Adweek’s 2023 Global Agency of the Year Finalists

This year, Adweek is not only celebrating the best ad agencies in the business but also striving to help other shops understand what makes the best of the best truly stand out.

That’s why, for the first time, Adweek has a theme for its Agency of the Year awards program: Building a Better Agency. Adweek asked each finalist across all seven categories to explain how it is building a better agency for the future.

Last year, TBWA took home the title of Adweek’s Global Agency of the Year.

How we got here

Adweek invited any agency to enter (without a fee) its yearly Agency of the Year awards program by providing information about its past year and best work.

A team of Adweek editors and reporters combed through the entries and generated a list of five finalists in each category. Adweek’s internal jury deliberated over these finalists, taking into account three main factors:

• Business success (client wins and losses, revenue growth, strategy and use of technology)
• The work (a reel featuring the agency’s 10 best and most effective pieces of creative)
• Talent and ESG (creating an environment for employees to succeed through its culture and benefits, as well as advancing DEI and sustainability)

On Oct. 10, Adweek will reveal the winning agencies. Below, in alphabetical order, are the finalists for Global Agency of the Year.

Dept

Dept is scaling dramatically. In less than 10 years of existence, the agency has already crossed the half-billion mark for revenue. Already at 4,000 employees, Dept anticipates hitting 5,000 next year, working on an array of new clients, including BMW, Netflix, Constellation Brands, United Airlines, eBay, Google Store, Samsung and Diageo. The digital agency has prided itself on being at the forefront of marketing technology and has fully embraced artificial intelligence. Dept employs 400 specialists across five continents, and this unit enabled 30% of Dept’s 2022 revenue.

Dept’s work varies significantly from client to client, but its innovative use of technology is often the common throughline in the work. It’s used AI to aid the teaching of American Sign Language and helped design more visually appealing charging ports for Audi.

How it’s building a better agency: “This year, our relentless focus on clients combined with some major investments in new technologies and methodologies, brings unparalleled value to our clients, helping them move faster, automate and future-proof their growth,” said Dimi Albers, global CEO. “Culturally, our unwavering commitment has been to strive to use technology and marketing as a force for good. As a globally certified B-Corp company, we’re actively delivering work that pushes our teams and clients in that direction.”

FCB

At 150 years old, FCB clocks in not as an agency scrapping to get by but one that is adding to its already impressive list of clients with Pfizer, Budweiser, QuickBooks, Danone and more signing on with FCB over the past year. The agency invests heavily in inclusion programs for its workforce, maintaining that inclusion is a three-legged stool consisting of the workforce, workplace and the work. If any of those three legs are off, the agency is out of balance. It has grown partnerships with the Black Executive CMO Alliance and The Cannes Can: Diversity Collective by sponsoring its Inkwell Beach in Cannes.

FCB delivered some of the best purpose-driven work in the world last year with campaigns such as Adidas’ “Runner 321,” which makes marathons more inclusive for runners with Down syndrome, Michelob Ultra, “Dreamcaster,” a campaign that helped a blind fan call in an NBA game, “TR For Teacher,” which shined a light on teaching as an undervalued profession in India, and Budweiser’s “The Billboard Is Yours To Take,” which called out gender inequality at one of the U.K.’s biggest award shows.

How it’s building a better agency: “FCB has thrived over the past 150 years because of our belief in the economic power of creativity. Fundamentally, we believe we are a product company and that everything we do is designed to create exceptional work that creates timeless brands and actives the business in a timely way,” said Tyler Turnbull, global CEO. “Building a better FCB is as much about what you say ‘yes’ to as what you decline. Across the company, we empower our leadership teams to stand up for our people, work and business. As a result, we have found clients who believe, as we do, that creativity drives exceptional growth and that true partnership means that when one side wins, we all win—creatively, reputationally and financially.”

Gut

On the other end of the longevity spectrum sits Gut, which formed in 2018, but has already opened seven offices across three continents. The indie network is investing in its next era of growth as the agency went from being founder-led behind Anselmo Ramos and Gaston Bigio to CEO-led with the hiring of Andrea Diquez as its first global CEO. She also brought in Sandra Alfaro as the U.S. president for the shop—both coming to the agency from DDB.

The agency’s rapid expansion is fueled by pushing its clients to be braver. In Brazil, the agency initiated a deal for Mercado Livre to sell the country’s constitution after protestors stormed its federal government buildings. In Argentina, the agency created a push notification for food delivery company Pedidos Ya to track the World Cup trophy’s trip to Argentina. The Miami office redesigned the cream cheese bagel for Philadelphia Cream Cheese to highlight New York’s absurd tax on cream cheese bagels.

How it’s building a better agency: “We believe data is nothing without intuition. Deep down, your gut already knows what you don’t. You just need to stop and listen to it because your gut doesn’t shout—it whispers,” said Anselmo Ramos, co-founder and creative chairman. “An intuitive agency is faster, fresher, and more original. Ultimately, intuition can take you to places you’ve never even imagined.”

Leo Burnett

When working with a global client like McDonald’s, it’s a home run for an agency when it creates a brand platform that can be translated and reproduced across the globe. Leo Burnett succeeded in that with the “Raise Your Arches” spot, which has been reshot for dozens of countries worldwide. Also for McDonald’s, Leo Burnett developed the “Unbranded Menu” to show off how food in video games looks oddly a lot like McDonald’s items. On top of the McD’s work, Leo Burnett produced strong campaigns in India to recreate the 1983 Cricket World Cup for Airtel, while it also started a movement to #BringBack2011 for Oreo to celebrate the last time India won the Cricket World Cup.

A strong new business year also backs its bevy of breakthrough campaigns, as the Publicis-owned agency won Dunkin’ and several Beam Suntory brands in the U.S., Morrison’s in the U.K. and Ikea in India.

“We prioritize people, not ads. It’s as simple as that,” says Chaka Sobhani, Leo Burnett’s global chief creative officer. “We have a responsibility to authentically reflect the communities we serve. Through initiatives and programs like Inclusivity Product Council in the U.S., and The Everyone Way in the U.K. (a partnership with Diversity Standards Collective and The Unmistakables), we continuously push the creative boundaries at the intersection of creativity, kindness and inclusivity.”

Ogilvy

Ogilvy invested in creative leadership over the past several years, bringing in Liz Taylor, Chris Beresford-Hill and Samira Ansari to lead the organization globally, in North America and New York, respectively. It has paid off with one of the most impressive new business streaks in the industry dating back to 2021, when Ogilvy helped win Coca-Cola in a holding company pitch. The agency has since followed it up with H&R Block, Jameson, SC Johnson and Verizon over the past year.

The work stacks up well, too. Ogilvy has experimented with AI for Coca-Cola to create eye-catching 3D billboards, delivered Workday’s first Super Bowl spot featuring a number of iconic rock stars, reimagined how people watch The Masters for IBM, and nailed a campaign that celebrates the insight that Ikea furniture is the second-best furniture for babies behind only their parents.

How it’s building a better agency: “A ruthless obsession for our clients, our creative product that we produce for them, and our people behind it all,” said Devika Bulchandani, global CEO.