Adman Todd Sampson is back on TV with a new season of Mirror Mirror .
Mirror Mirror: Are You Well? premiering on 10 on Wednesday night, is all about “arguably one of the biggest, most influential industries that exists” - the wellness industry.
“I think there needs to be more regulation in the wellness industry - 100%,” he said.
“It’s remarkable to think that Gwyneth Paltrow and Joe Rogan are arguably two of the biggest medical/health influencers on the planet today and neither of them have any formal education in that area.
“That's crazy. They reach hundreds of millions of people and they influence many, many wellness and health decisions.”
Sampson said regulation is necessary in the wellness space just like he believed about the cosmetic surgery industry - the focus of the first season - and while he’s not “going to take full credit for it”, the people that the series focused on have subsequently been in court and there is more regulation in the pipeline.
“It’s the same with Omegle, which was the focus of last year [the internet and social media] - they just closed their doors a week ago," he told AdNews.
"I do feel that we need more and more voices, more and more people putting a concerted effort into holding a mirror up to some of these industries. We've been fortunate lucky enough to do that.”
That regulation hitting industries such as cosmetic surgery - and potentially wellness after this Mirror Mirror season - reflects what's happening more broadly in the advertising industry, with a possible ban on gambling advertising arriving soon along with action on greenwashing, fast food and more.
"Even though I love the advertising industry and it's given me many, many things, I've always said, and I've said it publicly, at times we need to be protected from ourselves and I'm okay with regulation," Sampson said.
Sampson said working on Mirror Mirror is “the best job in the world”.
“It's long format storytelling, so we get to choose an issue or a topic that we think is important to people and explore it from multiple perspectives and in so doing, give scientists a voice, scientists that don't normally get a voice,” he told AdNews.
“They don't have the following that Kim Kardashian does, but they've got 10 times the information and knowledge.
“I love the exploration. I love the deep dive into different topics and topics that affect all of us.”
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