New Commercial Arts: Game-changing

It's obvious that any reflection on New Commercial Arts' (NCA) year must start with its acquisition by WPP and the agency becoming a key component within Ogilvy's global creative network.

As well as marking what looks like an early sale for the four-year old NCA (and the second such deal by its founders David Golding and James Murphy), Murphy became CEO of Ogilvy UK. 

In an interview with Creative Salon earlier this year, Ogilvy’s global CEO Devika Bulchandani described how NCA shares her “belief and ambition of re-architecting and reimagining the industry” - characteristics the network will look to further utilise. 

But despite the takeover being the culmination of the agency’s 2024 - and its biggest talking point - NCA also produced some of its best work to date. It pulled out all the stops this year for Sainsbury's Christmas ad for which it created a large-scale production embracing Roald Dahl’s BFG, a voiceover by Stephen Fry, and a soundtrack recorded with a 54-piece orchestra at Abbey Road Studios.

Hannah White, managing director, tells us about the game-changing year.

Hannah White, MD of NCA, on the agency's 2024

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

Well of course joining the Ogilvy family was a hugely exciting moment for our agency. This year was a big creative step for NCA. We brought the beloved BFG back to life for Sainsbury’s in our phizz-whizzing Christmas campaign.

Our Nationwide ads continue to garner much love from the public - so much so that one woman in West Sussex sent us her sketches for the next ad. We created some iconic collabs for Nando’s - launching PERi-PERi Saka sauce and partnering with Lime bikes to bring back ‘Mango & Lime’ sauce.

Dame Judi was back bigger and better than ever for MoneySuperMarket (and our meeting room, named after her still confuses people on Teams). And finally, Alzheimer’s Society’s ‘The Long Goodbye’ sparked a national conversation and increased donations by 200 per cent.

What is your proudest achievement from the last 12 months?

Keeping our incredible people – we have the lowest turnover rate of any UK agency. 

What are you most looking forward to next year?

Working with our friends at Ogilvy and all the incredible capabilities they bring, whether that’s PR, social, influence, behavioural science, the list goes on.  

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

New business this year seemed to be high frequency, low value pitching, which still commands a lot of agency investment. With political/economic uncertainty, the market has continued to feel slightly unsure of itself.

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

 AI has certainly had a profound impact on certain elements of the process – take creative development; ideas we agonised over visualising before, are created in mere moments. But crucially, AI is visualising the ideas we’ve already come up with – I haven’t seen AI start to rival us in emotionally impactful, original ideas… Yet.  

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

More fun and celebration of the work and what we do, less ‘The industry’s dead’. 

Creative Salon on NCA's 2024

Aside from its changes in ownership and leadership, which also saw the spoils of the sale shared among co-founders Ian Heartfield and Rob Curran chief production officer Matt Craigie, artistic director Nici Hofer, and Carolyn Henry and Ian King, the owners of King Henry Studio, NCA had a powerful creative year. It's clear why WPP came knocking. 

Its work with Nationwide saw Dominic West return in the role of the ‘bad CEO’ on three different occasions as a part of its on-going ‘Good Way to Bank’ campaign. ‘Savings Watch’ highlighted how customers can make the most of their savings; ‘Fairer Share’ educated audiences on its ‘Fairer Share Payment’ scheme; and ‘Mist Me’ targeted Gen Z in offering them a financial service that does right by them. 

‘The Long Goodbye’ with charity Alzheimer’s Society told a story that brings to life the devastating reality that with dementia you don’t just die once, you die again and again and again.

This year's summer of sport also gave NCA the opportunity to exercise its creative muscles on behalf of Nando's. With the Euros front of the nation's mind ‘Peri-Peri Saka’ marked the introduction of a limited edition sauce created by England and Arsenal footballer Bukayo Saka. The NCA film ‘Yes Chef’ got audiences talking about the new sauce.

The sporting links didn’t stop there; NCA's work with Battersea, which provides care for dogs and cats, celebrated both the European Championships and Wimbledon with a series of ads linking the sporting events to the effort, expertise and care Battersea provides for every dog and cat. 

Its work with supermarket giant Sainsbury’s saw the third instalment of its ‘Good Food For All Of Us’ brand promise and ‘Hey Sainsbury’s’ campaign which featured a celebrity cameo from presenter Clare Balding. Its ‘Spring Fresh’ ad saw Sainsbury’s staff making suggestions about fresh seasonal produce and sharing seasonal meal ideas.

Dame Judi Dench also returned in her leading role for MoneySuperMarket to spread the word about its rewards programme, the SuperSaveClub. The James Bond-esque ad was the third in its series, shot by acclaimed film director John Madden (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Shakespeare in Love). It tackled the brand’s aim to help customers during the cost of living crisis - especially how to save money for the future. 

Creative Salon says...  Under the Ogilvy umbrella, the NCA proposition has got even bigger than its original (and successful) proposition based around tackling all aspects of of brand advertising and CX. The ability for some clients to tap into Ogilvy's existing expertise in PR, Health, CRM and Consultancy practices will make it more interesting still.

Equally, Ogilvy has bagged a prized creative asset and some rare talent indeed. David Golding and James Murphy have run some of the best agencies in the world, and have been fêted with the world's biggest gongs. They are ready for yet another fresh and exciting challenge. Time for more clients looking to use their broader capabilities now on offer? We wouldn't bet against it.