Wieden+Kennedy tops the 2020 Ad Age A-List in an unprecedented three-peat

NEW YORK, April 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Ad Age, the most-trusted source for the advertising, marketing and media industry, today released its prestigious 2020 Ad Age A-List, representing the best advertising agencies and production companies in the country. Selected by the Ad Age editorial staff from hundreds of submissions, these awards honor the forward-thinking leaders, creators and innovators in the industry today. "While no one can predict what can happen this year given the effects of the global pandemic on the economy, those on Ad Age's Agency A-List have shone in 2019 and are positioned to continue to succeed in the future," said Ad Age Executive Editor Judann Pollack.

Wieden+Kennedy tops the Ad Age A-List as Agency of the Year for the third consecutive year in a row. Their win marks the first three-peat since Ad Age first began naming an Agency of the Year in 1974. "Wieden+Kennedy has led the list for three years running not just because of its outstanding creative work, but also for its independent spirit and willingness to break the rules. This is the agency that gave us the Bud Light knight, KFC's ever-changing cast of colonels and Nike's 'Dream with Us' ads featuring Serena Williams. W+K also broke industry barriers against category conflict last year by working for two rivals in the same industry: McDonald's and KFC," said Pollack. 

Wieden tops the chart of 10 other notable shops that defined the industry in 2019, including Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, Johannes Leonardo, TBWA, Mindshare, BBDO, McCann Worldwide, Code and Theory, Weber Shandwick and Humanaut. The Ad Age A-List also honors the year's Standouts and Agencies to Watch.

Other Ad Age A-List honors include:

• Agency of the Decade: Droga5
• Coming off its acquisition by Accenture Interactive, Droga5 was named Ad Age's Agency of the Decade, for 10 back-to-back years of groundbreaking ideas that challenged advertising convention while pushing the industry as a whole to think bigger. While many speculated whether the deal would extinguish not just the agency's independence but also its creative firepower, 2019 proved just the opposite, with the shop scoring more creative hits for The New York Times, HBO and Harley Davidson. 
• Production Company of the Year: Smuggler
• Smuggler topped Ad Age's Production Company A-List for the fifth time since it was founded, bolstered by groundbreaking projects like Skittle's Broadway musical that ran on Super Bowl Sunday as well as other notable production such as Sandy Hook Promise's back-to-school ad in disguise and Apple's entertaining film "The Underdogs."
• Brand CMO of the Year: Fernando Machado, Global CMO, Restaurant Brands International
• Burger King's marketing has been reborn since Machado joined in 2014, following an award-winning career at Unilever. He led Burger King to new creative heights including the Whopper Detour campaign that rewarded diners with one-cent Whoppers if they were near McDonald's, a Super Bowl spot featuring Andy Warhol, and the launch of the Popeye's chicken sandwich that put the chain on the map. The engineer by trade is now helping to guide Popeyes and Tim Hortons in new directions.
• Executive of the Year: Brian Whipple, Group Chief Executive, Accenture Interactive
• Brian Whipple, Accenture Interactive's CEO, earned this year's nod for having the foresight to bolster his company's technological muscle with the power of creative ingenuity from companies like Droga5 and other hotshops, including Spanish agency Shackleton, social media outfit Adaptly and design firm Fjord. 

The Ad Age A-List also recognizes the Comeback Agency of the Year, Multicultural Agency of the Year, International Agency of the Year, Creative Agency of the Year, In-House Agency of the Year, Media Agency of the Year, Data/Analytics Agency of the Year and Design Agency of the Year as well as 2019's other top production companies.

To view all 2020 Ad Age A-List recipients, go to AdAge.com/AList2020.

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SOURCE Ad Age