THE advertising industry constructs fairy-tale kingdoms to peddle its products. In 2020 television advertising revenue came in at around £4.35 billion. This number actually sent a chill through the sector because it had been driven down by coronavirus.
The mood won’t have improved after Cristiano Ronaldo’s small act of defiance yesterday.
At a Euros post-match press conference the world’s best player imperiously swept away the two bottles of Coca Cola that have become a feature of these events. He replaced them with a bottle of water. “Agua,” he said simply. He didn’t need to say anything else.
Ronaldo’s gonzo rebuke to the biggest beast in the advertising universe saw billions wiped off the company’s market value. Some perspective here: they’re still worth $238bn.
Yet, the drop in advertising spend should chill us too. For, it means that in the next year the targets on our backs for this industry to search and deploy will get much bigger.
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