Thursday, January 22, 2009
One question.
Ad Age published their Agency A-List and I saw that W+K wasn’t on it. While I don’t cover employee firings or agency wins and losses, this one seemed like a no-brainer. That’s like passing over Kobe for Darko Milicic.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
11 comments:
i agree. they could be giving the grades for pete's sake.
w+k wasn't on the a-list or the 10 runners-up list. something is amiss.
I was under the impression it had to do with agencies that are moving forward and demonstrating it with new business wins and reinvention. It was not a great year in that regard for W+K, despite the fact that their work is still of the highest caliber. The place did awful for Starbucks, losing/resigning the account. Their relationship with Nike appears rocky at times, as other agencies are picking up assignments. They even seemed to struggle in the recruitment area. Plus, they admit to being behind the times in the digital arena. Again, they're way better than the average joint. But they don't seem to be breaking new ground.
@Anonymous - Totally with you on that. Don’t get me wrong, I know several people at a lot of the shops on the list, and many are deserving of the recognition. But, W+K aren’t the only ones on the list suffering client losses.
(Nike to me was a typical move by the new age of Rock Star marketing directors brand side trying to shake things up more than W+K blowing it imo. Starbuck’s has lost it’s identity, and that, well, no agency can help, much like the task Crispin has at hand with the perception of MS in the marketplace.)
Sure creative may not be the only criteria for Ad Age here, but stuff like that Michael Mann Nike spot earlier in the year would be enough to carry any agency for a few years, not to mention ‘Fate’ with LT and Polamalu.
Then there’s Coke Super Bowl balloons last year while Pepsi still tries more of the same tactics as a brand they’ve always done. While the soda category is taking a hit across the board, Coke at least has been consistent in its messaging. Old Spice stuff which I love was as funny as any BK/whopper stuff.
As for the internet thing, it’s hard to compare what any general agency can do on that front when going up against a changing dynamic of an Akqa or Barbarian Group, shops that stepped out of the shadows and are making names for themselves in the space. (BG’s work for Radiohead alone is amazing.)
Still, while a few places like Modernista, HRP, Akqa, etc., got props for their websites earlier this year, W+K’s new site with the tag cloud word trees thing is pretty damn cool.
Sounds like I'm going overboard and defending them but, I hafta say wtf when I see Edelman and all their miscues in the online space making a runner-up list over them. Nike left Crispin to go back there as well, plus, they’re the only significant global agency that hasn’t yet sold out to a major holding company.
Here's a litmus for the arguement though: Ask every agency among the 20 there if W+K should be included. Pretty sure most would feel uncomfortable being on a list without them there.
Well, you have to start by putting it all into perspective. A few years ago, Ad Age was primed to name Draftfcb as Agency of the Year. Then the Julie Roehm fiasco exploded, Draftfcb lost the Walmart account before it could even begin work, and Ad Age pulled the nomination entirely. In short, a nod from Ad Age doesn’t mean shit. Like any other award show, it’s rooted in politics and nonsense, regardless of the publication’s allegedly unique rating system. Ad Age seems intent on trying to spot the next big thing, yet they rarely succeed in doing so. The “judges” are routinely swayed by agencies’ PR and personalities. No one seems to notice or care because Ad Age literally has no legitimate competition.
That said, W+K is not doing well on the Web. An agency website does not translate to an agency’s ability to create advertising in the digital space. Crispin is constantly doing interesting stuff online. Goodby has also dedicated and reinvented itself to create digital solutions. Don’t compare W+K to the Barbarian Group. Compare them to their advertising agency peers. Dan Wieden went on record admitting they’re lacking. They opened the door for places like R/GA to produce Nike work. Also, Goodby has done a lot of Nike advertising that is more memorable than W+K recent efforts.
Again, it really boils down to the source and meaning of the award. It’s like being told your spot made Bob Garfield’s Top Ten List. Whoop-dee-damn doo. It’s not a One Show Pencil of Cannes Lion (things that W+K will likely pick up in the year). It’s not even as prestigious as making the CA annuals. W+K has always been an outsider of sorts in the industry, refusing to do things like join the 4As. They’re not even part of the big networks, remaining independent. The Ad Age award is like being part of the club, and W+K has always steered clear of such things.
Agree on the relevance of who’s giving the awards.
As for digital, sure, an agency site isn’t the same as client work, but this isn’t an agency who doesn’t know how to connect with people, something that transcends tactics.
As for comparing apples and oranges, that’s the thing though, digital shops like Akqa are on that list, I wouldn’t have put them there per se, (certainly not Edleman). The dynamic is changing for all of them, where once Crispin would hire BG to do stuff and remain in the shadows, well, not no more. The digital shops now want to prove they can run a brand too. (Problem there is that clients love their Parker BDAs and have a hard time trusting their brand to what they only perceive is a digital shop.)
Still, when I do compare them to other shops, I go back to creative. No other shop on that list is so far ahead of what W+K has done in the last year or so to warrant not even a mention there.
Again, think about the source. Edelman made the short list. What is Edelman? A PR firm. And one that obviously spends as much time generating self-hype as client-paid hype. The paper trail for their making the short list is probably attached to receipts for dinners and drinks with Ad Age reps.
You're giving agencies like Crispin and Goodby too little credit in the digital area. If it was simply a matter of outsourcing, wouldn't every agency be kicking ass on the Web? Most BDAs are not even qualified to hire a digital shop. let alone collaborate with or direct one.
On the flipside, don't be so quick to blame the BDAs for digital shops' inability to land branding assignments. Most digital shops, including the ones who made this silly list, are closer to being production studios versus conceptual enterprises. And yeah, it could certainly be argued that a lot of BDAs are barely conceptual enterprises these days. Still, the digital shops are staffed to produce - quickly, efficiently and cheaply.
Hope I’m not giving CP+B or Goodby too little credit, wasn’t my intention or point. (I’ve mentioned a lot of their digital stuff here before and gave it props as well as the thinking behind it.) That comment is directed at the other side of the equation and places like BG, shops who don’t want to be perceived as just being that extra pair of production hands while the larger traditional agencies take all the credit. (Something that happened with a major digital shop and BDA shop last year at Cannes and I totally forget the names.)
Hmmm, not sure I blamed BDAs for small digitals’ shortcomings? (Although it may have read that way.) To reiterate, clients have a hard time entrusting their brand to smaller shops and digital wannabes because of what they’re used to in terms of account services/creative/etc., something BDAs have in spades.
I'd agree though that many digital shops aren’t ready for the role of handling a Fortune 100 or even 500 brand, just as many BDAs barely understand search. For every Akqa, r/ga, Barbarian, 72andSunny, etc., there are hundreds of others who have limited experience beyond the digital realm.
(Just to add to that last part)
Many of the digitals that think they can handle it believe that people only live online now, and that their only contact with a brand is through Google, and that nothing else matters.)
And your last point is another major reason why digital shops don't get branding work.
Plus, I think it was BBDO and Big Spaceship at Cannes.
That’s it, Big Spaceship.
Post a Comment