Royal Mail TV ads face strike threat

The launch date for the Royal Mail’s autumn advertising campaign is under threat because of possible industrial action by UK postal workers.

The strike would directly affect the planned launch of Royal Mail’s TV campaign, which is due for a mid-October release. The campaign is the first work by Abbott Mead Vickers.BBDO, which was appointed earlier this year (MW May 15).

The Communications Workers Union (CWU) ballot for strike action opens today (Wednesday), among 160,000 postal members at Royal Mail UK. The ballot closes on September 17 and, depending on the result, a decision on strike action will be taken within 48 hours.

The CWU must give Royal Mail seven days’ notice of any strike action, making the earliest possible start date the last week of September. But Derek Suffling, acting head of the CWU’s communications department, says: “The start date would depend on the length of discussions over plans and strategy that followed a ‘yes’ vote. It is possible that strike action would not begin until October.”

The TV ads will feature more than 40 postal workers, who have been selected from across the UK. Royal Mail hopes the campaign will reflect its renewed focus on its employees as its most valuable assets.

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