Back in November, during the opening skit for strategy's Agency of the Year festivities, MC Chris Pastirik, Dentsu's strategic catalyst, quipped: 'In a bold move, Leo Burnett has fired all their clients citing their recent success designing their own website. Quote, 'Leo Burnett likes Leo Burnett as a client because Leo Burnett lets Leo Burnett do whatever Leo Burnett would like.' End of quote.'
Back in November, during the opening skit for strategy’s Agency of the Year festivities, MC Chris Pastirik, Dentsu’s strategic catalyst, quipped: ‘In a bold move, Leo Burnett has fired all their clients citing their recent success designing their own website. Quote, ‘Leo Burnett likes Leo Burnett as a client because Leo Burnett lets Leo Burnett do whatever Leo Burnett would like.’ End of quote.’
He was partly right. The site’s success has bode well for the Toronto office (D&AD fittingly awarded it a Black Pencil), injecting a massive dose of creative credibility. The agency-as-client model also resulted in a tie for Top Client,
a Creative Report Card first. The other Top Client was Pfizer.
‘We were pretty surprised,’ says president/CEO David Moore of the
accolades upon the site’s launch in August 2005. His personal fave is the Black Pencil because the competition included a range of designers. ‘We were up against the iPod Nano.’
‘The genesis of all this was that we were tired of being embarrassed about our website,’ says Israel Diaz, CD. ‘[So] we treated ourselves as a real client: We had an account person on it, we had brainstorm meetings.’
And real deadlines. The site’s unveiling coincided with the quarterly meeting of about 30 managers and CDs from Leo’s global offices held in Toronto. Diaz says it was the reaction of Leo’s top execs to the site’s simple but contemporary design (which harkens back to founder Leo Burnett’s penchant for the big, black pencil as creative catalyst) that made them realize it was a winner.
All interactive was led by the agency’s digital arm Arc Worldwide, Toronto, and Toronto is now responsible for content management of the Leo Burnett site globally. ‘The black pencil has become the icon for the agency everywhere,’ says Moore, a shift away from the apple and the hand reaching for the stars logos.
THE RANKING
Leo Burnett Canada 83
Pfizer Canada 83
Science World 80
BC Dairy Foundation 77
IKEA 75
NIKE Canada 72
Mini Canada 61
Royal Ontario Museum 57
Canadian Film Centre 50
United Way of the Lower Mainland 48
Kellogg Canada 44
Royal BC Museum 35
The World of Comedy Film Festival 31
BC Lions 28
Greengate Garden Centres 28
Irving Oil Corp. 26
W Network 25
WWF Canada 24
Labatt Breweries 23
Assulted Women’s Help Line 21
Dose 21
Federation Des Producteurs de Lait du Quebec 19
Contemporary Art Gallery 19
ICBC 19
Mio Watch 18
New Brunswick Family & Community Services 18
Toyota Canada 18
Bogart’s Chophouse & Bar 16
Canadian Tire 16
James Mahon 16
Federation Des Producteurs de Lait du Quebec 15
Nissan Canada 15
Virgin Mobile 14
Birthways 13
Future Shop 13
Michelin North America 13
The Chrysler Jeep Dodge Retailers of Ontario 13
1-800-GOT-JUNK 12
Canadian Scooter Corp. 12
Color Your World/ICI Paints 12
Fuji Photo Film Canada Inc 12
Mackenzie Investments 12
Ministry of Health Promotion 12
Molson Canada Inc 12
Workopolis.com 12
Coca-Cola Ltd 11
Familiprix 11
McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada 11
Monster 11
Toronto Plastic Surgery 11
Unilever Canada 11
Auto Crime Police 10
BMW 10
Cadbury Schweppes Company 10
Daimler Chrysler Canada 10
Maple Leaf Foods 10
Mattel Canada Inc. 10
Red Bull 10
Richmond Centre 10
Toronto Zoo 10
VISA Canada Association 10
Walmart Canada 10
YWCA Calgary 10
Distress Line Network of British Columbia 9
Horse Racing Alberta 9
Lexus Canada Inc. 9
Mount Pleasant Group of Cemeteries 9
The Maytree Foundation 9
Westjet 9
Weston Bakeries Ltd 9
Adidas Canada 8
Cadbury Adams 8
Canadian College of English 8
Coast Capital Savings 8
Intuit Canada 8
JMB Post 8
Playland 8
Right to Play 8
Sugoi 8
The Weather Network 8
Toro Magazine 8
Toronto Blue Jays 8
United Natiions – Refugee Agency 8
BC Ferries 7
Campbell Company of Canada 7
Imprint Music 7
Intercontinental Hotels Group, Holiday Inn 7
Toronto Symphony Orchestra 7
Calgary Police 6
Calgary Zoo 6
DDB Canada 6
Diageo Canada 6
Direction de Sante Publique de Montreal 6
Epson Canada 6
Etihad Airways Canada 6
Fashion Go-Round 6
Filmar 6
Gatorade 6
Holt Renfrew 6
john st. 6
Mountain Equipment Co-op 6
Ogilvy Renault 6
Pacific Shredding 6
Please Mum 6
Pole Dancing Studio 6
Rainforest Action Network 6
Reitmans 6
Smucker Foods of Canada 6
The Coca-Cola Company 6
The Forzani Group Ltd. – SportChek 6
The Movie Network 6
Trimline 6
Vancouver Aquarium 6
Volkswagen 6
Alimentation Couch-Tard 5
BC Automobile Association 5
Chez Menick 5
Danone 5
Infiniti Canada 5
Mac’s Convienience Stores Inc 5
Monster Jam 5
Octopus Garden Yoga 5
Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation 5
Rethink Breast Cancer 5
Vancity 5
Wrigley Canada 5
3M 4
Abe Books 4
Art Garage 4
Canadian Hockey Association 4
Canadian Paralympic Committee 4
Canadian Riterate Energy Corporation 4
Canuck Place 4
City of Toronto 4
Covad Communications 4
Covenant House 4
Discovery Channel 4
Divine Hardwood Flooring 4
Effem Inc. 4
EPCOR 4
ForTheLoveOfKids.ca 4
Grolsch Canada Inc 4
Habitat for Humanity 4
HEC Montreal 4
Ihaveanidea 4
Journal de Montreal 4
Lawrence Sagar 4
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment 4
McCain Foods 4
NABS 4
NAPA Autoparts 4
Nestle Canada 4
Nintendo of Canada 4
Paramount Canada’s Wonderland 4
PFLAG 4
Philips Canada 4
Purolator Courier Ltd 4
RBC Financial Group 4
Strong’s Market 4
Tradefreedom 4
United Nations Association in Canada 4
United Way 4
United Way of Calgary and Area 4
Vincor Canada 4
AMW 3
AWHL 3
Bell Mobility 3
Dalplex 3
GJP – Black & White Ball 3
Glad Press N’ Seal 3
Goodyear Canada (Dunlop Tires) 3
High-end bicycles 3
Kids Help Phone 3
Kinjo 3
Marketing Magazine 3
Moosehead Breweries 3
Plaisirs Gastronomiques 3
RadioShack 3
Schering Canada 3
Subaru Canada 3
Touch of Gold 3
Vancouver International Film Festival 3
A&P 2
Air Canada 2
Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission 2
Amazing Persona 2
Amnesty International 2
Astral Media, The Movie Network on Demand 2
Bass Pro Shops 2
BC Fencing Association 2
Budweiser Light 2
Calgary Stampede 2
Canadian Filmmakers Festivak 2
Canadian National Firefighter Game 2
Capital One Services 2
doug agency inc. 2
ETC-TV 2
George Kakalertis – SIR Corporation, Jack Astor’s Restaurant 2
Gestion Centre Vision 2
GM Goodwrench 2
Gold’s Gym 2
Holiday Inn 2
Hyundai 2
Ideazan 2
Infopresse/Zone 3 2
Jamie Way – Director 2
Jean Machine 2
KFC 2
L’Oreal Paris 2
MacLaren McCann 2
MADD 2
Magic Series 2
Mamma’s Pizza 2
Michelle Kohl 2
Ogilvy & Mather 2
Ontario Craft Brewers 2
Poul Nielsen Personal Training 2
Procter & Gamble – Gain 2
Soma 2
Sony of Canada 2
Southland Transporation 2
Sport Mart 2
TAXI 2
The Colox Company of Canada 2
Toronto Crime Stoppers 2
Ubisoft Entertaiment 2
Vancouver Police Department 2
Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova 2
AdFarm 1
Anthony Insurance 1
BC Highland Games 1
Bootlegger 1
Calgary Farmers’ Market 1
Champion Laser Hair Removal 1
Chinook Centre 1
Crave Cookies and Cupcakes 1
Crestmont 1
Full Gospel Church 1
Greco Pizza 1
Happy Dudes Surfing 1
Hospitality Inn Boomtown Pub and Patio 1
International Dyslexia Foundation 1
Microzip 1
Newpark Drilling Fluids 1
Nova Scotia Office of Health Promotion 1
Nova Scotian Crystal 1
Q107 Classic Rock 1
RCA 1
Ridley’s Cycle 1
Sun-Rype 1
Tao of Peace 1
The Birth Place 1
The Chocolate Prince 1
The Speakeasy 1
WAX 1
WCLC 1
