Ogilvy UK

A lovely end of year write-up from the folks at Creative Salon Worldwide, summing up what has been a mammoth year for Ogilvy UK. “It's not always easy being an industry behemoth but Ogilvy has always adapted and evolved rather than rest on its scale alone. The acquisition of NCA promises much for the UK agency, while its clutch of new business wins adds to its creative firepower.” Click the link in the comments to read. It also includes a few thoughts and predictions from our CEO James Murphy. ⬇️

How do brands win Christmas? The Financial Times went on a mission to find out. Emma Bisley, Head of Campaigns for Sainsbury's, and our colleagues at New Commercial Arts. spoke at length about bringing this year's blockbuster Christmas campaign to life. They covered everything from choosing an idea over a table of mince pies back in March to getting 54 brass and woodwind musicians into Abbey Road Studios to record the soundtrack. This fantastic feature also looks at how Christmas ads continue to steal the nation's heart and is packed with brilliant insights from industry stalwarts, including our CEO James Murphy and vice-chair Rory Sutherland. An absolute must-read. Click the link in the comments to see the piece. ⬇️

SXSW - also known as the 'Olympics of the mind' - will take over Shoreditch for the first time in its near 40-year history next June. Ogilvy has a lineup of the industry's best talent ready to share insights you won't find anywhere else, each addressing where marketing can play a crucial role in solving society's biggest challenges. But we need your vote.   Like the sound of any of the below? Click the links in the comments to find out more and cast a vote. You have until the 19th December to do so and it takes less than a minute to register.   ➡️ Rahul Titus, Global Head of Influence - Can Health Influencers Save an NHS in Crisis? + The Real Cost of Influencer Misconduct and How to Mitigate it  ➡️ Dan Bennett, Head of Behavioural Science - The Power of Optimism in a Cost-of-Living Crisis  ➡️ Rebecca Carter, Head of Social Media, Ogilvy Health UK - Skinfluencers Gone Wrong: Fighting Dermatology Misinformation Online  ➡️ Davey Davenport-Firth MSc FRSPH, Head of Brain Sciences, Ogilvy Health UK - Health Inequality: Creating the Code  ➡️ Simon Stebbing, Chief Growth and Innovation Officer, Ogilvy Health UK - Ending the Rare Disease Odyssey: How Tech is Speeding Up Diagnosis

What a way to close 2024! "To be recognized with a Gold Best of Effie Awards Europe for Positive Change, among the most effective marketing ideas across Europe, is a tremendous honour. 'Have a Word' for The Mayor of London aimed to spark fundamental cultural change around male violence against women and girls. We influenced a new national policy, changed the schools curriculum and empowered men to challenge and stop misogyny. From classrooms to Parliament, we are driving concrete social change that will impact new generations to come. I couldn’t be prouder of the whole team who made this happen!" Bianca Novaes, Planning Director, Ogilvy UK    

What a campaign! POWERADE and The Coca-Cola Company introduce The Athletes Code - an initiative that puts athletes’ mental health front and centre. Powerade is updating its contracts allowing its athlete partners to take a pause when needed most. Learn more: https://okt.to/PjEs0U #WPPOpenX

Move over Mariah. It's official! Our James Murphy is the Christmas Number One (ad suit) as voted for by Campaign UK... see link in the comments for the top ten countdown.

The iconic mayonnaise brand Hellmann’s has launched a tactical integrated campaign through Ogilvy UK, coinciding with Charli xcx’s UK BRAT tour and referencing her infamous arena tour poster.   The brand offered queuing fans a free ‘club classic’ sandwich, aptly named after one of the tracks from the Grammy-nominated BRAT album which became a cultural cornerstone of 2024. The sandwiches were given to fans in covetable plastic bags, paying homage to the infamous bag used in xcx’s UK tour poster. The results speak for themselves with Reddit posts, Tweets, TikTok and Instagram videos declaring the campaign a hit. Even Charli xcx herself shared the 'Club Classic'-filled sandwich bag on her social channels.   Alison Steven and Liam Bushby, Global Creative Directors, Ogilvy UK: “BRAT has become a marketing playbook for popstars, brands – and even politicians. But the challenge, like most trends, is that it quickly became saturated. Brands with no real allegiance were jumping onto the zeitgeist for clout. But after seeing Charli xcx’s quick-witted TikTok post reimagining the focal point of her UK tour poster as a sandwich bag, we naturally identified an opportunity for Hellmann’s to enter the chat, because you can’t have a sandwich without Hellmann’s. How could we not take advantage as the artist of the year kicks off her mammoth UK tour?”   Martin Bareau, Brand Director, Hellmann’s: “Tapping into pop culture can be a real winner when your brand has something meaningful to say. We are always listening to what is happening in the world and this year we heard a conversation about Charli xcx and sandwiches that made us sit up and listen. As sandwiches are a Hellmann's staple, we came to the rescue and brought the sandwiches with us. We're proud to be a 119-year-old mayonnaise brand that can still pull off a guerrilla stunt.” 

For 40 years the DMA’s have been the awards for work that works, attracting entries from brave brands, agencies and tech and innovation partners. The awards are the industry bellwether for strength in data, technology, and customer experience. So…drum roll… this week we picked up 8 golds, 12 silver and 9 bronze awards, and the coveted Grand Prix for our work for The Mayor of London. Work for The Coca-Cola Company, Dulux , Skin Cancer UK, Unilever, EY, Lloyds Banking Group, Philadelphia, My Life My Say along with Mayor of London all picked up DMA (Data & Marketing Association) UK awards. And congratulations to New Commercial Arts. who also won gold for Alzheimer's Society. "This year we promised to put creativity and effectiveness back at the heart of the customer experience industry. And I couldn’t be more appreciative of our clients and our teams for being brave and taking creative leaps that have seen us win. What a great way to end 2024!" Clare Lawson, CEO EMEA, Ogilvy One Huge congratulations to all the winning teams - testimony to our borderless creativity in action for Ogilvy UK and Ogilvy One. What a great way to close out the award season.

Our poignant integrated TV campaign for The EY Foundation, which marks 10 years since their launch, went live this week. The EY Foundation is an independent charity focused on improving social mobility through access to paid employability skills programmes. The campaign spotlights the overlooked potential of young people from low-income backgrounds, the campaign’s hero film follows hard-working young people and the unique skills they’ve gained. The film addresses head-on the benefits employers lose out on when overlooking underrepresented talent, while also tackling some of the stigmas surrounding gen z's attitudes to work. Lynne Peabody, CEO, EY Foundation: “When the EY Foundation launched in 2014, we set out to change the fact that the circumstances beyond our control shouldn’t dictate our success in life. We have made big inroads by working with some of the most recognisable UK companies, but more needs to be done. As it stands, social mobility is reported to be at its lowest level in 50 years, which will impact the one in four young people who are eligible for free school meals. This campaign is a call to arms for more organisations to create better access to high quality work placement schemes so that every teenager, regardless of background, gets a chance to succeed.” Rebecca Hirst, chief marketing and communications officer, EY UK: “This campaign isn’t just about encouraging organisations to give more young people professional opportunities, it’s about showing what they miss out on when they don’t: access to the best and brightest diverse talent. EY Foundation has already helped over 24,000 young people since it was created over 10 years ago and has the potential to do even more with a larger number of organisations on board.” Jules Chalkley, chief ECD, Ogilvy UK: “This film tells such a powerful story and beautifully brings to life the stories of the teenagers who are the beating heart of The EY Foundation. It has been a real joy watching this project come to life and I look forward to seeing The EY Foundation work with more leading organisations to change even more lives.”

So proud to confirm we have won Breast Cancer Now. This is a critical time for them as they develop a new organisational strategy for the next five years. Our role will be driving awareness and growth so Breast Cancer Now can achieve their bold mission for 2050: anyone diagnosed with breast cancer will live and be supported to live well.  We can't wait to get started. Rachael Franklin, director of fundraising, communications and engagement, Breast Cancer Now: “Throughout the pitch process, Ogilvy UK demonstrated a high level of commitment to our cause, showing sensitivity towards the issue of breast cancer whilst also bringing energy and passion. We are confident that together, we can accelerate our brand awareness so that everyone who needs us knows that we are here. Fiona Gordon, global CEO of Advertising, Ogilvy: "This is a charity with an incredible vision that does amazing work. Breast Cancer Now know that to help everyone diagnosed with breast cancer, action is needed now. Using our creative firepower and integrated specialisms, we can't wait to get going to help drive the action needed now and for the future. The Breast Cancer Now team have been terrific to work with during the pitch process and we look forward to making a real impact together.”