As we bid farewell to an extraordinary year, join us in revisiting the impactful moments, significant collaborations, and strides we’ve made toward a more ethical advertising landscape.
Here’s a snapshot of our 2023 journey at the Conscious Advertising Network (CAN).
Expanding the CAN Staff Team
The CAN team nearly doubled in 2023! Welcome Nafissa Norris (Membership & Engagement), Yeo Joung Suh (Policy and Campaign Officer – Children’s Wellbeing), and Kate Affleck (Investigations Officer). Their fresh perspectives strengthen our advocacy and membership efforts.
New CAN Members
We are proud to welcome aboard dentsu, IPG Mediabrands, The Digital Voice™, Mave Social Limited, World Media Group, and The Barber Shop as new CAN members.
By joining CAN, they have committed to ethical business practices in hate speech, dis/misinformation, diversity, children’s wellbeing, informed consent, advertising fraud, and climate sustainability.
Educating & Holding Big Tech Accountable
In 2023 we guided TikTok in crafting a Climate Misinformation policy, setting a precedent for social media accountability. We were also elevated to a ‘Trusted Flagger’ by YouTube.
Conscious Thinking LIVE Event
Our big in-person event on 16th November was a sold-out success! Exceptional insights were shared by speakers, and the energy in the room reflected the passion of the CAN community. Topics ranged from prioritising children’s wellbeing to exploring AI trustworthiness – and we even hosted a live podcast.
#CANatCannes
Harriet Kingaby, CAN Co-Founder, represented CAN at Cannes Lions on a number of panels including for dentsu and the Clean Creatives ‘Next level Climate Summit’ discussing: How reskilling for climate can build better agencies. Harriet did this interview at the United Nations SDG Lounge.
Investigations
CAN’s investigations team led many research projects this year, one focusing on the Women’s World Cup. We delved into monetised misogyny during the tournament, reviewing content across platforms. Our findings highlighted the need for more conscientious advertising in the women’s sports sector.
UN General Assembly at Climate Week
CAN Co-Founder Jake Dubbins participated in the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, You can watch the panel here as they discuss greenwashing, climate mis/disinformation delaying or preventing action and how tackling it is a global priority.
Children’s Wellbeing Manifesto Work
We initiated a consultation on the Children’s Wellbeing manifesto, addressing digital impact on children’s rights. More to come on this in 2024!
CAN at UN Forum on Business and Human Rights
In November, CAN co-hosted a panel in Geneva, delving into the intersections between advertising and human rights—an urgent frontier for action. This session brought senior stakeholders together to discuss innovative approaches for a conscious and rights-based advertising approach. Co-organised with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
CAN at COP28
Busy at COP28 in Dubai, Jake spoke on a panel partnership with Climate Action Against Disinformation (CAAD), UN DCG and UNFCCC titled “The importance of information integrity for climate action”. The discussion addressed climate misinformation dangers, platform transparency, codes of conduct, and ensuring accountability in oil and gas advertising. You can watch the session back here.
Propeller Group Partnership
We are thrilled about our evolving partnership with Propeller Group! Set to amplify our communication reach and influence, this collaboration marks a new chapter for CAN’s visibility and impact in the ethical advertising domain.
LISTEN to Season 2 of #ConsciousThinking Podcast
We were proud to conclude Season 2 of the Conscious Thinking podcast with Dentsu Creative. The season featured uncompromising discussions on key advertising challenges hosted by Ete Davies, COO EMEA at dentsu Creative. Topics included hate speech, discrimination, informed consent, AI, and ad fraud. You can access all on our website, Spotify, or Apple.
From all of us at CAN, we wish you a happy holiday. Here’s to a successful 2023 and an even more impactful 2024! #TogetherWeCan 🌟
