TBWA\London: Disruption disrupted

Not that long ago in the annals of advertising history - a decade ago, or so - TBWA\London seemed a bit of a lost cause; certainly a far cry from its glory days at the turn of the millennium.

How far it has bounced back in the past few years under the steady, modernising influence of Larissa Vince, who joined as CEO in 2021, and the restless creative energy of Andy Jex, who has led the work since becoming CCO in 2017, is testament to a team unafraid to take on a challenge and turn around what many had already written off.

Together they re-anchored the agency in its most famous doctrine - Disruption - while making it feel startlingly current again. In fact, you could argue that they personified what 'Disruption' should look like.

Under their partnership, TBWA\London rediscovered its shape, its voice and, most importantly, its cultural relevance. What emerged was an agency comfortable operating at the intersection of brand, sport, entertainment, and everyday British life - an agency that could handle a multinational relaunch one week and a homespun biscuit-obsessed projection stunt across London’s landmarks the next.

TBWA\London has become a victim of changing times and will now merge with adam&eveDDB to form the new agency adam&eve\TBWA.

If this retrospective is a moment to pause, it is also a moment to acknowledge the energy and ambition that Vince and Jex poured into the building and the work, not just this year but every year they have worked there.

Nonetheless 2025 stands as a testament to that renewal. It was the year TBWA\London felt fully re-centred - creatively confident, strategically sharper and organisationally whole again. How sad that that disruption has been disrupted itself.

Creative Salon on TBWA\London's 2025

If 2025 had a defining note, it was renewal - a bittersweet irony given events. A sense of clarity returned to Bankside, and with it came the reminder that Disruption still has something powerful to say. After what Campaign described as the agency’s strongest year since 2007, TBWA\London spent 2025 strengthening the foundations beneath that momentum - expanding its remit, maturing its creative breadth and ensuring that London once again sat at the heart of TBWA’s global ambition.

The most visible change was the integration of Dark Horses, the sports and culture agency founded by Simon Dent and Melissa Robertson. Folded seamlessly into the TBWA structure under Vince, Jex and CSO Matt Readman, Dark Horses gave the agency new entry-points into fan culture, sponsorship, and live events. It wasn’t just an acquisition - it was a recalibration of where modern brand fame is earned.

This shift immediately paid off. Work such as Nissan’s “Dare to Defy” documentary and the agency’s Formula E content platforms brought TBWA\London into the centre of globally scalable storytelling - the kind of work that stretches a brand far beyond traditional advertising.

But the cultural stretch didn’t overwhelm the commercial fundamentals. Quite the opposite. TBWA\London used 2025 to reinforce its leadership spine, refresh its creative backbone and deepen its craft. Annie Gallimore settled quickly as managing director. A series of quiet but important mid-senior creative hires broadened the agency’s capability. And across the network, TBWA’s sixth consecutive appearance on Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list cast a renewed glow over the London hub.

What defined the year, though, was the work. The agency’s long-running partnership with McVitie’s delivered not one but two distinct creative moments.

'More than a Biscuit' reframed indulgence for the Signature range with emotional nuance.

Equally, to mark the pladis-owned brand's century of dunking perfection, TBWA\London launched a bold £8.75 million campaign proudly declaring its chocolate digestive bisuuit as: the nation’s greatest invention.

The campaign, ‘100 Years of the Nation’s Greatest Invention,’ used the iconic chocolate digestive as the creative catalyst for a nationwide biscuit extravaganza.

Moreover, TBWA\London’s first major work for SunLife since winning the account in August 2024 represented the brand’s most ambitious marketing push since 2017.

It signals a bold departure from the kind of traditional, product-focused messaging that has become commonplace in the market, by introducing a fresh and modernised brand platform centred on everyday confidence. The campaign showcases TBWA\London’s trademark disruptive approach, positioning SunLife as a forward-thinking, empowering force in financial services.

Elsewhere, adidas and Ginsters, added to the diversity of the reel, proving that TBWA\London’s output now ranges confidently from global lifestyle to everyday British life.

Awards-wise, 2025 was less about a single, headline-grabbing campaign and more about consistent recognition across multiple sectors. The global network’s strong showing at Cannes - including a Titanium shortlist for TBWA\Media Arts Lab and multiple Lions across markets - gave the London office renewed swagger and visibility.

Taken together, the picture of TBWA\London in 2025 is of an agency that has found balance between process and provocation. It’s big enough to play confidently on complex, multinational accounts, but nimble enough to make work that cuts through locally. The addition of Dark Horses means “disruption” now extends beyond advertising into sport, sponsorship, and culture - a smart move for an era where brand fame is built in arenas, not just ad breaks.

Creative Salon says... TBWA\London roared through 2025 with conviction, clarity and a renewed sense of purpose. The integration of Dark Horses gave Disruption a new contemporary edge - reframing it not as a creative device but as a cultural operating system. Under the assured leadership of Vince and the creative restlessness of Jex, the agency rebuilt itself from the inside out.

What emerged was a London shop that felt more ambitious than ever - capable of spanning multinational storytelling and local cultural hacks, confident enough to take risks, and disciplined enough to hold its standards. How sad that external factors mean this is has now been thwarted.

If this retrospective marks the end of one chapter, it also stands as a tribute to a team that made Disruption not just relevant again, but resonant. They also restored the agency to the pantheon where it has always truly belonged.