Make Outdoor creative again: Tim Bleakley rallies the ad industry

Ocean Outdoor chairman Tim Bleakley has launched a movement to place creativity at the heart of Out of Home (OOH).

Speaking at the OAAA 2025 conference in Boston (USA) on May 7, Tim highlighted some of the greatest creative works of recent times to demonstrate the importance of creativity on outstanding OOH advertising.

“Sir John Hegarty doesn’t think the advertising market is in a great place with the general public. This reputational crisis is driven by the fact that advertising, a creative business, has been taken over by bots, data, fake news, fake ads, and intrusive, invasive bombardment,” he said.

“But the outdoor industry has a superpower. We have the creative platform, and we have the opportunity, just at the time when brands are wrestling with this challenge. We’re not in the big tech business. We’re in the advertising business. So I’ve formed a new movement, MOCA, because we can all Make Outdoor Creative Again.”

Tim shared how Ocean has championed creativity and innovation, using examples to illustrate the commercial benefits to both businesses and society, including Cannes Lions award winning work which has tackled societal taboos in public spaces, and Hollywood movie stars like Sofía Vergara, star of Griselda, turning outdoor advertising into box office entertainment.

“Creativity should drive the conversation away from everyday hygiene factors like programmatic, but really, how much of the conversation is about creativity?” he said.

“Versace’s 3D DeepScreen campaign in London and New York was personally approved by Donatella herself. Creativity raises the conversation.”

Tim pointed out how creativity leads to deeper, more meaningful consumer engagements, connecting the digital and physical worlds, something unique to OOH.

“Outdoor gives placement context like no other medium, and some phenomenal creative ideas have come out of that. It removes obstacles, boundaries and political divides, breaking down commercial norms.

“Creative ideas open doors; creativity breaks down barriers and travels across borders. It turns advertising into a form of entertainment which extends well beyond the reach of the channel. This is a superpower – and now’s the time for us to double down.”

To kickstart the global MOCA movement, Tim offered one OAAA delegate the chance to work with Ocean Labs on a unique “personal” ad campaign on one of Ocean’s leading London screens when they next visit the city.

“Creativity isn’t a nice to have, it’s our industry fuel for the engine, so please join the MOCA movement. We need to bang the creative drum again and again and again,” he said