Close-Up: Live Issue - How healthy is press ad creativity?(Campaign Press Awards)

Is declining adspend in the print sector leading to falling creative standards, Claire Billings asks.

There's nothing like an awards ceremony to spark a debate about standards of creativity. As the winners bask in the glory, the doomsayers bemoan the lack of breakthrough work.

This year's Campaign Press Awards, held last week at the Truman Brewery, were no exception. 'It wasn't a vintage year,' Steve Henry, the creative director of the United Group and the chairman of the judges, says.

The event threw a spotlight on an industry that appears to be flat While there was strong creative for the likes of Millets, Stella Artois and Tesco, from a business standpoint, the print medium is suffering a revenue recession.

The latest Advertising Association figures show spending on press advertising as a whole fell 3 per cent in 2005 to pounds 6.8 million, with display falling 1.1 per cent to pounds 3.7 million. National newspapers, which dropped 3 per cent, were more badly hit than their magazine bretheren, which climbed, but only by 1 per cent.

Maureen Duffy, the chief executive of the Newspaper Marketing Agency, argues that the figures looked worse for press advertising because of big drops by certain advertisers. 'In 2005, categories such as financial and cars weren't delivering the same growth as the overall market. Because they're such big categories for the print medium, particularly newspapers, you're seeing the performance of that medium fall behind the market,' she explains.

The question is: did this drop in spending put pressure on standards of creativity in press ads?