1. Global Agency of the Year 2007
networks, so it’s not surprising its global exec- ness to the lead creative account.
utives say they would have been hard pressed
to predict its success abroad. Partner and ecd AT A GLANCE The agency’s 2007 broadcast highlights
included “Videogame” for Coke—an hom-
John Jay, however, architect of Wieden’s age to “Grand Theft Auto”—and “I Feel Pret-
Asian strategy, says, “The dream [of going BILLINGS ty,” a musical starring Maria Sharapova for
global] was deep in the psyche here from the Up 18% globally to $1.65 billion Nike. Also, its work for Old Spice was one of
beginning, even if they didn’t know it.” the year’s most entertaining. It included
For its ability to grow globally with its inde- REVENUE “Painted Experience,” in which Bruce Camp-
pendent spirit intact, its strategic manage- Up 18% to $165 million (est.) bell, in a double-breasted blazer, cryptically
ment skills and its culturally relevant, award- ACCOUNTS WON/MEDIA BUDGET explains “experience” while walking in front
winning work, Wieden is Adweek’s Global Portland: CareerBuilder.com ($60 million), of a ridiculously long nautical mural, and
Agency of the Year. These days, the combined Heineken ($100 million) P&G’s Old Spice interactive. “Manly,” in which a hairy-chested spokesman
shops outside of the U.S. outperform New New York: Cole Haan, Fathead.com, Revolution Places. in a locker room touts the manliness of “bas-
York and Portland, pushing up global rev- Amsterdam: Coke Zero. London: Observer, Save the ketball, recon and Frenching.”
enue 18 percent from $140 million to an esti- Children. Tokyo: Google, Sapporo, Gyre. The year’s nontraditional Nike work also
mated $165 million in 2007. And that’s appar- Beijing: Google, Nike. Global: Nokia ($120 million) made a splash, including the “Battle of the
ently big enough for a roster of internation- mobile phones, flagship stores, Visa World Cup Nike Gates” experiential marketing work for
al blue-chip clients. Sponsorship, Converse (media buying and planning), a basketball tournament, Battle of Nine
The winning recipe, according to global Gates. It centered on the Nine Gates of Bei-
COO Dave Luhr: one-third Wieden culture, ACCOUNTS LOST/MEDIA BUDGET jing’s old city, and melded traditional basket-
one-third DNA of the host city and one-third Amsterdam: Carlsberg. Portland: Nike+, Nike Running. ball and Chinese iconography for print, TV
the personality of whomever leads the New York: Sharp Aquos. Tokyo: Recruit-Travaille. and online ads. For the non-print work, Chi-
office—then shake. London: Yakult. Global: P&G’s Eukanuba. na’s most popular DJ, MC Webber, produced
According to Jonathan Mildenhall, Coca- and performed original music.
HIGHLIGHTS
Cola vp of creative excellence, Atlanta, “Work- In Amsterdam, a guerrilla marketing
• Global Nokia win accelerated Delhi shop opening
ing across the Wieden network in Amster- attack to introduce the Nike T90 Laser
• Wieden, Jay and Luhr assume global leadership roles
dam, Portland, or consultancy work out of includes an ad in which a soccer player is so
• Wins Cannes gold, silver Lions for Coke
China, has ensured the universal appeal of accurate due to his cleats that he can kick a
the work. [It has] resulted in more than 200 Sources: Adweek, agency reports, Nielsen Monitor-Plus ball into a wall and have the marks it leaves
countries around the world embracing and spell out “R.I.P.” as a warning to rivals. And
activating our co-created campaign, ‘The in Japan, the agency designed 130 Nike bill-
Wieden +
Coke side of life.’ Their expanding network bringing the network $120 million in billings, boards, each with a different message and
gives us the opportunity to take the relation- $30 million in revenue. visual. Each was strategically placed, says Jay,
ship further and explore the evolving needs “[Wieden]’s track record demonstrated “in a different sweet spot where young peo-
of communications for our business.” strength in creative thinking and the poten- ple gather or play sports or in a location of
Even some clients still tentatively explor- tial to be a strong strategic and business mar- influence for young people.”
ing Europe and Asia value the agency’s tight- keting advisor,” says Jo Harlow, svp of market- The strategy no matter the location is for
ly controlled brand management. ing, Nokia, London. each office to develop its own character, while
“Our relationship [with Wieden] contin- Among Wieden’s strengths is its ability to receiving input from Wieden himself.
Kennedy
ues to evolve,” says Terry Davenport, Starbucks rebound. Portland lost Nike+ and Nike Run- “I still stay pretty involved, especially with
vp of global brand strategy and marketing. “We ning in the U.S. in 2007, a blow less to the major new clients and with major cam-
count on them as a key brand advisor and part- wallet than the ego, but the network was paigns for existing clients,” Wieden says. “I
ner, even if that doesn’t result in the creation awarded Nike’s Converse media buying and pride myself on having hired smart, creative
of a lot of traditional advertising.” planning. Amsterdam lost Carlsberg, but folks who can manage these brands ... but
In 2007, after fits and starts in various Portland capped the year with $100 million I can’t help myself from poking my nose in
INDEPENDENT’S DAY:
offices over the years, Wieden was firing on in Heineken work. Additionally, while it may once in awhile.”
(l.-r.) Bill Davenport, Dan
Wieden, Susan Hoffman, eight cylinders. Amsterdam won Coke Zero have lost global duties on Procter & Gamble’s Chinese-American Jay—who Wieden
John Jay and Dave Luhr. and Pernod Ricard’s Polish vodka brand Eukanuba dog food, it won the company’s asked to act as Nike’s global emissary in Hong
Impressive growth, unique creative and a nimble structure Photographed in the
Wyborowa. Beijing secured Nike and Google.
Tokyo also added Google, as well as the pres-
Graham Webb hair care products, and Port-
land added P&G’s Old Spice interactive busi-
Kong before he even officially joined the
Continued on page 28
Portland office on
make it No. 1 BY GREGORY SOLMAN PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS HORNBECKER Dec. 21, 2007. tigious Sapporo beer brand and, after pio-
neering work with another real estate devel-
oper, Mori, added Takenaka’s Omotesando
Gyre shopping center project. (The agency
I
n 1992, when Nike, in the midst of its ‘So, who is this Bo—and what is he supposed even launching a New York office (1995), and conceptualized, named, advertised and
international expansion, asked Wieden + to know?’” recalls Wieden, the agency’s co- had no publicly stated ambitions for starting designed mobile-activated interactive kiosks
Kennedy to open an office in Amsterdam, founder and chief creative officer, with a shops in London (which it did in 1997), for that project, home of Chanel and the first
Dan Wieden had a jocular comment from laugh. “That’s when we realized we needed Tokyo (1998), Shanghai (2005) and, last year, MoMA outside the U.S.)
a European colleague ringing in his head. to get a little smarter about the rest of the Beijing—just in time for handling Nike, Coca- Additionally, New York won Cole Haan
Made a year or two before, when Wieden was world and not just assume that what plays in Cola, Target and Nokia China for the 2008 and Revolution Places. And led by London,
basking in the glory of its Nike cross-training the States will resonate in the world.” Summer Olympics. Also in 2007, accelerated but involving all offices, Wieden will repre-
campaign with football and baseball star Bo Wieden did open an Amsterdam office in by its global Nokia win, the shop opened an sent Visa in Fédération Internationale de
Jackson, the remark opened Wieden’s eyes to response to Nike’s request in 1992, which was office in Delhi, India, where it convinced the Football Association (FIFA) projects, starting
the fact not all creative transcended borders. also the independent, Portland, Ore.-based partners in the “A” Creative Agency, manag- with the Women’s World Cup in China this
“He’d been lying in bed with his wife and agency’s 10th anniversary. But it would still ing director Mohit Dhar Jayal and ecd V. year. London also led the global Nokia win—
GLOBAL DRINK AND DRIVE: The ‘Hondamentalism’ print campaign for Honda (l.) out of Wieden London used print to
this commercial comes on. He told me, take some time before it put more dots on Sunil, to raise the Wieden flag. the first global win not directed by the Port- support online short films; ‘You Just Have to Make It!,’ a spot for Sapporo from the agency’s Tokyo shop.
‘When it was over, I looked at her and said, the map. In fact, it was three years away from Wieden’s size pales in comparison to large land shop—including its flagship stores,
24 JANUARY 7, 2008 www.adweek.com www.adweek.com JANUARY 7, 2008 25

2. Global Agency of the Year 2007 Wieden+Kennedy
WIEDEN Continued from page 25 cial decisions, he says, it can remain stead- land office is importing interactive talent
fast. “If we make a decision and consider it from China.
company—says Wieden takes pride not in a good decision, we will do whatever it takes “The goal is always to have Wieden talent
being an international brand name, but in to make sure we accomplish that goal,” he inside [each international shop],” says Jay,
being accepted in each local market. explains. “We refused to give up. We found “especially at the beginning.” In Shanghai,
“Our strategy is not just to be a mailbox the right team [cd’s Tony Davidson and Kim which opened with no clients and is already
or a house of adaptation,” Jay explains. “Our Papworth, and managing director Neil working for EA, Starbucks and Nike, the man-
real skill is taking ... the brand essence—the Christie] and today we have an incredibly agement team hired cd Iris Lo from M&C
voice of that client, the principles of the strong office.” Saatchi Hong Kong to join creative director
brand—and helping to find local relevance.” In fact, after an infamously rocky relation- Frank Hahn and managing director Kel
This, he adds, precludes the agency from ship with Subaru (documented in the book, Hook. Recognizing that the agency needed
becoming “top down, where Portland calls Where the Suckers Moon), London’s standout to catch up on interactive, Renny Gleeson
all the shots.” work on Honda (e.g., “Cog” and “Grrr!”) has was hired from Carat Fusion as global direc-
“Any culture that is living positioned Wieden as the obvi- tor of digital strategies, and the Swedish-
takes on different characteris- ous global adjunct to American Argentinian cd Joakim Borgstrom was wrest-
tics and evolves with the cir- ‘Our offices are Honda Motor’s non-internation- ed from his own agency, Double You in
cumstances,” Wieden adds.
“And our offices are a reflec-
a reflection of al independent, RPA.
In the last few years the
Barcelona, Spain to work in Amsterdam.
While it grows, the agency hopes to main-
tion of the ethics and weird- the ethics and agency’s international mile- tain a “less is more” difference. “In the past,
ness of the mother ship, but stones have started running clos- just because a network had 120 offices, it was
they also are enriched because weirdness of er together. By 2004, the agency by no means guaranteeing strategic discipline
they operate in very different the mother was deriving more than half of for those brands,” Luhr says. “In fact, having
surroundings and different its total revenue from its (then-) that many offices often helped fracture a
cultural settings. And that ship.’ —DAN WIEDEN three foreign offices. Since then, brand rather than holding it together.”
cross-pollination enriches all global billings have risen 40 In the competitive sense, Wieden says the
the rest of the offices, because we move percent, according to Luhr. pitch to international clients is as “the inde-
everyone around. It’s just damned remark- With U.S. billings tripling between 2003 pendent network. ... And I think the reason
able, quite honestly.” and 2006, it became clear that the agency’s we’ve been able to establish the relationships
Under Jay—who, in 1998, became ecd in management structure needed some tweak- [we have] and be the lead in many of these
Tokyo before returning to Portland as part- ing. Wieden, Luhr and Jay assumed global markets, if not a global presence, has been
ner and ecd of the network—Tokyo devel- roles in 2007 and ceded Portland to local the nature of the client/agency relation-
oped its own record/DVD label, replete with management. Then London led this
unique local Toyko pop art and video ele- year’s Nokia win. Jay says he expects all
ments attached to each song. the shops to lead one or another
The European shops use a self-deprecat- charge soon.
ing wit when presenting themselves in the For Luhr, the network reaped an
blogosphere. Wieden Amsterdam’s blog “enormous benefit from building
sports the headline, “Think Global, Act Stu- agencies in the ’90s rather than the
pid,” and features an ersatz Soviet art icon ’60s and ’70s. In the ’90s, he main-
using rolls of toilet paper as binoculars. The tains, clients became more global and
motto: “Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam: 150 “technology came into our lives,”
people, 25 nationalities. What could possi- allowing the offices to communicate
bly go wrong?” and travel in unprecedented ways.
Its London blog uses the tag, “Embrac- Corporate attitudes were changing
ing failure since 1998.” Also, the European as well. “We did a lot of research
shops have things like knitting classes and before opening Amsterdam,” Luhr
“thirsty Thursdays” (cocktails, naturally) to notes. “[Back then] most clients did
keep the internal culture hopping. not want 120 offices, did not want to
Years ago, before the bracing victories of pay for 120 offices and, quite frankly,
late and global accolades for its Honda work most agencies don’t know how to man-
THE WRITING’S ON THE WALL: One of 130 billboards and posters
with “Cog” (2003), embracing failure was- age 120 offices.” in Nike Japan’s ‘Just Do It’ outdoor campaign from the Tokyo shop.
n’t something to joke about. Take its rough Wieden himself agrees that while
move into London, which Luhr says came building the Wieden culture globally
as a shock. is “very much a creative act, in some ways we ships. I think ... we will tell it like we see it
“We had early success in Amsterdam,” he are a product of our times. If McCann Erick- and not worry about losing margins or
explains. “Then we go to London ... and we son hadn’t followed Coca-Cola to every watching our profits take a hit or having to
are laughed at in the London press. We made country in the world, somebody would have suffer the consequences of our conscience.
some mistakes with some of our people in had to come along and do that.” ... We’re more concerned with the quality of
that office. It was a very hard market to enter At the global management meeting in the work we produce and the quality of the
and crack, and we hemorrhaged money for India this year, each office was spoiling to relationships that we can establish.”
probably five years—so much so that if we share talent with another, says Jay, describing Now poised to thrive on three continents,
were owned by a network, I guarantee they what is for him the most electrifying period Wieden seems well prepared to answer the
would have said, ‘Scratch the London office, in the agency’s history. For example, Tim legendary Jay Chiat question: “How big can
guys, it’s not going to work.’” O’Kennedy, one of the industry’s original we get before we get bad?”
Luhr now considers London an object strategic planners, moved from running the “We were bad when we were small,” Wieden
lesson in independent global-network build- Electronic Arts account in Portland to Ams- says with a laugh. “I’m wondering how big we
ing. Because the agency makes its own finan- terdam as managing director. And the Port- have to get before we get really good.”
28 JANUARY 7, 2008 www.adweek.com