Kacper Kłos

The most honest thing ever written about advertising was published in 1974. Alan Hedges, in Testing to Destruction (IPA), described in detail how advertising acts as “wallpaper".  Always there. Rarely noticed. Background noise giving the faintest of nudges. To make the point, he dissected a housewife’s journey to buy floor polish (it was the 70s). Explaining in 2,000 words how her decision was shaped less by a single ad and more by a long accumulation of brief exposures she barely remembers. Whenever I speak to anyone outside the industry about advertising you realise pretty quickly that he was right.  As Byron Sharp finds, advertising is often a "weak force". That all felt right for the broadcast era. But today? On signal-driven channels like social, ads seem to work differently. Less like wallpaper and more like a window showing things you might actually want. Maybe I've drunk too much of the kool-aid. But this feels different to what Hedges describes. If you look at newer UK brands like Gymshark, Wild deodorants etc they seem to have been built using advertising as a window rather than wallpaper. dentsu estimates algorithmic media is 60% of spend today, heading to 79% by 2027. A lot more advertising may work this way in the future, especially as TV becomes connected. You could argue this is just another way of describing the old Brand vs DR split. But as advertisers are increasingly using these channels for brand building, I’m not sure the lines are as neat as they once were. Either way, Hedges’ honesty is still refreshing 51 years on. If you work in advertising, Testing to Destruction is definitely worth your time. I’ve attached the book below, the ‘wallpaper’ section is on pages 70–76 if you want to dive in. HT to Richard Harriford for reminding me of this book and Nick Kendall for introducing me to it years ago!

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The last marketing revolution (the digital one) left creatives on the sidelines. The latest one, the AI revolution, actually puts them closer to the centre, despite what many fear. AI puts the means of production into the hands of the people with the ideas – the creatives. If adtech democratised ad media, GenAI democratises ad creative. The underlying tech innovation will impact every part of the marketing industry, but some of the most profound changes will be in the creative part of it. And this time round there are plenty of creative people at the heart of the revolution. My latest Marketing Week piece (link in comments) is an optimistic take on some of the more human aspects of this marketing revolution. Worried that AI will kill creativity? Of course it won't. You can’t kill creativity. It’s far too powerful and innate a human instinct for that and far too valuable for businesses.

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Can cities benefit from #DOOH advertising? Absolutely. Milan is a perfect example. Here, large-format screens are integrated into building façades blending seamlessly with the surrounding architecture. The revenue flows from advertisers to media owners and then to the city, helping fund the restoration of historic landmark. 🏛️

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THE CREATOR GAP IS WIDER THAN WE THINK The new data the IPA (Institute of Practitioners in Advertising) released at yesterday's Effectiveness Conference isn’t just about long-term brand building — it also tells an interesting story about short-term ROI. Influencer performance is far more volatile than other channels like Linear TV. There’s no “average” result. Some campaigns overdeliver, others underperform. That volatility shows the massive potential in creator marketing - but also how many factors are at play: from creative quality to brand fit to how the partnership is executed. In fact, campaigns where influencer content aligns closely with brand values and audience interests see a 3x improvement in conversion. It’s a reminder that the difference between bad and brilliant in creator work is a chasm. It's not just about budget allocation. Closing that creator gap means moving from tactical executions to consistent, creative, brand-aligned work. The kind that delivers both short-term performance and long-term brand impact.

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