Creativity looks back on the brand ideas and campaigns that made the last decade. See the full lineup here. 

Best of the Decade

Like Red Bull Stratos, some might consider this idea “overrated,” but it also lands solidly on this list for opening our eyes to how marketers and agencies can make a big impact in today’s message-cluttered world with ideas that zag. It wasn’t a tech innovation, nor was it a social media surprise.The old school bronze statue of a young girl defiantly confronting Wall Street's "Charging Bull" bull was created by artist Kristen Visbal and McCann New York for State Street Global Advisors, designed to mark the asset management firm's move encouraging the companies in which it invests to hire more women to its boards. Though its patron may have proved unworthy of the idea (it subsequently was involved in a pay equity lawsuit)— the idea transcends the controversy to remain a lasting monument to women's empowerment. It went on to rule the 2017 awards circuit, earning multiple Grand Prix at Cannes, including the highly coveted Titanium top prize. It also went on to earn best in show at the Effie Awards.  

Original Story

The iconic Wall Street bull statue now has a matador: a badass little girl.

On the eve of International Women's Day, "Charging Bull," the former guerilla art sculpture by Arturo Di Modica that's now a fixture of Manhattan's Financial district got a new companion, a defiant, bronze statue of a girl who confronts him head-on, arms akimbo, standing proudly and powerfully.

Conceived out of McCann New York and created by Artist Kristen Visbal, "The Fearless Girl" was commissioned by asset management firm State Street Global Advisors to mark its initiative urging the 3,500+ companies in which it invests for its clients to increase the number of women on their corporate boards. See more about how she was made in an accompanying film.

McCann dropped "The Fearless Girl" face to face with her beastly foe in the middle of the night. Like the bull, she was cast out of bronze, covered in the same patina. The agency had secured a temporary permit for her appearance, but it is also working with the NYC Department of Transportation on an extended, maybe permanent, stay.

Perhaps she'll see the same fate as the beastly bruiser, which has a temporary permit as well, but hasn't left Wall Street since it first appeared in 1989.