoncausefoundation.org/
Read our blog about this episode: https://adfreecities.org.uk/2025/04/selling-love-how-ads-undermine-intrinsic-cultural-values/

Find out more about Adfree Cities at https:www.adfreecities.org.uk and on Bluesky and Instagram @adfreecities.

Credits:

Produced, edited and presented by Nicola Wilks and James Ward.

Title music by mishima.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Promoting Pollution

Tue, 25 Mar 2025 14:13:49 GMT

In this episode we step behind the veil of secrecy that hides the ad industry from accountability. As the climate crisis worsens daily, why do we continue to see ads for climate-damaging products everywhere? The answer lies in the long, cosy relationship between the ad industry and polluting industries like fossil fuels, cars and plastics. A new action from Adfree Cities and the New Weather Institute aims to bring accountability to ad land for their role in promoting pollution. We hear from Adfree's Veronica Wignall about this involves, and from Clean Creatives' Tolmeia Gregory on why the ad industry is resistant to change, and whether a bit of good old-fashioned reputation damage might bring about the changes we need.

Show notes

Thanks to Tolmeia Gregory for joining us on this episode: https://www.tolmeiagregory.com/
Find out more about our landmark case against WPP here: https://www.badverts.org/wpp
Find Clean Creatives here: https://cleancreatives.org/
And their annual F-List awards: https://cleancreatives.org/f-list
Read more about B-Corps here: https://bcorporation.uk/
Tolly mentioned this DeSmog investigation into ad agency greenwash: https://www.desmog.com/2025/02/10/ad-firms-make-oil-companies-look-green-heres-six-ways-they-greenwash-themselves/
Adfree Cities got these Shell ads banned in 2024: https://adfreecities.org.uk/2023/06/shell-adverts-banned-for-greenwashing/

Find out more about Adfree Cities at https:www.adfreecities.org.uk and on Bluesky and Instagram @adfreecities.

Credits:

Produced, edited and presented by James Ward.

Title music by mishima.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The deadly fantasy of SUV adverts

Tue, 25 Feb 2025 10:25:27 GMT

In this episode Nicola and James discuss the rise of sports utility vehicles (SUVs). Having started life as military vehicles, you might wonder how massive, bulky, SUVs could become not only the most popular vehicle type on UK roads, but one that is increasingly associated with safety. But as we hear, the identity of SUVs has been remoulded by advertising that presents them as cool, modern, family-friendly cars, whilst conveniently forgetting to mention the outsized risk they pose to other road users. To begin tackling the problem of SUVs, we need to first challenge their promotion in advertising.

Show notes

Watch the ad for the Volvo EX90 herehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQX-QXxwGvA
Read Badvertising's research on SUV advertising here: https://www.badverts.org/s/Advertising-and-demand-for-SUVs_Kasser-et-alBadvertising-2021.pdf
Check out the SUV Alliance and manifesto here: https://www.suv-alliance.org.uk
Key stats and sources eg 8x more likely
Read the 2020 Land Rover Defender review in the Irish Times here: https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/motors/land-rover-defender-a-reboot-that-lives-up-to-the-hype-1.4295456
Watch the 2019 Range Rover Evoque ad here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHYb-nUEgcc

Find out more about Adfree Cities at https:www.adfreecities.org.uk and on Bluesky and Instagram @adfreecities.

Credits:

Produced, edited and presented by James Ward and Nicola Wilks.

Title music by mishima.

Featuring music from "Minimal Documentary" by Penguinmusic, via Pixabay.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Distract, delay, derail: the tactics of meat and dairy advertising

Thu, 23 Jan 2025 09:46:06 GMT

In this episode, Nicola speaks to Caitlin Smith of the Changing Markets Foundation about the power and influence of Big Meat and Dairy. Caitlin explains why we need to worry about methane, and tells us how the meat industry uses tactics of distract, delay and derail, to get away with taking little meaningful action. Meanwhile, the government continues to back campaigns to promote meat and dairy, despite the well-evidenced need to reduce meat consumption for the planet as well as our own health. And adverts deliberately target ethically-minded young people to convert them back to meat and dairy. We also discuss what can be done to reduce the power and influence of this industry, and Nicola explains why we need an end to meat advertising.

Show notes

Here’s the report Caitlin talks about, The New Merchants of Doubt: how Big Meat and Dairy Avoid Climate Action: https://changingmarkets.org/report/the-new-merchants-of-doubt-how-big-meat-and-dairy-avoid-climate-action/
You can sign this petition from Changing Markets Foundation (CMF) for a healthy, sustainable food system https://action.wemove.eu/sign/2024-07-big-meat-petition-EN/
Here’s a briefing from CMF on Big Meat & Dairy narratives: Myths and Misinformation https://changingmarkets.org/report/big-meat-and-dairy/
Here’s more from CMF on the lack of policies and commitments to genuinely tackle the climate impact of meat and dairy: Big Emissions, Empty Promises: https://changingmarkets.org/report/big-emissions-empty-promises/
Read more from Adfree Cities on the tactics of meat advertising, and why we need to end it: https://adfreecities.org.uk/explore-harmful-advertising/end-meat-advertising/

Find out more about Adfree Cities at https:www.adfreecities.org.uk and on Bluesky and Instagram @adfreecities.

Credits:

Produced, edited and presented by James Ward and Nicola Wilks.

Music by mishima.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Consuming childhood

Wed, 20 Nov 2024 11:16:27 GMT

In this episode, Nicola speaks to Alice Ferguson from Playing Out and Charlotte Gage from Adfree Cities about how our planning system fails children and leads to cities unable to meet young people's needs. The conversation ranges from planning to housing to public health, and of course advertising, to build the case that children are routinely overlooked as a group with needs of their own with generational consequences. In the end, building child-friendly cities would benefit not only the youngest in society but all of us.

Show notes:

Find out more about Playing Out: https://playingout.net/
Alice mentions a project in Hartcliffe, Bristol: https://playingout.net/inspiration/creative-projects/hartcliffe-safer-streets-films-event/
Adfree Cities' report Consuming Childhood can be read here: http://adfreecities.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Adfree-Cities-Report-Consuming-Childhood_-How-Advertising-Impacts-Children-and-Young-People-Oct-20241.pdf
GAP's work on surveillance advertising: https://www.globalactionplan.org.uk/online-climate/end-surveillance-advertising-to-kids/stop

Find out more about Adfree Cities at https:www.adfreecities.org.uk and on Bluesky and Instagram @adfreecities.

Credits:

Produced by Nicola Round and James Ward.

Edited by James Ward.

Presented by Nicola Round.

Music by mishima.

Thanks to John Sheerman.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Wild West of ad regulation

Tue, 15 Oct 2024 05:00:10 GMT

In this episode, James explores the systems in place to prevent harmful advertising from being shown in the UK. Ad regulation can work, but it's piecemeal and slow, as the current failure to keep pace with emerging greenwash advertising from fossil fuels companies makes clear. James later speaks to Will Prochaska from the Coalition to End Gambling Ads about how regulation fails to protect us from ads that promote one of the UK's most harmful industries.

Show notes:

Read more about the ASA's handling of environmental complaints: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5ebd0080238e863d04911b51/t/650ac854c72c3b5dd5ad67a0/1695205492271/Toothless+-+ASA+Report+-+Sep+2023.pdf
Check out some of Adfree Cities's engagement with the ASA: https://adfreecities.org.uk/category/asa-complaints/
Find out more about CEGA: https://cega.org.uk/

Find out more about Adfree Cities at https:www.adfreecities.org.uk and on Bluesky and Instagram @adfreecities.

Credits:

Produced by Nicola Round and James Ward.

Edited by James Ward.

Presented by Nicola Round and James Ward.

Music by mishima.

Thanks to John Sheerman.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How Edinburgh banned high carbon ads (and you can too!)

Tue, 24 Sep 2024 09:35:07 GMT

From fossil fuels, to cars, flights, cruises and meat and dairy we are surrounded by ads for products that are driving the climate crisis. Just as we banned ads for cigarettes and tobacco once we realised how harmful they were, we can likewise end advertising for polluting products to protect health and the planet. Edinburgh City Council has taken this to heart and passed just such a ban on ads for carbon-intensive products across the city. In this episode we speak to Edinburgh councillor Ben Parker about this motion, how it came about and how other cities (or even the whole country) could do the same.

Show notes:

Read Purpose Disruptors' research on advertising's carbon footprint here: https://www.purposedisruptors.org/advertised-emissions
Watch Antonio Guterres's speech on high carbon advertising: https://youtu.be/7HexvyZdQZw
Read Edinburgh council's high carbon ad ban motion text here: https://democracy.edinburgh.gov.uk/mgConvert2PDF.aspx?ID=70730
Read more about The Hague's ad ban here: https://adfreecities.org.uk/2024/09/fossil-ads-banned-in-the-hague/
Write to your MP action to support a national fossil ad ban here: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/write-to-your-mp-ban-high-carbon-ads

Find out more about Adfree Cities at https:www.adfreecities.org.uk and on Bluesky and Instagram @adfreecities.

Credits:

Produced by Nicola Round and James Ward.

Edited by James Ward.

Presented by Nicola Round and James Ward.

Music by mishima.

Thanks to John Sheerman.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Deal or no deal?

Mon, 19 Aug 2024 09:03:49 GMT

Who ya gonna call? Err... no one, actually. In this episode, Nicola and James chat with professor Lizzie Nixon as she unravels the curious tale of a phone box that wasn't a phone box on the streets of Nottingham. The story opens up the history of how public infrastructure like bus shelters, defibrillators and phone boxes came to be entwined with advertising. Ads can offer councils a revenue stream, but at what cost? And who really comes out the winner when councils make deals with outdoor advertising companies?

Show notes:

Find out more about Lizzie's workhttps://www.nottingham.ac.uk/business/people/lizern.phtml

Find out more about Adfree Cities at https:www.adfreecities.org.uk and on Bluesky and Instagram @adfreecities.

Credits:

Produced by Nicola Round and James Ward.

Edited by James Ward.

Presented by Nicola Round and James Ward.

Music by mishima.

Thanks to John Sheerman.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Worst Industry in the World, with Darren Cullen

Tue, 23 Jul 2024 10:46:07 GMT

In this episode we speak with artist Darren Cullen, aka Spelling Mistakes Cost Lives. Our conversation covers Darren's early aspirations to join the ad industry, through his conversion into subvertising, and his most recent work challenging the greenwash of oil giant Shell. Thanks to his winding journey from ads to art, Darren has a unique and unflinching critique of the ad industry and its role in driving consumption by, amongst other things, exploiting a mother's love to sell bleach.

Show notes

Check out Darren's website and work past and present at https://www.spellingmistakescostlives.com/
You can also find him on X (Twitter) @darren_cullen and Instagram @spellingmistakescostlives
Find out more and support Darren's work in the Niger Delta https://www.spellingmistakescostlives.com/hellbusfornigerdelta
The bleach ad: https://www.spellingmistakescostlives.com/drawings?pgid=irwqmxh3-c46a8264-2ffe-4f91-8117-a20ab0279618
More info on the Hell Bus can be found here: https://adfreecities.org.uk/tag/hell-bus/

Find out more about Adfree Cities at https:www.adfreecities.org.uk and on Blueksy and Instagram @adfreecities.

Credits:

Produced by Nicola Round and James Ward.

Edited by James Ward.

Presented by Nicola Round and James Ward.

Music by mishima.

Thanks to John Sheerman.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adventures in planning system reform

Thu, 13 Jun 2024 12:53:01 GMT

In this episode Adfree Cities' Nicola and James discuss how the planning system holds the keys to overturn decades of in-built inequality. We explore our recent research on outdoor advertising and inequality, digging into the issues with the current planning system for advertising, the issues, and what we can do about it.

Show notes

Read the full Adfree Cities report at https://adfreecities.org.uk/unavoidable-impact/

Find out more about Adfree Cities at https:www.adfreecities.org.uk and on Bluesky and Instagram @adfreecities.

Credits:

Produced by James Ward and Nicola Round.

Edited by James Ward.

Presented by Nicola Round and James Ward.

Music by Mark Round.

Thanks to John Sheerman.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.