School Reports 2011: Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO

By Staff, campaignlive.co.uk, Monday, 05 September 2011 08:00AM

Getting Pamela Anderson to pull pints in a Kent pub was one of Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO's many feats in 2010. It was also the UK's most-awarded agency at the Cannes advertising festival last year.

Recent Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO work: Walkers

Score 7

On the downside, 2010 was not exactly a glittering year for AMV in creative terms and the agency didn't make much headway when it came to new business.

The advertising accounts for Digital Radio UK and Johnson & Johnson Baby were its only notable wins.

AMV proved stronger in the internal housekeeping department. A reshuffle cemented the stalwart senior team with the AMV-lifer Ian Pearman taking the chief executive role, replacing Farah Ramzan Golant who was promoted to executive chairman.

The creative department received a boost with the arrival of Thiago de Moraes, the former digital creative director at CHI & Partners. He joined Steve Jones and Martin Loraine, who were promoted to creative directors to form a team supporting the executive creative director, Paul Brazier, and his deputies, Mike Hannett and Dave Buchanan.

The planning function was also bolstered with the hiring of the former VCCP head of planning Michael Lee, alongside four other senior strategists.

AMV was recognised at Cannes as the Direct Agency of the Year and its wins there included the Grand Prix for its anti-knife-crime campaign for the Metropolitan Police.

Creative highlights included the Aviva "you are the big picture" global brand activity and the innovative Walkers "Sandwich" campaign, which saw celebrities descend on the unsuspecting English town. De Moraes' arrival in the AMV creative department could go some way to ensuring that this creative sparkle extends to a greater percentage of the agency's output.

AMV's consistent management team and intention to create work that exists across channel boundaries bodes well for 2011. That said, a more dynamic performance in the new-business arena wouldn't go amiss.

Score last year: 7

How Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO rates itself: 7

"This was the year when our long-term investments in integrated talent and structure bore fruit. We were named Direct Agency of the Year at Cannes; we created the most-awarded campaign of the year (Metropolitan Police, anti-knife crime) and won more digital awards than any pure-play digital agency in the UK."

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This article was first published on campaignlive.co.uk