Meta & Google announced they're banning political ads in the EU. What were the EU trying to achieve with the legislation? Why did the platforms decide they'd rather stop taking ads than comply? I speak to @worklesshard.bsky.social from @whotargets.me about all this & more in the latest episode

Labour’s attacks on Farage’s character are a mistake and there’s a better strategy for beating Reform UK - my article in @labourlist.bsky.social labourlist.org/2025/08/fara...

Meta and Google are pulling political ads in the EU. But what does that mean for democracy? I spoke with Sam Jeffers from @whotargets.me to break down the seismic shift in digital campaigning. politicaladvertising.co.uk/2025/08/14/t...

“An internet without political ads, where algorithms are the primary deciders of what voters do and don’t see, where there’s little transparency, & where the good guys who follow rules are punished while the bad guys who don’t, is worse than an internet with them.” open.substack.com/pub/whotarge...

The essential dilemma for Labour over the course of this Parliament is whether their attempt to stem the flow of votes to Reform will prevent them from gaining tactical votes from LibDem & Green-minded voters

Could Labour’s hope for the future be gaining tactical votes from Green & LibDem supporters? 👀 Polling guru @damiansurvation.bsky.social breaks down this strategic dilemma in the latest episode of The Political Marketing Podcast. politicaladvertising.co.uk/2025/07/19/p...

🧵 The government published a significant policy paper today "Restoring trust in our democracy: Our strategy for modern and secure elections". It includes some welcome proposals - including one that we've been campaigning for - but it doesn't go far enough. cc @rushanaraalibgs.bsky.social

Sir Chris Powell on Labour’s Shadow Communications Agency, Populism, and the Art of Persuasion politicaladvertising.co.uk/2025/07/12/s...

Article by me >> One year on: what the 2024 election campaigns say about today's political landscape www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/one-...

On Brexit anniversary week a spam email with an update on how Alexander Nix (ex Cambridge Analytica) is putting joy into the world lands in our inbox. There are still no content rules for election ads …we are campaigning to change that. reformpoliticaladvertising.org @carolecadwalla.bsky.social

Terrifying. Very little out there to stop this happening in UK. “Dougan boasted that he used AI to generate nearly 90,000 articles a month, working from home. He claimed that his material had been viewed by some 40 million people in western countries.” apple.news/AbvNRgsvcQva...

Did a deeply misleading campaign from the Tories nearly cost Labour the North Tyneside Mayoral contest? This is the wakeup call Labour needed. Election ad regulation must be delivered before the next general election. reformpoliticaladvertising.org/near-miss-fo...

Appalling behaviour from North Tyneside Conservative Party. Deeply cynical. Bordering on illegal.

🧵We've just published our review of the 2025 local council and mayoral elections. They mark the first significant electoral test for the new government and an early opportunity for all political parties to show whether they have learned the lessons voters have been demanding.

Help us keep up our momentum... Around 20% of all the mayoral candidates standing across the UK have signed our ad code that commits to "make every effort not to mislead voters". Please take 1 minute to ask your local candidate to join them. 👇 reformpoliticaladvertising.org/take-action/...

We are delighted in the leadership being shown by Ros Jones, Mayor of Doncaster who has signed up to our advertising code for the Doncaster mayoral election on 1st May. 👏👏 You can read the full code here. reformpoliticaladvertising.org/a-simple-ad-...

Love this. Supreme Court in Canada rule election advertising should not be surpressed unduly. Reason: it’s a contributing factor to a citizen’s right to vote in an informed way www.lexology.com/library/deta...

Theres some brilliant analysis of data from the 2024 US Presidential election along with insight into broader electoral trends in this episode podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...

Wait, what?

Very good

How the Harris campaign chose its fonts open.substack.com/pub/yello/p/... by @hunterschwarz.bsky.social

On Meta 😎: “If I don’t realise I’m being filmed, how can I give consent? There are 3 layers to this. 1st, just filming someone without consent is an issue. 2nd, we don’t know what happens when that data is sent to Meta and 3rd, we don’t know how that data is then shared with third parties.”

I love this from @channel4news.bsky.social! 👏

Finally got around to reading Lis Smith’s excellent book ‘Any Given Tuesday’. I was delighted to be reminded of (and learn additional context to) Michael J. Fox’s ad supporting Claire McCaskill. youtu.be/NrwOFWloXso?...

🧵After all the talk about the urgent need to restore trust in politics 2025 needs to be the year that action is taken. 2024 is the year we’ve proved how practical implementing the HoL recommendation for the regulation of election ads is. Below are some "highlights".

This is what I spend most of my weeks at work thinking about. Via @tomroach.bsky.social www.marketingweek.com/brand-buildi...

There is no question: The phone has replaced our friends. www.profgalloway.com/people-are-t...

Musk's X posts have received a total of 133 billion views since July, data analysis by The Washington Post shows. That's 15 times Trump's audience in the same period. And more than 16 times the combined reach of all accounts belonging to members of the incoming Congress.

Nice long read decoding the notion of “vibes” becoming all poweful www.theguardian.com/culture/2024...

Terrifying that AI is (a) mimicking quality news brands (b) getting facts wrong

On the 4th day of Christmas my true love gave to me, another day of the Wallace story 🎶 Please Santa don’t let this thing run for much longer.

But what has been the fate of those parties that did not do this, if there have been any? Did they prosper & manage to stymie the rise of the far right?

How can a third party stay relevant outside of election time in a credible, culturally relevant and emotive way? Step up Ed Davey. politicaladvertising.co.uk/2024/11/28/c...

Joke's on them. I have no writing style.

No one asked for the 2028 presidential primary calendar (because no one wants to think about that right now -- Nor should they!). But there have already been a handful of press accounts about it and I wanted to set a baseline for responding when necessary. 1/ www.frontloadinghq.com/p/the-2028-p...

I've created this starter pack for (potentially) interesting accounts to following in marketing, commerce and measurement. I've started small but will add to it over the coming weeks. Also as more people come over to BlueSky. go.bsky.app/KGUe8Lj

I think this line is strong. Frames choice as “as it was” or “try something new”.

It’s never a good sign when you’re having to run long copy ads that start with the headline “the truth about <insert the thing everyone’s slagging>”

If something looks like a political meme we’re more likely to engage with it than if it looks like a quote from politician’s speech. This is the simple audience insight that Labour are using to inform some of the design of their social content. Smart.

The Conservatives are making hay with Labour’s plans to reduce inheritance tax relief for farm owners