People used to discuss who is the 'top team' at such-and-such an Agency. I haven't heard the term in a while though... and that makes me wonder if it still has any currency.
Let's find out.
Who would you say is the top team at their respective Agency?
P.S. I can't really stop people from anonymously naming themselves. But just think how hollow you'll feel.
P.P.S. Also, no BBH nominations please, wouldn't be cricket
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Top Team
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85 comments:
Fallon: Chris & John
WCRS: Kit & Tom
AMV: Chiappe & Saunby
Good question.
Chris and John at Fallon, although when you really look at it, they haven't done that much, but Cake just wins on its own.
Matt and Ben at Wiedens.
Can't name anyone at Mother.
Are there any good teams at WCRS.
Fuck, I can't think of anone at AMV either. Has anyone there won a pencil in the last five years? What a drop. Oh yeah, they just bought Chappy and Saunby, but they've not done an ad I can name since BBH.
Ummm...Can't name anyone at Publicis.
Probably Dylan and Feargal at DDB, although Shish and Sam are brilliant.
Dave and Ed at CHI, but they've not done much there.
Saatchis, all the good stuff is done by Silburn, but they've just hired Potts and Jex and they're tasty.
No one at M&C.
No one at Grey.
Oh, Cam Mitchell and his partner do ALL the good ads at McCann's and they won a pencil there. Tops.
Rainey Kelly, probably Mike Boles and Jerry Hollens or Heath and Angus.
Can't name anyone at Burnetts.
or MCBD.
Adam and Eve=Ben and Emer against some non existent competition.
JWT...Hugh and Adam or Richard and Ian.
Haven't they all left Lowe? Patrick, then.
TBWA? Anyone still there?
BMB, Matt and Ian.
DDB is a difficult one. You'd have to put Feargal & Dylan, Sam & Shish, Dave & Richard in a room and have big fight. Would have been Adam & Justin when they were there.
That's a good question. I think it will back up the point that I frequently make that there are no star teams anymore (or very, very few). I hope these comments reveal all.
But let me turn that high powered perception on you, Dr Lecter. Who do you think are the top teams, Scamp?
Ben, it's true that when I was a lad, we used to revere Carty & Campbell, Gorse & Worthington, and then later Belford & Roberts.
Today there don't seem to be stars like that (with Juan exception).
Unless that's just because you and I are getting older?
Dave and Rich at DDB are the best I've worked under. They've consistently done great work wherever they've been too.
I'm brian and so is my wife.
DDB - Feargal and Dylan
TBWA - Lee Tan and Jon Thake
RKCR - still Mike and Jerry
MCBD - guessing that the best work still comes from Danny Brooke-Taylor
Fallon - Chris and John - Cake and Eyebrows
You know, we have a lot of fun and create some pretty great stuff at our little unknown agencies, too! I have great work on my desk PLUS I have a life.
inferno: Warren and Merv
DDB - Sam and Shish
RKCR - Boles and Hollens
WCRS - Luke and Yann
Mother - Ben and Stu
CHI - Ewan
W & K - Ben and Matt
Fallon - Richard Flintham
BMB - Matt and Ian?
Saatchi - will be Potts and Jex
JWT - Hugh and Adam
AMV - Saunby and Chiappe need to make this one work
DDB - Sam and Shish
W+K - Tom & Dave
why can't we say who we think the best team is at bbh?
Congratulations Scamp. this thread sucks ass even by your standards.
The only people who can judge with any conviction are the ones who work at each agency and they will say themselves. Everyone else will just say the name of the team that has picked up the latest award by having his mate on the jury.
In summary: what a complete waste of time. (as was this post)
For the same reason I didn't put BBH on the Heat Chart - unfair for me to judge (or host comments that judge) my own colleagues.
This thread is too boring. Can't we spice it up to be the worst team at each agency?
Or most overpaid?
Or better still, best rack.
Scamp,
The days of the 2 person team are over. They were great for creating press and cinema, but with today's evolving media platform, they are slowly becoming obsolete.
Best Teams in London are
Ben and Matt at WK
Chiappe and Saunby AMV
Ian and Matt at BMB
Rob and Andy at Saatchi's
Fergal and Dylan at DBB
Phil and Graham at Fallon
Damien and Thierry at Mother
Yan and Luke at WCRS
This is pointless. most of the younger teams in agencies will come up with better ideas than this lot.
the old teams - they've just found the way to get them made.
To Anonymous at 1.57pm:
Good shout with Lee Tan but Jon Thake has left the agency now...
@Pigeon molesting cat. Does a top team consist of D&AD pencils and awards? I don't think so.
Scheeboo.
Ha ha.
I love sarcastic posts. Well done.
I let out a bit of wee and everything.
Anyone want to suggest a creative team involved in the digital arena?
I've heard terrance and symbol are great from "emperors new clothes" are quite good?
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Tom & Sam at Fallon. Perhaps over-shadowed by CHris & John, but definitely as good if you ask me.
DDB - They are all exceptional, but Dylan & Feargal and Sam & Shish are a cut above.
W+K - Mat & Ben for sure.
M&C - Will & Curtis. Among M&C's mundane clients, they somehow get some stuff to stand out.
AMV - there is a hell of a lot more than Chiappe & Saunby. I mean they are good, but have only done one post office ad since being there. Mike & Ant and Sonny & Milo are real talents, but aren't quite at the star team level yet.
WCRS - Kit & Tom, Yan & Luke.
Mother - Gus & Gus did the Stella ad, and I like that. Aside from them? They are all at the same level really, especially as Jex and Potts have moved.
RKCR/Y&R - Pip & Chris
CHI - Dave & Ed
Can't think of any others really - I mean there's no point picking the best teams at DLKW or Grey is there?
Top team?
The mighty CFC.
In newly invigorated Hiddink form.
Of course.
Sorry Scamp.
Feargal and Dylan at ddb.
Perhaps Mr. Craigen will be notified of this thread and realize that additional financial compensation is in order for his top team.
@ 3.23 - are you a defensive team in the good ship AMV that just ain't what it used to be, even with Chappy and Saunby (who ain't done a good one in about seven years and three agencies)? Who else is good at AMV? Probably not you.
when we're done can we all wank each other off?
jesus. just deleted scamp from my feed.
Dick and Steve from Saatchis
@anonymous 3.19pm
Thanks for the correction, my mistake, I'd say they are still fine writers whether together or solo
2.41pm
On the contrary. I find this post very interesting, as do many others who have made their feelings clear. What are you doing here?
Anyone actually working within the industry knows more than anyone just how even the standard of teams are. Not just within a department but teams from (gulp) Grey or wherever are just as likely to come up with the same idea as a team from (swoon) Fallon. The difference is right client, right climate, right time.
Now can we stop this self indulgent wank fest
3.48 - definitely not me.
Stop trying to second guess people.
I often write good things about people on this blog.
Complements may be alien to you, but I write what I believe, and if that means saying someone is good, then so be it.
Forearmed is forewarned. Are you now planning a raid, Scamp?
It's impossible to judge how good (or over rated) a team is without actually working with them. Of the teams that are named here the only two I've worked with are Sam and Shish and Ian and Matt. Both pretty good but Ian and Matt are better.
Bob and Terry at Kitcatt Nohr
Mick and Phil at Finex
Sally and Sue at The Marketing Store
Ed and Ed at Blue Frog
Carlos and Zig at Watson Phillips Norman
What about the best unhired juniors creative teams? Best unsigned act so to speak.
Tom & Joe at LCC, defo
@ 3.49
Dear Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells, you'll be back.
Dropping out of Scamp's blog because he ran a post about who is the best team in each agency is like shooting a dog for barking.
@ 4:46 and 4:54
Couldn't agree more.
I've worked with some of those mentioned. They were undeniably good at what they did, but clearly more creative or more productive than those around them? Not at all. Being in the right place at the right time counts for a hell of a lot and is usually fairly arbitrary.
Dick and Dom at Bungalow.
Zippy and George at Rainbow.
The Chuckle Brothers.
Teams? Nah!
www.stevepaskin.com
Tom and Andy: Groove Armada
Dubfire and Sharam: Deep Dish
Tom and ed: Chemical Brothers
Rob and Eric: Thievery Corporation
Felix and Simon: Basement Jaxx
Simon and Tom: Audio Bullys
This is a joke. The industry is so incestuous, im embarrased. Get your heads out of advertising, dont care who is the best at what place and waht not. Get a life!
I heard Susie behind the counter in the M&S Romford branch is the one to watch out for.
Fuck me what a sad bunch! get a grip!
Matt and Ben at Wiedens
DDB is tricky, probably Feargal and Dylan
Jim and Troy have been putting out great work at Pink Oboe
I'm surprised nobody's mentioned Fi and Travis at Ghastly Smudge
Sam & Percy at Falling Arches
Fred at Mutton, Fork, Vomit & Mushroom
Davey & Trev at Sniff my Piglets
BBH - Nick Gill, no question.
(Sorry Scamp. You & Scowl would sneak in at number 2 though)
Mike and Rob - DDB
Tom and Dick from WhoGivesAFuck.
This blog has reached a new low. I shant read it again.
This blog lives in a tired, curtain twitching, sycophantic vacuum. W
Boring
- anon 6.02pm...best unsigned act:
Paul Kocur and Jermaine Hillman, currently at Rainey.
Think we can all agree that the best of the best is :
Don Draper : Sterling Cooper
The gayest thread for some time.
i think its a bit like formula one. all the good drivers usually end up working for the best cars.
God, i do hope no account managers or planners read this thread Scamp.
In one fell swoop you've made creative departments look like the pretentious, ego rubbing knob heads we're always insisting we're not.
Cannon and Ball, at the Wolverhampton Arts Centre.
Hail and Pace, at Bournmouth Pier
Dangermouse and Penfold, at Red Pillar Box
Get a grip, you sad, sad sycophants
Nah, Gary & Wes at BBH are a notch above the other teams there.
Utter tripe, you may as well ask which agency has the best loo roles.
Me and my art director are fucking amazing. We're just criminally underrated.
8.46pm. Brilliant.
I was going to say, before you did that, I'd never heard of half of these people. Makes you think that, if these are the good teams, creatives really don't count these days.
If these are the gooduns, how come they're not more well known? We're just in any other business now. Sad.
Fielding and Barret come up with some amazing shit. No one thinks like that pair.
Goodwin's been quite creative lately. And his work has generated a lot of global press. More of a loner though.
Then there's Blumenthal. Soem say he's a genius, although his last campaign went down the shitter.
When you're going round for a kicking/crit, it always fun to play, 'Which agency has the fittest receptionist?'
Scamp
What is the point of this?
What you just achieved is allowing people to blow smoke up their own arses or their mates and undermine other, probably more talented teams in creative departments.
Don't just complain, 10.58 - if you see an injustice here, go ahead and put it right. Who would you name as teams who are talented but overlooked? Genuinely interested to hear.
Scamp, 10.58 here
I’d rather not play the game; I find it a bit daft when most of the suggestions are from anonymous people so have no real merit.
In my eyes, all that’s been achieved is a massaging of egos of creatives who already think they are fucking great anyway.
Are you sure they all already think they're fucking great?
Many successful people can be quite insecure. Maybe it's no bad thing to big up our big names occasionally.
Also, if you find it daft that people make anonymous suggestions, do feel free to put your name to your own posts.
Hi Scamp. I’m afraid I agree with the posters who thought this thread was a bit of a low point. At its best, this blog is a fascinating exchange of ideas and inspiration. Even the gossipy stuff tends to have an angle which makes me look at my job in a new way. But this subject is just 100% back-slapping, ego-stroking, members’ club nonsense; it completely confirms non-creatives’ perception of creatives as children jostling for position in the school playground. It’s brilliant to celebrate talent, but in my opinion, the whole anonymous mention-my-mates’-names in-club flavour of this thread has devalued it.
Let's see you make the thread more valuable then Ant, rather than just complaining about it.
You say "it's brilliant to celebrate talent." So go ahead. Who do you think is talent worth celebrating?
I thought this was an interesting post because creatives are being undermined and having their significance reduced.
It's like when people complain about awards. Yes, they're not perfect, but they are something creatives have to maintain some sort of standing against the other departments.
The account guys have the true power because they know where the money goes and are usually in ultimate charge of agencies. All we can do is make sure our status doesn't disappear for good, and we do that by celebrating the work and the primary creators of that work.
All the people on here who think that's all bullshit - you're probably right (advertising as a whole is not a million miles away from the land of bullshit), but the work and its makers need protecting if we're not just going to sink into a puddle of slurry.
It's somewhat depressing to read the above negative comments on a creative blog (unless you're all account guys in disguise). It's like turkeys voting for Christmas.
Fair enough, Scamp.
I don't know the team personally, but I think the new Fallon long copy ads by Toby Moore and Selena McKenzie for the Tate Britain campaign are absolutely brilliant. Shit, the bar was set so high, but they've cleared it. The 'Instant Critic' execution particularly, is so well written it inspired in me that weird combination of admiration and jealousy.
Steve at Navel-Gazing is the nuts.
I guess you don't hear about 'The latest top teams' because the way a lot of agencies have adapted their working practices. The days of a team of two people being solely responsible for the success of an ad are more or less gone.
Of course there are still very influential creative people who know which strings to pull to steer the fruition of an ad and are respected inside each agency however.
Oh stop crying about this thread being a low point, you soft twats.
It's a bit of gossip and interesting to hear who's rated. That's all.
Get a grip.
Ben, I totally agree that “creatives are being undermined and having their significance reduced.” And I totally agree that we should try to make sure our status doesn't disappear for good “by celebrating the work and the primary creators of that work.” I just felt this thread didn’t come across as a very good forum for that. It seemed to me to damage the reputations of creatives rather than enhance it. Anyway, apologies for the negativity, moan over.
You and Tube.
It's where everyone is getting ideas.
Last year i overheard my CD telling the bloke that Traffics : ' a few years ago me and **** were one of the top ten teams outside London' - hilarious ego massaging and completely deluded. Made me laugh anyway.
Opps, i'm ment to be being positive!
anon, oop north.
9:50 AM, I am a planner and already knew you were all "pretentious, ego rubbing knob heads".
To resolve this whole 'who is best in DDB' problem, I know for a fact that Shish and Dylan are currently man-wrestling it out in a log cabin in the middle of the French Alps. I know because I'm watching. It isn't pretty.
Well, Mike and David are the best though Jack and Bob get all their credit and so everyone thinks Jack and Bob are better. But really it's Mike and David, and everyone knows it in our department. Then again, Danny and Lisa (interns) think Mike and David steal all their ideas any so it might be Danny and Lisa. But no one outside will ever really know since the CD of all those guys get all the credit.
Boys are better than girls
In response to
"- anon 6.02pm...best unsigned act:
Paul Kocur and Jermaine Hillman, currently at Rainey."
Couldn't agree more, one of the few keeping the bucks name alive. One of the very few.
Obviously apart from the teams who got jobs while still at the uni.
Anon 6:01 PM
As opposed to "self-important, over intellectualising, pretentious, ego rubbing knob heads"?
I searched desperately form my name with no luck!
But I find the post interesting in a nice gossipy kind of way.
It's good to know and agree/disagree with who's hot and who's not according to everybody else.
It's pretty clear to me that the people who are moaning about the post are people who would not have any chance of being on the list.
Don't be jealous and bitter. Just work harder.
usual suspects aside, some i think you lot have missed...
rick and dan - leo's
sue higgs and tony haigh - did the best thing at BTAA's this year
danny b t - mcbd
adam tucker, where is he now, wherever it is he's up there?
dave dye
yan and luke
You big-agency wanker types are really annoying sometimes. When I was a junior, my partner and I worked on this rinky-dink DM piece that got a 97% response rate. Bloody 97%! Maybe WE were the best team ever!
But no--I don't work at a conglomorate anymore. In fact, I'm now at a small, private agency that not one of you has ever heard of. But we don't have to please a bunch of shareholders or a long train of vice-this and vice-thats, so we just work hard, have fun, and create. AND we usually leave by 5:30. So there!
Chris & John didn't make eyebrows, I've heard they are the team behind those daft More Than-spots. They haven't made anything good since Cake. Kit & Tom are awesome though.
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