Ogilvy continues to double down on creativity by appointing a veteran creative leader to a key business-side role. The WPP agency has named Chris Beresford-Hill, chief creative officer of Omnicom’s TBWA/Chiat/Day New York, to be president of advertising for North America.

Subscribe to Ad Age now for award-winning news and insight.

In the newly-created role, Beresford-Hill will lead the agency’s advertising business while overseeing the creative product across its offices in North America. He will report to both Devika Bulchandani, Ogilvy's North American CEO and global chairwoman of advertising and Global Chief Creative Officer Liz Taylor, both of whom stepped into their posts this year.

“I love Ogilvy as a brand because it has always put creativity at the center of the business,” said Beresford-Hill. When Bulchandani, Taylor and WPP Global Chief Creative Officer Rob Reilly approached him about the job, “one of the big things we talked about was that the goal for me was not to transition into a business person or to turn into an account person; the vision was for me to do the whole job as a creative person and not be something that I’m not,” he said. 

Beresford-Hill will begin his new job at the beginning of 2022. He moves after a four-year run at TBWA/Chiat/Day’s New York office during which the agency saw a resurgence in its creative output. 

The Omnicom agency had given birth to Absolut Vodka’s iconic bottle campaign in the ‘80s and was largely credited for turning candy into one of the most exciting categories in advertising in the 2000s, but had lost its creative luster in more recent years. After Beresford-Hill joined in 2017, under his leadership with fellow execs Rob Schwartz, chair of TBWA New York group, and Nancy Reyes, New York CEO, the shop attracted the spotlight once again, with attention-getting campaigns for Columbia Journalism Review, Adidas (“Billie Jean King Your Shoes”), Travelers Insurance and Pepsi’s Mtn Dew.

The last included memorable work such as the “Shining”-themed Super Bowl ad, other nostalgic campaigns featuring Gizmo of the ‘80s film “Gremlins” and celebrity painter Bob Ross as well as launch work for the Mtn Dew Rise extension starring a salsa-dancing Lebron James. Beresford-Hill was also instrumental in bringing the Nissan account back to the agency, leading to campaigns such as the recent comedic “Heisman House” effort pushing e-commerce, and a wide-spanning sales push starring Brie Larson. 

Prior to TBWA, Beresford-Hill served as executive VP-executive creative director at BBDO, where along with former partner Dan Lucey (now CCO of Havas New York), he steered celebrated work for Guinness, FedEx, Foot Locker and other brands. His career also saw stops at Saatchi & Saatchi, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners and Modernista in Boston. 

In choosing Beresford-Hill, Bulchandani said it was his reputation as both a leader and creative that sealed the deal—along with a nudge from the shingle on the door. “I met with a whole bunch of phenomenal people, some from the traditional account management track, and I kept thinking something doesn’t feel right. Then one day, I thought, wait, this is David Ogilvy’s agency; we need a creative to take us forward,” Bulchandani said.

As for what he’ll do at Ogilvy, Beresford-Hill said he has no blueprint. “I wouldn't ever go in thinking I know how to solve anything before I even know what it is. I'll spend probably a great deal of time listening and understanding people, the dynamics, what the client situations are, and then, try to find the opportunities to make things better.”

He added, however, that he will pull inspiration from both the leaders he will step into the ring with as well as those he worked with at TBWA. 

“Dev [Bulchandani] has a mantra that’s really close to mine, which is related to the most surprising lesson I learned at TBWA—‘goodness and greatness.’ It’s about good people coming together to do great things and have an impact on the world" Beresford-Hill said. ‘‘What I saw at TBWA was whether it was in the business, the creative, or the strategy department, the people who were bringing teams together were always at the center of great work. When you create team dynamics where people are more generous with each other and less protective, when the times get tough, those teams take care of each other and the work flows. I’m a better creative, leader and person thanks to my time at Chiat. It’s been an honor and a privilege to be a part of this magical team, and partner with someone like [TBWA/Chiat/Day New York CEO] Reyes.”

“We are so thankful to Chris for his leadership the past four years," said Reyes in a statement. "He’s been instrumental in New York’s creative renaissance and he has been an incredible partner. We wish him only the best as he pursues the next big step in his career.”

Beresford-Hill departs just as TBWA has beefed up its creative ranks. It recently tapped R/GA vet Ben Williams to its top creative role, updated from global chief creative officer to global chief creative experience officer to better reflect the agency's capabilities across digital and innovation. Williams will team with Reyes to determine Beresford-Hill's replacement while the agency's current executive creative directors in New York will continue to steer creative. 

Beresford-Hill joins Ogilvy as the agency has been recovering from a rough 2020. According to Ad Age Datacenter, the agency’s estimated worldwide net revenue was $1.26 billion, down from 2019. 

Among the agency’s bigger client wins this year were Absolut, TD Bank, Pernod Ricard, Enterprise and World of Hyatt.

Ogilvy’s global creative reputation remains high—it ranked as the No. 2 network at Cannes Lions this year, earning a record eight Grand Prix. North America had its bright spots, such as celebrated work for Dove co-created by London and Toronto as well as David Miami’s work on Burger King, but the U.S. has admittedly “fallen behind,” Bulchandani said. “Ogilvy’s foundation is ridiculously strong, and what we’re doing right now is making sure the product lives up to the soul of the brand.” Beresford-Hill is the latest in the army of talent the agency has lined up to ensure that. 

Under Global CEO Andy Main, who joined Ogilvy in June of 2020 after serving as global head of Deloitte Digital and principal at Deloitte Consulting, the agency has seen a massive shift in its leadership ranks, including the arrival of Taylor, formerly chief creative officer of Leo Burnett and creative lead at Publicis Communications North America, and Bulchandani, the 23-year McCann vet who last served as McCann Worldgroup North American president. Additionally, Carina DeBlois stepped up from chief client officer to New York president and Liam Parker was named chief client officer for North America in May. In August 2020 the agency tapped BBDO New York vets Marcos Kotlhar and Danilo Boer as co-chief creative officers in the New York office. 

Beresford-Hill said that the flood of talent coming into the agency, as well as at the holding company level with the arrival of Reilly earlier this year as global chief creative at WPP, was a huge draw. “Seeing that migration happen, and the talent, honestly, it was just too irresistible of an opportunity not to become a part of,” he said. “I just feel the energy shift.”

Quite simply, Bulchandani said, “It’s like putting a band together that can make some incredible music happen.” 

Creatives get into business

Beresford-Hill is the latest creative exec to step into a business-side role. In August, Accenture Interactive once again made news when it appointed Droga5 founder and Creative Chairman David Droga as CEO. Britt Nolan, former DDB North America chief creative officer, returned to his former agency, Publicis Groupe’s Leo Burnett to become creative chief and president of the Chicago Office in July. In March this year, Ryan Ford added president to his chief creative title at Cashmere, which was recently acquired by Media.Monks. Beresford-Hill’s former TBWA colleague Schwartz had been creative chief at the agency’s Los Angeles office before moving into the roles of global creative president, CEO of the shop’s New York office and then chair of the agency’s New York group. One of the earliest examples of a creative running agency business was Eric Hirshberg, the former Deutsch L.A. creative chief and co-CEO who later went on to become CEO of Activision Publishing. Conversely, McCann Worldgroup recently tapped longtime Nike marketing exec Alex Lopez to become president and global chief creative officer. 

“I think the industry sometimes puts creative people in a box, treats them with kid gloves as if they can’t handle the challenges that the business and our clients face every day,” Beresford-Hill said. “I’ve always found that really limiting to the biggest superpower the industry possesses, which is creativity. As a creative myself, when I have leaned into the business, the kind of creative ideas that come out of that are naturally hardwired to the problems or opportunities, and when you approach it that way, no idea is too big or too brave.”

Subscribe to Ad Age now for award-winning news and insight.