Advertising freelancers need a champion – and fast
The UK Government recently announced the appointment of a Creative Freelance Commissioner. Here, Jon Williams, CEO at the Liberty Guild and member of the UK Creative Council whose report helped to expedite this, shares how this needs to work in adland, where freelancers are 70% of the workforce, yet are still treated as an afterthought.
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Once upon a time, a ‘freelancer’ was the soldier of fortune, The A-Team, if you will. Brought in when the battle turned bloody, the sharp blade you trusted to tip the fight in your favour when you needed the job done brilliantly and decisively.
The name currently feels very apt. Because right now, in advertising, freelancers, those brilliant trusty creative weapons you call on in times of need, are once again on the frontlines.
Because the brutal truth is that the market is a mess. Agencies are rightsizing – polite language for shoving brilliant people out the door – in response to economic headwinds, meaning more people are pushed out into the freelance world.
I’ve heard some pretty grim stories from talented people finding themselves squeezed to the margins.
But at the same time, those same headwinds mean there’s less work to go around. The result? An oversupplied, highly competitive market where even the best are struggling to make a living. I’ve heard some pretty grim stories from talented people finding themselves squeezed to the margins. There is no sugar-coating it: things will get worse before they get better.
AI is just a tool. It doesn’t have to be a death knell for freelancers – in fact, it can be their greatest weapon.
And then there’s AI. Its full impact on agency life hasn’t landed yet, but you can already feel the ground shifting. The Big Four consultancy firms have already slashed grad intake by a third. Agencies are quietly waiting for AI to slip into their operating systems. When it does, the knock-on for jobs will be brutal. So no, there isn’t a rosy picture on the horizon.
I’m watching a new breed emerge: creatives who’ve plugged AI into their process and are producing jaw-dropping work.
But here’s the important part: AI is just a tool. It doesn’t have to be a death knell for freelancers – in fact, it can be their greatest weapon. If you find yourself freelancing tomorrow, you can tool up, scale up, and go toe-to-toe with the agency that just booted you out. Faster, cheaper, and with more control. Suddenly, you’re not just a lance for hire – you’re a full arsenal. That’s what scares the agencies, and that’s what excites me.
Because I’ve seen it. At The Liberty Guild, we work with more than 500 freelancers around the world. And I’m watching a new breed emerge: creatives of every shape, size and background who’ve plugged AI into their process and are producing jaw-dropping work on the bleeding edge.
This isn’t without precedent. Look back to Hollywood in the 1950s, when the old studio system collapsed, and cinema reorganised around a freelance model. The same is happening in advertising. Freelancers will only become more numerous, more specialist, and more essential. More power outside the agency walls
If the industry doesn’t have someone to stand up for freelancers, we’ll end up in a pure price-driven marketplace. And that's just a race to the bottom that won’t just kill livelihoods, it’ll kill the work.
Which is why the government’s recent announcement that it intends to appoint a Creative Freelance Commissioner matters. And why our industry should pay attention.
It's not just good news - it’s essential. If the industry doesn’t have someone to stand up for freelancers, we’ll end up in a pure price-driven marketplace. And that's just a race to the bottom that won’t just kill livelihoods, it’ll kill the work. And if the work dies, the industry dies with it.
The system is flawed, and mortgages, pensions and other workplace benefits are often inaccessible to freelancers.
Here’s where the commissioner needs to focus to ensure freelancers have the right armoury to help the people and the industry survive the battle.
Fix the broken system.
The tax and benefits system remains stacked against freelancers. IR35 is still a mess. Getting a mortgage as a freelancer is a nightmare. Pensions are often an afterthought. These aren’t luxuries – they’re the scaffolding of a stable working life. The system is designed for 9-to-5 lifers, not the modern workforce. That has to change. Make it easier for freelancers to thrive, and the whole industry benefits.
If freelancers are only paid for their time, they’re done. The model has to shift to paying for value - for the idea, the originality, the insight.
Build the right support structures.
A freelancer isn’t just a creative – they’re also their own production department, finance director, and new business unit. The government should recognise that, and create support systems that reflect it. From business training to accessible financial advice, we need to stop treating freelancers as a temporary stop-gap and start treating them as the backbone of the modern economy.
Rewrite education.
We’re still training grads like it’s 1999. Agency schemes teach you how advertising used to work, not how it works now. Entrepreneurship, adaptability, pitching yourself, running a one-person studio – these should be standard skills. And in a world where AI can generate flawless reels in seconds, the only thing that cuts through is the idea. That makes original thinking priceless, and we should be teaching people to value it.
Freelancers aren’t the safety net anymore. They’re the system.
Protect value, not hours.
AI is fast. Frighteningly fast. If freelancers are only paid for their time, they’re done. The model has to shift to paying for value - for the idea, the originality, the insight. That’s the thing clients actually buy, not the hours it takes you to type it.
Because here’s where we’re heading: freelancers aren’t the safety net anymore. They’re the system. More people will freelance, they’ll be more specialist, more powerful, and more indispensable. And who’s to say that a virtual room of brilliant, diverse, AI-augmented creatives can’t out-think the traditional creative department? (Spoiler: they can.)
The Commissioner’s job is to make sure we don’t waste this moment. To stop us sliding into a bargain-basement economy of ‘cheaper, faster, next’. To fight for the freelancers who are, let’s face it, holding this industry up already.
Freelancers have won the battle before. If we do this right, they’ll win this one too. But only if they’ve got someone in their corner.
