Guardian Advertising make the case for creativity at its 202...

Today (Thursday 2 October), Guardian Advertising made a rallying call for creativity as it launched its 2025 Upfronts.

Leading brands and agencies gathered at the Tate Modern in London to hear top figures from the Guardian state their ambition to lead the debate on creativity in ads.

The Guardian also published its latest research report ‘FAME’ (Fewer ads, more effective). The research identified the key things which were influencing readers in being more responsive to digital advertising. These measures were combined into “the FAME index” - a simple way of gauging which of the low, medium and heavy ad environments are most effective. The full findings are attached and you can download a copy of the FAME report here.

Anna Bateson, chief executive, Guardian Media Group, said:

“Creativity is in our DNA, from the things we make - like the relaunch of our Guardian app - to the words and images on our pages. It’s more than just how something looks; it’s how we express it. How people interact with, think about, and experience our work. Our creativity gives us our stories, journalism, and messages. While our media ensures they travel, reaching the right people, in the right places, at the right moments.”

Imogen Fox, global chief advertising officer, Guardian Media Group, said:

“We want to lead the way on creativity in advertising. Advertising is at its most effective when you put the user at the heart of it. That means considering culture, creativity and context. Bombarding users with too many or unattractive ads is an own goal. Our FAME research shows that fewer, better ads is a better approach.”

James Fleetham, director of advertising, Guardian Media Group, said:

“The idea that a tiny box, crammed onto a cluttered page, can magically make someone buy something on the spot is flawed. What good advertising really does is increase the chance someone will buy your brand in the future. The job is to get people to like you. And the way you do that is simple, give them advertising they enjoy.”

If you are an advertiser interested in working with the Guardian, please contact advertising.enquiries@theguardian.com.

For more information on any of the announcements made today, please contact media.enquiries@theguardian.com.

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Notes to editors

Guardian FAME research methodology

The Guardian’s FAME research set out to discover how different advertising environments, from low to high, affect digital publisher readers.

The aim was to understand not just attention, trust, recall and emotional response, but also how people perceive digital advertising compared with how they actually experience it in real time.

To achieve this, the research employed a mixed methodology approach:

Qualitative: In-depth interviews, real-life browsing recordings, and observed browsing missions.
Quantitative: a structured survey of 1,800 people exploring user experience, publisher inputs, and brand metrics, alongside eye-tracking and facial coding to measure reactions across high, medium, and low ad environments.

About Guardian Media Group

Guardian Media Group is one of the world’s largest and most-trusted quality newsbrands, publisher of the Guardian, theguardian.com and the Guardian app.

Founded over 200 years ago, the Guardian now serves audiences through five editions: Australia, Europe, International, UK and US. With no billionaire owner, the Guardian is renowned for its fearless investigative journalism, holding power to account and amplifying the stories that need to be told. Its independent ownership structure means it is free from political or commercial influence.

Today, millions of people worldwide choose the Guardian’s journalism every day and more than two million readers across 180 countries have supported the Guardian’s work.

Audiences can listen to the Guardian’s top-rated podcasts, watch its award-winning documentaries and interact with its growing digital portfolio, from a premium live news app to the recipe app Feast.