MCCann

All things old were new again in 2017 as McCann dominated the U.S. agency landscape with a string of wins and created the most-discussed campaign of the year in Fearless Girl. 

- Patrick Coffee

She arrived in downtown Manhattan in the middle of the night on an unusually warm Monday in March. Her 250-pound, 50-inch bronze frame was small enough to escape the gaze of most oblivious passersby, but she quickly became larger than life. And nearly every recap of this historic, tempestuous year will inevitably include her image.

Contradictions define Fearless Girl. She is a paid promotion demanding corporate responsibility. She is a child highlighting injustices of adulthood. She is an analog work in an increasingly digital world. And her creator, McCann, had a year that can be seen as a similar study in contrasts—one of the world’s oldest ad agencies proving its relevance once again.

Relatively few of the millions of people who have seen, shared and responded to the statue over the past nine months know she was sponsored by investment firm State Street Global Advisors, or made by the agency responsible for once teaching the world to sing in perfect harmony.

But Fearless Girl undoubtedly succeeded on multiple fronts. A true pop-culture icon, she overcame various critiques and controversies—including a challenge from the artist behind Charging Bull and a $5 million fine for alleged wage discrimination at State Street Corp., parent company of State Street Global Advisors—to raise awareness of women in company boardrooms and challenge the public’s perception of what advertising can and should be.