DDB Worldwide
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DDB Worldwide Communications Group Inc, a part of Omnicom Group Inc., is the advertising agency company with highest revenue in the world at US$12.69 billion, according to Advertising Age's agency rankings (April 2008)[1]. DDB is also cited as one of the leading creative agencies in the world by The Gunn Report (November 2007), The International Advertising Festival (June 2008), Campaign (November 2007), and Businessweek (February 2008). It has more than 200 offices in over 90 countries.
The DDB network serves a range of multinational clients, among them McDonald’s, Volkswagen, Royal Philips Electronics, Clorox, Anheuser-Busch, Johnson & Johnson, Henkel and ExxonMobil. DDB offers a range of services from traditional advertising to direct marketing, sales promotion, strategic consulting and digital marketing, through such business units as Rapp Collins, TracyLocke and Tribal DDB.
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[edit] History
DDB was founded June 1, 1949, by James "Ned" Doyle, Maxwell (Mac) Dane, and William Bernbach as Doyle Dane Bernbach.
When the agency opened, it had a staff of 14, including Phyllis K. Robinson (who had previously worked with Ned Doyle at Grey Advertising), who was named 'Copy Chief'. Bill Bernbach is often credited with starting what came to be known in advertising circles as the Creative Revolution - primarily because of his previously unknown policy of creating creative teams consisting of both copywriter and art director. Prior to this, writers were chiefly responsible for creating the advertisements, who then handed their copy off to the art director, who would create the layout for the ad independently. With the closer integration of the art director, the ads themselves were able to become bolder, and with larger, more dramatic concepts.
DDB's "Daisy" ad is considered a factor in Lyndon B. Johnson's defeat of Barry Goldwater in the 1964 presidential election[2] and landed Maxwell Dane on Nixon's Enemies List.
Notable output from DDB included 1959's "Think Small" Volkswagen advertisements, which was voted the No. 1 campaign of all time in Advertising Age’s 1999 “The Century of Advertising."[3] DDB was the only agency to appear twice in the top ten; their 1963 campaign for Avis ("We Try Harder") was ranked tenth. In the 1970s, DDB also produced the "Mikey" ad for Life cereal, and the series of Polaroid One-Step Camera ads featuring the affectionate banter of James Garner and Mariette Hartley.
In 1986 DDB merged with Needham Harper Worldwide to form DDB Needham Worldwide, and in 1999 shortened its name to DDB Worldwide. (Needham Harper had done the 5th-ranked ad campaign of the century, McDonald’s “You Deserve a Break Today.”) Needham Harper's former CEO Keith Reinhard became the chairman and CEO of DDB, a position he held until 2002.
Recent work includes "Energizer" by DDB South Africa, "Whassup" and "Real Men of Genius" for Anheuser Busch, "shaveeverywhere.com" by Tribal DDB and DDB for Philips and "Monopoly Live" by DDB and Tribal DDB.
[edit] Industry recognition
In 1998 and 2006 DDB was named Global Agency Network of the Year by Advertising Age. Adweek trade magazine named DDB Worldwide its Global Agency of the Year in 2005 and 2006. DDB was recognized as the Most Awarded Agency Network in the World for 2004 by the Gunn Report and the most awarded agency network in the world according to Creativity magazine in 2006.
Tribal DDB was named Interactive Agency of the Year by Adweek magazine in 2006. In 2008 Tribal DDB was named Global Network of the Year by Advertising Age.
In 2007 and 2008 DDB ranked second at the International Advertising Festival Cannes in terms of overall awards.
At the 52nd International Advertising Festival in Cannes, DDB Worldwide won 44 Lions, including the Cyber Grand Prix for online advertising created by DDB Brasil on behalf of its Henkel client, and the first Grand Prix in Radio that was awarded to DDB Chicago for the “Real Men of Genius” Bud Light campaign for client Anheuser-Busch.
In 2003 DDB had won more Grand Prix awards during the competition’s 50-year history than any other agency. In 2004 DDB offices won the most awards in the film, press and outdoor categories at the International Advertising Festival. DDB London won the Press & Poster Grand Prix for Volkswagen “Cops”. In 2001, 2002, and 2003 DDB won more awards than any other network in the film category.The network received 34 awards, including the Grand Prix in print, and tied for the most awards won overall by an agency network.
DDB won 516 Cannes Lions between 1990 and 2008. In 1998 and 1999 at Cannes, DM9DDB, São Paulo, was named “Agency of the Year”, and in a special festival event, the 1963 Volkswagen spot “Snowplow” was named “Best Commercial of the Century.”
At the annual Clio Awards in 1999 and 2001 to 2004 DDB was named the Agency Network of the Year. In 2004 DDB Chicago’s “Real Men of Genius” campaign for Anheuser-Busch won the Grand Clio in Radio for the second time. The campaign also won the first Grand Prix in radio at Cannes.
In 2005 and 2006 The Gunn Report acknowledged DDB Europe as the premier network in the region, and named DDB London the Most Awarded Agency in the World.
DDB runs a global training organization called Catalyst.
[edit] References
- ^ Advertising Age's AGENCY FAMILY TREES 2008
- ^ http://www.conelrad.com/daisy/daisy3.php
- ^ http://www.weshow.com/top10/en/advertising/top-10-best-american-advertising-campaigns-of-the-20th-century
[edit] External links
- Official site of DDB
- Site of Tribal DDB, the interactive agency of DDB Worldwide
- DDB's creative work and company info
