27 things we learned at Advertising Week Europe 2017

As ever, we've been at Advertising Week again, attending sessions and hoovering up knowledge.

From Al Gore and Richard E. Grant to Rory Sutherland and Gary Barlow, there was a lot of wisdom to be soaked up over the four days.

Here are some of our favourite learnings.

1. If we want to reduce mental illness we need to look to Scandinavia, not America – Oliver James, psychologist and author
2. On interviewing Donald Trump: He picks up on everything. But as long as you flatter him he can talk for hours – actor and entrepreneur Richard E. Grant
3. At school, I would have preferred to learn about my own mind rather than photosynthesis. A plant can look after itself – mental health campaigner and astronaut, Hussain Manawer
4. Knowledge dispels fear. Have a positive interpretation of the threat or problem – ex-military and workplace wellness coach, John Allison
5. Physical fitness helps mental health. Ask yourselves, do you even promote fitness in the workplace? – ex-military and workplace wellness coach, John Allison
6. On filling diversity quotas: tokenism doesn’t work. You can just put someone in a position for the ‘urban’ view. –  #advertisingsowhite panel with Google UK’s Nishma Robb
7. My greatest lessons have been my failings. Changing is no picnic. It’s not even a buffet. – TV presenter and co-founder of tbseen.com, Kate Thornton
8. What traits do we need to change? Acquire the habits of discipline. The real enemy is inertia. – cleric and broadcaster, Revered Richard Coles.
9. On going from pop star to priest: it was less about the differences more about the continuities. You get a huge release of energy from making a change - cleric and broadcaster, Revered Richard Coles.
10. Do we need more white men talking about diversity? With 75 per cent of bosses in big companies being white men, yes we do. They need to engage. –  #advertisingsowhite panel with Google UK’s Nishma Robb
11. Sometimes the sillier thing is better. But in a logical world it’s harder to argue the case for this. – Vice Chairman Ogilvy & Mather Group, Rory Sutherland
12. If you locked Dave Trott and Paul Feldwick in a room I firmly believe they could solve a third of the world’s problems – Vice Chairman Ogilvy & Mather Group, Rory Sutherland
13. It is much easier to get fired for being illogical rather than unimaginative – Vice Chairman Ogilvy & Mather Group, Rory Sutherland
14. The largest business on the planet is, by far, actually arse covering. – Vice Chairman Ogilvy & Mather Group, Rory Sutherland
15. Culture is the thing that can sometimes reverse decline. Creativity belongs in our heads. Post code doesn’t matter. – author Kate Mosse
16. We are at an inflection point. On the cusp of historic change, but the sustainability movement is still not fast enough. – former Vice President of the USA and environmentalist Al Gore
17. This challenge is the most bracing humanity has ever faced. We’ve quadrupled our population in less than 100 years. – former Vice President of the USA and environmentalist Al Gore
18. You shouldn’t say you like or dislike ads, as a marketer you should say this ad works or doesn’t work because… - creative director and author, Dave Trott
19. Satire can help you look at something without going through the prism of an agenda – actor Tom Walker, creator of political news reporter Jonathan Pie
20. We’ve lost the art of satire. If you go back fifteen years Ben Elton used to shout at the Tory government.  – actor Tom Walker, creator of political news reporter Jonathan Pie
21. If you come to work wanting to be liked you’re unlikely to be successful – CMO at RBS, David Wheldon
22. Don’t pay an expert to do an expert job then ignore their advice - creative director and author, Dave Trott on his elephant in the room, how clients work
23. We have rolled the dice. You get more control sitting at the table than leaving. – Stephen Kinnock MP on Brexit
24. If you’re in a creative business you have to engage in gaming. It’s a massive part of creative culture. – CEO of The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment, Dr Jo Twist OBE
25. Gaming is the avant-garde of what creativity will look like soon – Keeper of Design at the Victoria & Albert Museum, Kieran Long
26. I love what I do, if people still want to hear me. And I love working with new and young talent. It energises me. – singer/songwriter, Gary Barlow
27. At our early gigs, we handed out yellow paper cards for people to fill in their details. It helped us find our audience. – singer/songwriter, Gary Barlow