C4's Johnson warns off the 'anti-ad intellectual elite'

by Staff, Brand Republic 02-Jul-08, 08:00

LONDON - Luke Johnson, the chairman of Channel 4, has warned off those who would criticise advertising and reminded advertisers of the continuing importance of television as a marketing medium.

Speaking at ISBA's annual lunch at the Dorchester in London, he referred to ISBA's public affairs role in representing advertisers of food, alcohol and gambling services, which have been under attack from pressure groups who blame these industries for promoting unhealthy lifestyles and habits.

The Pizza Express founder warned off what he called the "intellectual elite" who would forever feel "a compulsion to patronise certain elements of society and try to micromanage their lives in every aspect." He said people would nevertheless "continue to indulge in these sorts of vices, whatever the do-gooders say".

He went on to remind his audience of advertisers, agency and media executives of the continuing importance of television as an advertising medium, which has been under continuing pressure from digital even before the economic slowdown.

Johnson said: "TV still reaches 70% of the population every single day -- exactly the same as it did 25 years ago, when Channel 4 started."

He said he believed public service broadcasting was important to Channel 4 and to UK culture, saying that "in terms of news, original drama and the like, PSB is a vital part of the media mindscape. Channel 4 fulfils a crucial role in providing plurality and independence of view".

His comments come as C4 launched its knife and gun crime season 'Disarming Britain', which in a series of documentaries and dramas looks at Britain's knife and gun culture.

Comments

Nuts n Seeds - 02/07/2008

Let's set these comments in context. Here was the head of C4 speaking to a room full of potential advertisers at a time when TV advertising revenue (and therefore C4's balance sheet) is under serious threat. He was just telling nervy marketing execs exactly what they wanted to hear. As for the 'anti-ad intellectual elite' - in the western world's most anti-intellectual nation that's a very hard one to swallow.

Calum Chace - 02/07/2008

You're obviously right about Britain (especially England) being anti-intellectual, Nuts. I suspect he chose the word carefully. In private he might perhaps have spoken about patronising nanny-state soft socialists - the Islington tendency.

Nuts n Seeds - 02/07/2008

Definitely - of which there are a few. But the finger pointing smacks of panic. There are all sorts of reasons why advertisers are cutting TV revenue - pretending it's the evil nanny state is transparently smoke and mirrors. Brings to mind the millions of press releases that tenuously invoked 9/11 as a reason for their falling profits.

Jeremy Lee - 02/07/2008

I must have missed all this - I was at the lunch and all I heard was an incoherent discussion loosely based around the concept of 'success' that relied on a book of quotes to achieve any sort of structure. I was not impressed.