Adweek 2018 U.S. Agency Of The Year Wieden+Kennedy

From ‘Dilly Dilly’ to Kaepernick, the indie shop dominated the conversation.

- Patrick Coffee

As 2018 draws to a close, Wieden + Kennedy copresident Colleen DeCourcy can finally exhale.

This past year saw the fiercely independent shop both courting controversy and reinvigorating core American brands like KFC and Delta—and somehow never losing its way. “We’re a company that’s at its best when we’re in the eye of the cultural storm,” DeCourcy says.

The agency’s wild ride effectively began on Super Bowl Sunday with a one-time throwaway line echoing through the stands as “Dilly Dilly” became “Philly Philly” and the Eagles’ upset of the New England Patriots turned into an unprecedented branding opportunity for Bud Light.

Seven months later, W+K marked the 30th anniversary of advertising’s most transcendent tagline, “Just Do It,” with a spot starring former 49ers-quarterback-turned-activist Colin Kaepernick. Threats of boycotts followed, as did a surge in sales for Nike.

To cap off the year, the agency reintroduced the world to America’s top automaker with a “Built Ford Proud” campaign powered by Bryan Cranston’s swagger.

A select few agencies touched the same creative peaks these past 12 months; some undoubtedly delivered more revenue to their parent companies. But none was more effective in placing its clients at the beating, sometimes-broken heart of American culture.

For this reason, Wieden + Kennedy was the clear choice as Adweek’s 2018 U.S. Agency of the Year.

ONE STATE, TWO STATE, RED STATE, BLUE STATE

“Increasingly, advertising is going into a values space,” says DeCourcy, the creative conductor who was promoted late in the year when the agency named new global leadership. As she and her colleagues often tell clients, “You’ve got to believe in something.”