TBWA\London: Hitting New Highs And Ready For More

2024 has been a strong year of growth for TBWA\London - both in terms of evolving its internal structures and propelling its creative output. With entertaining and engaging work for the likes of McVitie's, Adidas and Nissan, the agency's campaigns packed more of a punch than ever; CCO Andy Jex has been on top form.

Alongside new talent and new business, TBWA\London's momentum under CEO Larissa Vince's continues apace. Here she discusses the agency’s successes in 2024.

CEO Larissa Vince On TBWA's 2024

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

2024 has been TBWA\London’s most successful year since 2007 - in terms of both growth and creative output. We’ve actually grown by more than a third in the last two years. And in a market where many agencies are having a horribly tough time, that’s testament to the quality and hard work of our whole team.

It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in, the quality of your product is paramount to success. Our creative work has been brilliant this year – from a properly attitude-laced campaign for Jaffa, to a star-studded Euros film for Adidas, to Starbucks’ first Christmas ad for years and years.

Every person in our agency knows they are here to elevate the quality of our work for clients, and that’s showing in the work we are making.

And we’ve grown our business with new clients, becoming Starbucks’ agency across EMEA, and winning the Sunlife and Histallay accounts.

What is your proudest achievement from the last 12 months?

TBWA\London being back where it belongs.

What are you most looking forward to next year?

The momentum we’ve built carrying on – it’s such a great feeling to be on a bit of a roll. And as always, the work – the launch of a new brand platform for Starbucks, a campaign with Sunlife to reframe how people see “old age”, and continuing to transform McVitie’s iconicity are making me particularly excited right now.

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

I went to a dinner this year where some agency CEOs were saying we should ban the word 'creativity'. The industry's greatest challenge is that it seems to have forgotten the incredible value that creativity and original ideas bring to brands.

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

TBWA has developed some great AI tools, like the Disruption Index, which are new strings to our bow in accelerating human creativity. But profound? Not yet, if I’m honest.

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

More time to have fun.

Creative Salon on TBWA\London's 2024

2024 proved to be a further year of advancement for TBWA\London. Its year started off on the back of the hiring of Laura Kirkby-Jones as strategy partner in late 2023, and the appointments continued throughout the year. The experienced Raquel Chicourel joined as chief strategy officer, with a range of experience from the likes of M&C Saatchi and Grey London; James Faupel joined as head of production, bringing experience from leading roles at Mother, 4Creative and Uncommon; Jesper Norgaard became strategy director, joining from Grey London where he held the same role; and Matt Swinburne joined as creative director, from Colenso BBDO in New Zealand where he was group creative director. 

It wasn't just the headcount that grew - the agency also landed the hayfever tacklers Histallay account, specialising in non-drowsy antihistamines, and Sunlife - a financial services company that provides tailored advice, life insurance policies and peace of mind for over-50s.

Despite its changes across the year, that didn’t stop TBWA\London from producing a range of eye-catching, engaging campaigns with heavy doses of humour.

Its work with Jaffa Cakes looked to end the historical debate: is it a biscuit or a cake? The out-of-home work cleverly engaged audiences with a two-part billboard, one stating: “Stand here if you think it’s a cake”, and the other with: “Stand here if you’re an idiot”. Other OOH work include text that reads: “We’re a cake, you biscuit”, “Say ‘biscuit’ one more time, we dare you” and “Clue’s on the box, bruv” with an arrow pointing directly to the word ‘cake’ on the pack. 

Its Nissan Qashqai campaign took the car manufacturer to eye-catching new heights by placing a car on a chimney in a gravity-defying stunt, visually demonstrating how the model transforms city driving and can “elevate your urban drive”. In London, a car was even parked on the side of the Truman Brewery.

The agency's creative prowess was further displayed with its campaign for Adidas ahead of the year of international football tournaments. With the European Championships and Copa América taking place in the summer, the campaign ‘You Got This’ featured England and Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham alongside the likes of legendary Lionel Messi.

TBWA\London's debut work for new creative partner Histallay - and the brand’s first entry into the UK’s consumer health market - saw a humorous take on tackling hayfever in the spring months where it seems no matter where you turn, you can’t escape the scent of pollinated flowers. The campaign set the tone for the overall message of acknowledging how those with hayfever suffer and validating their feelings.

Creative Salon says... 2024 has proven to be another year of remarkable progress for TBWA\London, cementing its reputation as a growing force in the industry. Its work continues to engage and entertain across a pleasingly broad (and expanding) range of sectors. Under a formidable leadership team, TBWA\London looks to be in solid form, ready to continue its climb further still in 2025.