Agency news you need to know this week

Hello there, and welcome back to Agency Brief. This week, we’ve got a savvy campaign related to U.S. tariffs, plus plenty more. Want to be included in a future edition? Reach out to ewan.larkin@adage.com and brian.bonilla@adage.com for consideration. Bob’s Your Uncle sees an opportunity Following U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods, one Toronto-based independent agency has created a compelling deal. Bob’s Your Uncle is running a 25% discount on branding and creative services for all Canadian brands in an effort called “Creativity Trumps Tariffs.” The agency is promoting the discount via out-of-home ads in the Greater Toronto Area and has launched a limited-edition Creativity Trumps Tariffs hat, with all proceeds supporting NABS, a charitable organization focused on the Canadian ad industry. Bob’s Your Uncle said the deal has already helped land a new client: an alcoholic beverage startup called Trio Beverages. “We believe creativity is a competitive advantage,” said Bob Froese, the agency’s founder. “And it’s a hell of a lot more effective than tariffs.” Also read: How brands are referencing tariffs in their ads ICYMI On Tuesday, Omnicom Group Chief Financial Officer Philip Angelastro told attendees at a Morgan Stanley conference that both ISS and Glass Lewis recommended votes in favor of the Interpublic Group deal. Plus, here are a few of Ad Age’s biggest agency stories this week: Agency Review Tracker Stay up to date with the latest account reviews Click here Inside Havas’ earnings Havas on Wednesday reported its first results since spinning off from parent company Vivendi. The French agency group posted a 0.8% drop in organic net revenue for both the fourth quarter and full-year 2024. North America ended 2024 down organically by 6.6%, “primarily due to the loss of Pfizer as a client,” Havas said in a statement. The holding company predicts organic growth “above 2%” for 2025. Nature’s Bakery has a new AOR Snack bar maker Nature’s Bakery has hired independent shop Zambezi as its creative agency of record following a competitive review. The identity of the incumbent was not clear by press time. Zambezi aims to help Nature’s Bakery, which was acquired by Mars Inc. in 2020, increase brand awareness across the country. Also: Mars launches sprawling global agency review Ad Age Small Agency Awards Showcase your agency’s creativity, business success and commitment to a thriving workplace. Enter today Stat of the week: With the pending acquisition of data management platform Lotame, Publicis Groupe claims it will have access to data for more than 90% of adults connected to the internet around the world. Just briefly Gut named Natalia Schultz as its first global chief people officer. Schultz was most recently chief talent officer at McCann Worldgroup. Ogilvy promoted Tim LeGallo to the new role of chief production officer for North America. LeGallo, who has been with the WPP agency since 2023, formerly served as head of production for Ogilvy New York. Omnicom Production, a unit that Omnicom launched last June, has appointed Alissa Hansen as CEO for North America. Hansen was previously the first chief production officer at Critical Mass, an agency within Omnicom Precision Marketing Group. GSD&M promoted President Lee Newman to CEO, replacing Duff Stewart, who is taking on the role of chairman.

Agency news you need to know this week

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