BBH London Zags While Others Zig

BBH has always been about its work. Remaining consistent with its reputation, the agency started the year by rekindling its relationship with ice cream giant Häagen -Dazs while producing stand-out work for the long-standing client Burger King, including around ‘Foodfilment’ - a new brand platform that explored the ultimate feeling of total food satisfaction, making a sizeable dent in culture. And no surprise that the agency's year was bookended by a spectacular Christmas ad for Tesco. This year's beautifully crafted standout creative for the retailer swapped humour for an emotive, gingerbread-themed campaign designed to tug on the heartstrings.

It’s almost impossible to consider the 2024 marketing year through anything other than through the AI lens. BBH - an agency steeped in legacy of creative excellence - under the sure-footed leadership of its CEO Karen Martin is facing this AI future with confidence. This year it used AI to create The Zig Index - a unique tool that measures similarities and differences between sectors and brands and give creatives and marketers the tools to inject zags into their brands and bounce back from boring.

Creative Salon spoke with CEO Karen Martin about the agency's year.

Karen Martin, CEO, on the agency's 2024

What have been the major highlights for your business in 2024?

In 2024, we doubled down on our commitment to Zag and teamed that with a renewed focus on conviction. The refocus worked, as we proudly delivered some of the industry’s most talked about and effective campaigns.

It was another big year for Tesco, from the much discussed ICONS, where we ripped up the out of home rulebook, to the emotional, gingerbread-packed festive campaign, which helped feed the nation’s Christmas spirit. 

We launched F&F Home with an eye-catching couture meets crockery crossover, created a brand refresh for Tesco Mobile and gave the iconic meal deal the spotlight it deserves (mine’s a ham and cheese sandwich, salt and vinegar Discos and sparkling water, by the way).

Tesco’s retail adjusted operating profit was up by 10 per cent.

For Burger King, we launched ‘Foodfillment’, a new brand platform that explored the ultimate feeling of total food satisfaction and made a sizable dent in culture. 

‘Bundles of Joy’ featured real images of mums who chose to chow down on a Whopper moments after giving birth. The conversation around the campaign caught fire, with weeks’ worth of (gender divided) discourse that garnered national headlines from the likes of Daily Mail, Independent and The Mirror.

We also made our mark on the year’s sporting events, taking over the Olympics with Samsung’s Openness Medal, launching Paddy Power’s Ballon D’Art at the World Dart Championship and scoring at the Euro’s with the Danny Dyer-fronted ‘Europe’s Favourites’, named the tournament’s most effective ad by System1.

So the work was banging, and business was pretty good too - BBH enjoyed a 9.5 per cent uptick in revenue

What is your proudest achievement from the last 12 months?

Bringing Häagen-Dazs back home to BBH and, in the process, reigniting one of the industry’s most ground-breaking creative partnerships was pretty special.

The brand has a unique place in the creative legacy of BBH and getting the chance to recouple for a new era is a rare opportunity.

Being named Creative Circle’s agency of the year, surrounded by loads of brilliant Black Sheep in Costa Del Margate, was a nice moment too.

What are you most looking forward to next year?

More creative conviction.

What do you feel have been the greatest industry challenges for agencies this year and why?

Using creativity to solve business problems, we all need to remain committed to it. Great work is hard work but the most rewarding thing for both clients and agencies, let’s keep going.

Has the addition of any AI solution made the profound impact on your business that was expected? If so – what?

Publicis Groupe is investing heavily in AI tools and partnerships, allowing BBH to experiment with AI in a safe environment, which is hugely exciting. We're in constant dialogue with our clients, examining use cases for all forms of AI across their needs. 

We also used AI this year to create The Zig Index - BBH’s way of formalising cliches in a category, so we can Zag against them. What once was subjective and internal is now a more objective shared process with clients.

What one change would you most like to see take place in the ad industry next year?

More generosity. It can sometimes feel trite to talk about generosity and kindness in an industry, and world, that often lacks both, but it’s more important than ever. Celebrate your competitor when they’ve made a cracking ad, loudly share in your team's successes and keep creating opportunities for those around you.

Creative Salon on BBH London’s 2024

BBH London kicked off 2024 with a business win which saw them return as the creative agency for ice cream giant Häagen-Dazs. The pair previously worked together in the 90s in a ground-breaking partnership that saw, in its first year, Haagen-Dazs achieve a 398 per cent rise in annual sales. 

New appointments for the agency saw Liam Thomas brought in as head of design from Grey London, Miguel Sousa as design director - having previously worked for the likes of Ogilvy and Mother. It further bolstered its creative department in the hiring of Jon Chapman as creative head of health team, joining from Leith where he was executive creative director. 

The year’s campaigns for BBH London hit the ground running with its first work for 2024 with Burger King. Drawing attention to the fast food chain’s delivery services, ‘Climbing’ and ‘Surgery’ showcased its famed burgers being eaten in atypical situations. 

Its work with Burger King also produced its strategy on ‘Foodfillment’ earlier in the year which highlighted it is the ultimate destination for the feeling of satisfaction. In September they expanded on this work, using mothers who had just given birth with its ‘Bundle of Joy’ campaign celebrate the enjoyment new mums get out of their first post-birth meal. 

Another stand out piece of creativity from BBH was its work with Tesco on its ‘Icons’ out of home (OOH) campaign. The work swapped out the supermarket’s famed logo for its produce - the first letters for each item spelling ‘Tesco’. The brand, together with BBH, were making a stand for quality food - quite literally. 

This wasn’t its only work with the supermarket. Consumers also saw a celebration of the brand’s iconic meal deal that had new product offerings that included improved ingredients. The aim of the work highlighted the UK’s universal love for a bargain meal, with ‘Your Best Combo, Made Better’.

Its work for Barclays played with humour which saw seven-year-old children behaving like adults in ‘Make Money Work For You, Kids World’. The campaign explored the nation’s relationship with money and how that begins just aged seven.

And in recognition of her prominent industry reputation as an agency leader, Karen Martin has been named by the IPA as its president-elect to succeed Josh Krichefski from March.

Paul Bainsfair, director general of the IPA, says of the appointment: "I am very much looking forward to working with Karen to ensure the IPA remains the power behind the practitioners. She is already a member of IPA Council and is well versed in our initiatives and activities and can help us focus on what is important over the next two years.”

Creative Salon says... Under the watchful eye of leader Karen Martin, BBH London is an agency that continues to produce work that is diverse, eye-catching and altogether brilliant.

With a year filled with momentum and energy for more creative success, Creative Salon looks forward to BBH’s 2025 - one sure to continue where its left off, leaving no creative stone unturned.