Saatchi & Saatchi

If there is one agency living up to the spirit of this year’s B&T Agency Scorecards, it’s Saatchi & Saatchi.

Its copywriter and MVP William Campion was a proper muso before turning his attention to advertising, while star strategist and new (ish) recruit Leif Stromnes could certainly pass for a Seattle-based grunge guitarist.

Stromnes joined Saatchis from DDB late last year and the South African is regarded as one of the sharpest creative strategists going around.

Stromnes works alongside creative powerhouses Mandie van der Merwe and Avish Gordhan, rounding off an impressive leadership team under boss Patrick Rowe, who reckons he’d be the bass guitarist.

That said, B&T would love Saatchis to make a bit more noise throughout the year given it picked up an impressive haul of silverware.

The Toyota Hilux ‘In a Pickle’, which first hit TV screens in late 2024 and shows a Hilux pulling cars outside of a big mud puddle, was one of the standout ads of the year and picked three Effies and was shortlisted at Cannes.

The campaign also picked up a B&T Award for Best TV campaign.

Other work that caught the eye was Toyota’s ‘Good As New’ campaign, and another HiLux ad which sees the tray swamped with cute pooches. 

Arnott’s ‘Bikkie Belt’, which allows tradies to keep their favourite Arnott’s snacks with them at all times, was another banger.

The quality of Saatchi & Saatchi’s work was matched by a solid (if not spectacular) run of new business success.

The agency added the likes of Bank of Queensland, Youfoodz, Kraft, RSPCA and Nerds, to name a few. A major loss was the TPG Telecom (Vodafone) account to Howatson+Company.

When bass guitarist Rowe spoke to B&T last year, he talked about bringing a sense of fun back to advertising. 

We reckon he is living up to his promise. 

By unlocking a little bit more unseen growth, on the new business front and in the trophy cabinet, Saatchis could once again rise to the top of the class.