Omar Oakes
Most problems in media and advertising aren't creative failures. They're failures of thinking and accountability.
Founding editor of The Media Leader. Formerly media editor and global technology editor at Campaign. Columnist, analyst, and moderator across the media and advertising industry.
I write, host, and advise on how advertising, media, and power actually work — for people who'd rather be challenged than reassured.
What I’m known for
I cover media and advertising as they collide with technology, politics, and power.
I'm interested in what gets glossed over — market concentration, measurement myths, platform incentives, and the gap between what industry leaders say and what's actually true.
More on how I approach journalism and analyse media and advertising
Advertising and the platform economy
Media business models and power
Measurement, effectiveness, and accountability
The ethics of attention and influence
Industry narrative: what leaders say vs what’s true
Writing
Columns, analysis, and reporting that follow the incentives (and don't stop where it gets uncomfortable).
Speaking & Hosting
Panel moderation, keynotes, podcast hosting: sharp, calm, and allergic to fluff.
Consultancy
For leaders whose strategy is sound but whose story isn't. Visit oomph.
Featured
I maintain a regular newsletter, Ad-verse Reactions, where I write about how advertising and media collide with power and influence.
I also write a fortnightly column for The Media Leader, the publication I relaunched in 2022 and edited until leaving to launch oomph. in 2025.