A blog for the New Zealand creative advertising industry, now at www.campaignbrief.com/nz. Email news to: michael@campaignbrief.com

Monday, February 25, 2008

CB AGENCY OF THE YEAR: DDB DOES THE DOUBLE


DDB has won Campaign Brief Agency of the Year on both sides of the Tasman with both Sydney and Auckland putting in a stellar effort in 2007 resulting in a great range of work across a multitude of clients. Work that will probably go on to win awards this year, if not already done so in 2007.
Says Marty O’Halloran, chairman and CEO, Australia and New Zealand: "While I have great Managing Directors in both Sydney (Chris Brown) and Auckland (Sandy Moore), both Toby (Talbot) and Matt (Eastwood) report directly to me. Creativity is one of my passions and this is a strong signal to the network that creative excellence is DDB’s number one focus. Too many CEO’s focus on profit at the expense of the creative product. We deliberately focus on creative over and above profit. Maybe that’s why we are so profitable!"
Says DDB New Zealand executive CD, Toby Talbot: "It's been a real year of transition for DDB. If you'd asked me who was going to win Agency of the Year when I started at the end of January last year, I wouldn't have picked us to be honest. We still had a long way to go. But we won Lotteries, we hired some great new people and we became a much tighter, more focused agency. All the shit we copped on the Blog really helped too. Deep down, we've all been determined to prove those anonymous tossers wrong.
"But I guess if I was going to put it down to one thing it would have to be Marty. Matt and I owe him a huge gratitude for supporting all the changes we've made and making stuff happen fast. If there's anyone who's more excited about winning AOY than Matt and I, it would be him. Marty just loves creativity and understands how important it is to an agency's culture. You can't ask for more than that in a boss."
Adds Matt Eastwood, ECD of DDB Australia: "It's extremely exciting to win Agency of the Year in both Australia and New Zealand. Ever since both Toby and I arrived at DDB, we've tried to focus on nothing but the work. Walk the walk, if you will. Each of us quietly went about rebuilding our departments, with a renewed focus on award-winning work. And it paid off. In Sydney, the team is incredible. Each and every one of the creative department contributed to this win. But there's no secret, they simply worked incredibly hard, totally dedicated to the quality of our output. I'm very proud."


The same AOY issue also includes the annual Agency Creativity/Billings Charts (better known as the Hot+Cold Charts) for Australia and New Zealand.
To subscribe to CB, contact: ginny@campaignbrief.com

27 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Excellent - very much deserved. Well done DDB

2:29 pm NZDT

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

2.29 - So Sandy can blog - way to go!

6:05 pm NZDT

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

And you would be...let me guess...from DDB?

7:29 pm NZDT

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'd rather be an 'anonymous tosser' than a big English tosser in a small Antipodean pond.

8:53 am NZDT

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

@8:34 - "bloggers don't know shit" is a double negative - which kinda means bloggers know everything.

9:24 am NZDT

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I don't want to sound snakey, but the agency of the year rightly goes to DDB in NZ but in Sydney it seems that all their half decent work has been done for fringe magazines, award school meets, dodgy citizens rights' groups for road safety, and hasbro POS that feels really suss as to whether or not it's ever ran. In my humble opinion, well done DDB NZ, although I have a question mark over whether or not DDB Sydney is the new Saatchis Singapore in terms of scam work.

10:06 am NZDT

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I tend not to talk about myself in third person, so no I'm certainly not working for DDB, although they have done some work for my company in the past.

It is so obvious that a lot of the people on here are crazily insecure and bitter, so much so that it's clouding their judgement. Sad. I can simply appreciate good work and a good agency (the best, in fact, according to CB). This is only my second, and final comment on this piece of shit blog. Later, losers. I'll leave you to squabble amongst yourselves.

11:05 am NZDT

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Who won last year?

11:33 am NZDT

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

WTF???!!! Does Lynchy know about this? Where was he when this was happening?

12:24 pm NZDT

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

No one thinks TBWA should of got it?

6:29 pm NZDT

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

6:29 - Is that you Andy?

9:34 am NZDT

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm in no position to say this, but here goes: There is nothing radical, life-changing, nor genre-redefining in the work presented here.

Why do we continue to covert a style of advertising that in reality has changed very little in the past 30 years?

In terms of work, the gulf between the number one ad agency and the one in, say, number 15 is very little. There is a relative sameness that is common to all.

And before anyone says "Just fucking leave advertising", or "You're just fucking bitter", take a good, hard look at the work. None of it represents big thinking.

To misquote Trent Reznor, "What has advertising become?"

10:55 pm NZDT

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ha! ha! No more posts. Our agency rules.......the blog! So watch what you say kids, or someone from here will get you.

9:20 am NZDT

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

p.s. Leave advertising, coz you're just bitter

10:33 am NZDT

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

They didn't sound bitter. More like telling it the way it is and the way things will be.

1:28 pm NZDT

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Shut up dick. So what, now they're Nostradamus as well as defilers of the mighty Trent's name? This is the most unholy of blasphemery and I think you should all just lay off the crack until such time as you have something worthwhile to say. Which, it would seem, will probably be never.

4:19 pm NZDT

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

6:29, I think TBWA should have got it. At least that's an agency that did do well at Cannes and Axis.

Maybe Bloody needs to get better with the old press releases and boozy schoomzy.

9:10 pm NZDT

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Haha, DDB won, good on them (us), congrats to everyone else for doing some great work over the past year and shame on those who are obviously bitter and lonely, probably miserable with their jobs, no doubt living with their mum and lacking in any type of penetration. Y'all need to grow up and get a life.

Happy Saturday :)

Rock on DDB

5:01 pm NZDT

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

No one's bitter, maybe just you 5.58. Everyone's just wondering what you did that no one else did. Everyone else got more awards for a start. We all won new bus. And none of us have old men living off other people's past glories...nothing rocks about that. So not bitter, just glad we're not you, you poor devils.

6:02 pm NZDT

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well done to DDB. They've obviously done some good work, won some business and dealt with a difficult year (in terms of personnel changes).

But seriously, TBWA won two Grand Prix at Cannes. In the same year. Only the second agency in the world (after Crispin Porter) to achieve that. And Best in Show at AXIS. Along with a couple of good wins. If that doesn't win you AOTY what exactly do you have to do?

11:37 am NZDT

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wonder what the Admedia boys and girls are thinking?

3:08 pm NZDT

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey what = fantapants? a blonde at my old agency use to call me that. should i bash her?

8:13 pm NZDT

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

There's only one person round here with ginga pubes...

4:19 pm NZDT

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yes, bash her. Bash her good. Let all that fiery gurnard rage out.

But in the end, you'll still hate yourself.

1:12 pm NZDT

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dunno who you're talking about 1.12 but the only Fantapants the rest of us know is a bloke.

2:22 pm NZDT

 
Blogger CB said...

11.37... The two Grand Prix (Adidas 'Bonded by Blood' and Pago 'Digital Wallet') won by TBWA\Whybin, Auckland last year was for work created in 2006, not 2007. In 2006 Saatchi & Saatchi, Auckland won the title based on a much greater range of work across all their clients.

1:13 am NZDT

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

10:55...so agree! Although its not an issue of 'what advertising has become' it's more of an issue of 'what it hasn't become' ...yet. Give it time, we're a little ol place.

9:43 am NZDT

 

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