Close-Up: Live Issue - Can adland withstand party political tinkering?

This autumn's conferences, industry leaders believe, saw an outbreak of
reality - and even a growing recognition that advertising might be part
of the solution rather than the problem.

Not that agencies can relax and think they no longer need to worry about
the politicians' agenda. As one threat recedes, another emerges. The
danger now comes not from Labour, which is cooling on the idea of
statutory ad curbs to combat obesity and binge-drinking, but from the
Conservatives.

David Cameron's party has never been tempted by "nanny state" solutions
on food and alcohol but has committed itself to deep cuts in the
Government's adspend.

The surprise announcement by the shadow chancellor, George Osborne, at
the Tory conference that a Cameron Government would restore COI's budget
to its 1997 levels - saving taxpayers some £230 million a year -
had all the signs of a pledge that had been cobbled together at the last
minute.

Osborne decided to offer party activists a two-year freeze on council
tax bills, provided that local authorities kept their planned rises
below 2.5 per cent. His problem was how to find the central government
subsidy, while saying an incoming Tory administration would find "the
cupboard is bare". His researchers lit upon the old chestnut of ad
campaigns and the use of private sector consultants by government
departments to conjure up the £1.5 billion they needed.

They claimed, rather disingenuously, that the "government adspend" was
£391 million in the 2007-08 financial year, up from £163
million in 1996-97 at today's prices. In fact, these figures are COI's
total spend, less than half of which goes on advertising - £157
million in the last financial year. The rest covers digital, research,
publications, events, audio and TV, PR and sponsorship and direct
marketing. So it would have been more honest for the Tories to say they
would need to squeeze all these budgets to achieve the savings.

The Tory pledge has alarmed ad industry leaders, who do not regard it as
a responsible signal to the business world as Britain teeters on the
brink of recession. "In the business environment, evidence shows that it
is vitally important to maintain a presence in the market during times
of economic slowdown," Baroness Peta Buscombe, the Tory peer and chief
executive of the Advertising Association, says. The Government, she
believes, should follow suit, maintaining its relationship with the
public. "In difficult times, government will need to harness and utilise
the positive power of advertising and it would be foolish to neglect
such a potential force for good. Public policy ad campaigns raise
awareness, inspire action and save lives," she says.

Oppositions routinely accuse the ruling party of spending taxpayers'
money on party political propaganda - and promise to clean up
Whitehall's act when they take power. Tony Blair led the charge for
Labour as a fresh-faced frontbencher in the late 80s, then carried on
spending when he came to office. The Tory pledge may suffer the same
fate if Cameron becomes Prime Minister. "I doubt that much would
change," one senior Whitehall official says. "The Tories might take a
look at government campaigns, but they would find they are not party
political and deliver good value for money. It would be difficult to
achieve the sort of savings they are talking about."

COI must remain above the party political fray, but its own figures show
little difference between the two main parties. When budgets are
adjusted for inflation, the Labour Government spent a record £184.1 million on advertising alone in 2000-01 - just over the Tory
administration's high water mark of £183.4 million in 1986-87.

The more immediate threat of legislation on food or alcohol by the
current Government appears to be receding, after lobbying by the ad,
food and drinks industries. During Labour's conference in Manchester,
ministers signalled that the possible (but as-yet-unproven) benefits of
statutory controls would not justify the loss of revenue for the three
industries - an estimated £200 million for a 9pm watershed on junk
food and £100 million for alcohol. The change was symbolised by
Helen Goodman, now a Government whip. As a backbencher, she had backed
ad curbs. At a fringe meeting in Manchester this year, she defended the
Government's voluntary approach and praised the virtues of social
marketing.

"I am glad the political world has moved on," Buscombe says. "It is
notable that the shrill calls for ad restrictions seem to have died
down. It is important to focus on encouraging positive behavioural
change rather than blunt and negative bans that will not deliver policy
objectives."

However, some battles still lie ahead. Gordon Brown, Cameron and the
Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, have all expressed concern about
the commercialisation of childhood and that could become a new
battleground for those who see ad curbs as part of the solution. Clegg
says: "There is a channel of cartoons that my children watch in which
they are bombarded by advertising every 15 minutes. I don't like it. I'm
increasingly, as a father and politician, thinking we have not got the
balance right."

The conference season this year saw little in the way of traditional ads
- reflecting the declining use of press and posters by the parties,
tighter spending limits and the need to conserve resources until the
general election. The only press ad, branding Cameron as "cheesy and
sleazy", was placed not by Labour but by the trade union Unite.

However, both Labour and the Tories used the conferences to cement their
relationships with their relatively new agencies. According to Labour
officials, Saatchi & Saatchi was closely involved in the strategy for
the party's annual gathering. They say it is working closely - and
productively - with David Muir, the former chief executive of WPP's
Channel division, who is Brown's director of political strategy at
Downing Street. "Saatchis are itching to be let off the leash," one
Labour source said. "They are fizzing with ideas and their time will
come." The problem is not a lack of faith but a lack of money: Labour is
£17 million in the red and Saatchis is believed to be on a small
retainer.

Euro RSCG was similarly involved in the Tory conference. Its "plan for
change" posters were displayed inside the International Convention
Centre in Birmingham, but it was more about postcards and beer mats for
Tory representatives than posters aimed at the public. According to Tory
officials, the agency, which is working on a project basis, is making a
"fantastic contribution" in a three-way relationship with Tory HQ and
Perfect Day, which designed the party's green tree logo to symbolise
Cameron's decision to prioritise the environment.

The two agencies will not go head to head until next June's European
Parliament and council "double election", which will be a dry run for
the general election expected in 2010. For now, they are investing time
and forming relationships, but will not be getting rich quick from their
party accounts.