This time out on B&T’s Best of the Best, we’ll be taking a look at the industry’s greatest creative minds from agencies that are part of holding companies. We’ll be taking a look at the best indie creatives next week.
There has been some exceptional work produced over the last 12 months, it’s fair to say. Saatchi & Saatchi’s work for Toyota continues to impress. DDB has created two killer campaigns for VW and McDonald’s.
The Monkey’s Lamb Ad continues to set the tone for the year ahead and, of course, its beautiful ‘Play It Safe’ for the Sydney Opera House brought home Australia’s only Grand Prix at Cannes Lions. BMF’s work for ALDI continues to lead the way in effectiveness, too.
Every week on B&T’s Best of the Best takes a look at a different industry vocation, lauding the industry titans and heralding the oft-underappreciated alike. Last time out, we looked at the industry’s best Casting Directors.
In the coming weeks, we’ll be celebrating the best indie agency creatives, Experiential Producers, People leaders and Social Media Directors. If you want to throw your hat in the ring, or an equally deserving colleague, email [email protected].
But on to the Best of the Best holding company creatives.
10. Brigid Alkema, CCO, Clemenger UnLtd
Brigid Alkema has an enviable job, to say the least. As the CCO of Clemenger UnLtd, she’s at the top of the pile, bringing together the best from Clemenger BBDO Wellington, BrandWorld, Perceptive, Proximity and the local operations of LEVO to create game-changing work for clients across Aotearoa New Zealand. Its recent work for Te Kahu Pairuri o Aotearoa Hospice NZ is moving, giving a voice to the voiceless. “Hospice’s challenge was immediately apparent to us – to rebrand dying from something that happens in a distant room, to other people, to something that is constantly happening all around us and will happen to all of us,” said Alkema upon the campaign’s launch.
Prior to Clemenger UnLtd’s recent launch, Alkema spent 20 years with Clemenger BBDO—rising from an art director role right through to CCO (with a short stop in Sydney with DDB). That kind of tenure, with suitably exceptional work throughout is not only admirable, it’s darn near impossible to recreate.
9. Amy Weston, ECD, CHEP Network
Amy Weston has been with CHEP for a decade, following six years with Clems. She’s an outspoken advocate for mums in the industry—something that is regrettably uncommon. This year, she was on the shortlisting jury for the Cannes Lions awards, saying that it was “pretty cool” to be judging hundreds of awards from around the world with a newborn baby in her arms (we think Weston might be being slightly modest).
Her work with CHEP for the likes of 7-Eleven, AGL, Mazda, TAC and Pernod Ricard has won plaudits around the world. But its ‘Climate Doctors Certificate’ for School Strike 4 Climate Australia is the one that has caught our eye recently. It’s been shortlisted for Best Direct Response Campaign at this year’s B&T Awards (time’s running out to buy your tickets). It also picked up a Yellow Pencil at the recent D&AD Awards.
8. Jenny Mak, creative partner, DDB
DDB is the home of the long relationship, counting some of the longest-running client/agency partnerships in the industry. Its work with Macca’s for instance, stretches back some 55 years, while the agency has worked with VW since 1959. Mak, meanwhile, is coming up to her third anniversary with DDB, having spent nearly a decade with Ogilvy, following stints at Innocean and Grey. Her impact has belies her relatively short tenure, with Mak shortlisted for the Creative, Champion of Change and Glass Ceiling categories at this year’s B&T Women in Media Awards. But while she might have left empty-handed, the standard of DDB’s work should provide more than enough comfort.
Its work for Macca’s with ‘The Original Mouthful’ quickly became a fave in the B&T office (not least because of our over-zealous predilection for a Big Mac). But it also received acclaim from outside, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese even having a crack at taking on the challenge—that’s the sort of creative impact that even the biggest media budget can’t get you.
We also loved DDB’s ‘Let’s Go For A Drive’ refreshed brand platform for VW. “Great cars don’t just take you somewhere, they make you feel something. And some cars simply do it better than others,” said Mak. We couldn’t agree more. Mak is also a Copy School tutor.
7. Kim Pick, group ECD, VML New Zealand
Kim Pick has been with VMLY&R (now just VML following the Wunderman Thompson merger) for approaching seven years, having joined from Colenso BBDO where she spent just shy of four years. In the last couple of years, she’s led the team from its Auckland and Wellington offices to a host of awards for some inspiring work tackling big issues in society head-on.
Its work for Take The Jump skewered discussions about climate change with a series of bold OOH executions, showing that the topic can be uplifting. Its ‘Lazy Sneakers’ meanwhile showed how kids around Aotearoa are struggling to make ends meet and get the right footwear—prohibiting them from taking part in sports. But our pick would be ‘Blokequet’ for Yeastie Boys. Tackling unhelpful male stereotypes and mental health, the campaign saw a “drinkable bouquet” of flowers (a 2.5 per cent pale gold ale brewed with earl grey blue flower) created and sold as a limited run release. Every can sold was also a donation to the I AM HOPE foundation, supporting the youth of New Zealand and the leaders of tomorrow.
6. Barbara Humphries, ECD, The Monkeys
There’s been plenty of change at The Monkeys recently but one constant has been the standard of Barbara Humphries’ work. She’s been with the agency for more than a decade now, producing some of the finest work from down under. Humphries and her colleague Tara Ford were named the Leadership Team of the Year at the recent AWARD awards (and The Monkeys won a host of other awards) and just today, she was named as the Jury President for the Green Pencil at The One Show Awards. She is also serving as an in-person tutor for Sydney Copy School. Humphries and the team also swept the board at the inaugural Cairns Crocodiles Awards.
Perhaps the most standout piece of work in the last year (aside from the incredible ‘Play It Safe’ for the Sydney Opera House) has been repositioning NRMA Insurance to “A Help Company”. Michelle Klein, NRMA’s marketing boss, said The Monkeys’ approach to the work was “refreshing” and showed the breadth of its abilities. “When we met and saw the idea, it didn’t start with the ad. In fact, we didn’t see it until quite late in the process. It started with a universal platform, experiences, interfaces, technology and physical ideas. That is what they brought to us when we met with David Droga, Nick Law, Neil Heymann, Mark Green and Barbara Humphries,” she told B&T.
5. Hilary Badger, ECD, Ogilvy Melbourne [Now at Leo]
Hilary Badger has been Ogilvy’s Melbourne ECD for just under two years now, joining from Clemenger BBDO where she spent nearly eight years. Badger has been leading Ogilvy to produce some exceptionally memorable and moving work of late. Top of that pile, perhaps, is ‘Til It’s Done’ For Football Australia. The campaign featuring the Matildas on surging performance at the Women’s World Cup caught the eyes of Australians, receiving a massive ground-swell of support. Badger said that the platform “will help Australians buy into the team’s broader vision for football, sport and the values all the players represent, both now and in the future”. It also picked up a Silver at the Effies for the work and the Grand APAC Effie.
Continuing on the sporting front Badger and Ogilvy helped reposition the Wallabies and Cadbury and insurer GIO with a wonderfully out-there execution. More recently, however, Badger and Ogilvy’s work for AAMI has been catching eyes around the country. It was part of B&T’s Campaigns of the Month in September, scoring strongly across the board. Badger also serves as a tutor with the Melbourne Copy School
4. Mandie van der Merwe, co-CCO, Saatchi & Saatchi
Mandie van der Merwe is one of the country’s most celebrated creatives. She joined Saatchis in January with creative partner Avish Gordhan in January, following a year with Dentsu Creative and nearly four with the other Saatchi agency before that. van der Merwe serves as AWARD’s chair, giving her exceptional power and gravitas within the creative landscape. Recently, she has led the agency to create some fantastic work. For instance, its ‘You Don’t Send A Ute To Do A HiLux Job’ was met with acclaim for its boldness. It even featured in B&T’s Campaigns of the Month, scoring impressively in our testing with System1. At the Effies, Saatchis picked up two silver gongs and one bronze for its work with Arnotts and NESCAFÉ. She also served on the Branded Content and Branded Entertainment juries at the recent LIAs in Las Vegas.
3. Tara McKenty, chief innovation officer and co-ECD, BMF [Now at AKQA]
Tara McKenty and BMF went on a tear at the Effies just a few weeks ago. It was named Effective Agency of the Year, scooping three golds, two silvers and one bronze for ALDI Australia; as well as one silver for Tourism Tasmania. She’s been with BMF for 18 months now, having spent 11 years with Google as its APAC creative director. In August last year, it launched the brilliantly off-the-wall ‘Afterpay Where You Wouldn’t Believe’ for the buy now, pay later service. In May, BMF showed the breadth of its creative capabilities with the affecting ‘Consent Can’t Wait’ for the Department of Social Services.
BMF’s work for Tourism Tassie is a longstanding favourite of the B&T team. It may have gone to pitch earlier this year (causing much consternation in the industry) but, with McKenty leading BMF’s innovation and creative work, we’d be shocked if the team weren’t coming down for air in the years to come.
2. Emma Robbins, ECD, M&C Saatchi
Emma Robbins has been M&C’s ECD for nearly six years now, producing some of the most lauded work in the world over that time. Most notably, of course, Tourism Australia’s ‘Come and Say G’Day’ campaign. This year, M&C Saatchi picked up a Silver at Cannes for its ‘Plastic Forecast’ for Minderoo. More recently, its work for the Australian Red Cross’ Lifeblood service flipped the script, making what can be a category rife with grief something uplifting. Its work for Ryman also saw it shift perceptions of retirement care. Robbins also won the Creative category at B&T’s Women in Media Awards earlier this year. She was lauded by our judges for her track record of mentorship and staring down discrimination with fierce determination.
1. Tara Ford, CCO, The Monkeys/Accenture Song
It has been an incredible year for The Monkeys and Tara Ford.
She has led some of the most impressive work of the year, resulting in a sweep of awards—including some of the most coveted in the world. In January, The Monkeys released a brilliant Lamb Ad, taking on the country’s generation gap and receiving widespread acclaim from across the industry and outside of it. The agency also dropped two brilliant beer ads—harkening back to the past for VB and throwing it forward into a weird fantasy land for Pure Blonde. Earlier this month, it released ‘The Greatest’ for MLA, with a delightfully tongue-in-cheek look at the world of prime beef.
But there’s more. The Monkeys claimed the inaugural Grand Prix at the Cairns Crocodiles Awards, as well as four individual Gold Crocs for the agency’s work with the Sydney Opera House and VB, among others. Ford was fifth on B&T’s Women in Media Power List. The Monkeys Sydney was named Individual Agency of the Year at AWARD and Network of the Year. Ford and Barbara Humphries were also named Leadership Team of the Year. And then Cannes. Ford served on the Titanium Jury and then The Monkeys took home the Grand Prix for Film for ‘Play It Safe’ by the Sydney Opera House. It’s just as well The Monkeys has moved to the sprawling Accenture Song office in Barangaroo—they’d be running out of space to store the gongs.
