Festival of British Advertising: Lord David Puttnam warns over erosion of trust

Lord David Puttnam

The media industry has a “colossal job” on its hands as it seeks to rebuild trust, Lord David Puttnam said at the IPA’s Festival of British Advertising on Wednesday, where he expressed his concerns over the most “alarming change” to have occurred in recent times.

“Every one of us has a colossal job on our hands in the process of recreating trust – not in the system, which in many ways has only discredited itself – but in some kind of a system which we feel comfortable to gather around and support,” Lord Puttnam said as he marked the IPA’s 100th anniversary.

“For me the most alarming ‘change’ to have occurred is the seeming collapse of ‘Trust’ – trust in institutions of all kinds, including Government, trust in the Media, and pretty well all other sources of information – most alarmingly ‘trust’ in what’s referred to as ‘the system’.”

As the IPA moves into its second century, Lord Puttnam, who began his film career as a messenger more than six decades ago, called on the entire industry, as human beings, to stop making excuses and start “walking the talk”.

“Building trust is a human activity, and is very unlikely to be achieved solely through the use of analytics and algorithms,” he said.

“We have to dig very deep, uncynically analyse what’s gone so badly wrong, and throw this sector’s undoubted muscle into finding what I’d describe as a new, and far more sustainable, ‘social settlement’.”

Wednesday night’s opening with IPA president Tom Knox

The IPA’s four-day Festival Of British Advertising launched on Wednesday and celebrates the best of British creativity from the past 100 years.

The event, for which Mediatel is a sponsor, charts British advertising achievements through an exhibition delving into the past, present and future of advertising – from the earliest print ads to the latest virtual reality technology.

Full details can be found on the IPA’s website.