This week, The Drum is publishing our mid-year update to the World Creative Rankings, highlighting the advertisers, agencies and work leading the way so far at this year’s awards festivals.
FCB New York’s ‘Drops Of Hope’ for Kimberly-Clark brand Poise
For the second year running, The Drum is publishing a mid-year snapshot of how the World Creative Rankings are shaping up, offering a glimpse into which agencies are storming ahead as 2025 unfolds. And once again, FCB New York is in pole position, cementing its reputation as a dominant creative force.
Following a stellar 2024 that saw the agency finish at the top of the year-end leaderboard, FCB New York shows no signs of slowing. Its continued momentum has been driven by award-winning campaigns across key international festivals, including ongoing work with AB InBev (the most-awarded advertiser so far this year) and Spotify (whose ‘Spreadbeats’ is the most-awarded campaign) that continues to resonate with juries globally.
The agency’s chief executive, Emma Armstrong, previously told The Drum that its winning streak was the product of a five-year plan focused on “creative excellence.”
“Any agency can have an up year or a piece of work that stands out. But [for the last five years,] we’ve really tried to focus on sustained creative excellence and success for our clients and it’s really gratifying to see that come to life,” Armstrong said.
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Munich’s Serviceplan, meanwhile, has climbed into second position from its previous fourth place, having turned heads with a strong performance across European shows, combining innovation with cultural insight to deliver standout creative. At the same time, Klick Health has jumped from 17th to our current third place, marking a significant shift in the recognition of healthcare and pharma creativity on the global stage. Other notable climbers include Area 23, which soars into 5th from 19th, and Circus Grey, surging from 52nd to 13th, a testament to the growing influence of Latin American agencies in global creativity.
Meanwhile, some previous front-runners have slipped, including Rethink, which had held second place but has since dropped to 9th. Publicis Conseil, Cannes Lions’ Agency of the Year this year and last, also slides, dropping from third to eighth despite a strong showing in early awards.
With major shows such as The Drum Awards Festival still ahead, and entries open until September 4, the leaderboard remains fluid. Expect more shifts as agencies push for podium positions in the second half of the year.
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| Rank (previous) | Agency | |
|---|---|---|
| = | 1 (1) | FCB New York |
| ↑ | 2 (4) | Serviceplan Munich |
| ↑ | 3 (17) | Klick Health |
| ↑ | 4 (6) | LePub Italy |
| ↑ | 5 (19) | Area 23 |
| ↑ | 6 (14) | TBWA\Media Arts Lab LA |
| ↓ | 7 (5) | VML New York |
| ↓ | 8 (3) | Publicis Conseil |
| ↓ | 9 (2) | Rethink |
| ↑ | 10 (28) | DM9 Sao Paulo |
| = | 11 (11) | FCB Chicago |
| ↑ | 12 (16) | David Madrid |
| ↑ | 13 (52) | Circus Grey |
| ↑ | 14 (27) | Africa Creative DDB |
| ↑ | 15 (28) | BETC Paris |
| ↑ | 16 (94) | Ogilvy Singapore |
| ↑ | 17 (73) | Energy BBDO |
| ↑ | 18= (31) | McCann London |
| ↓ | 18= (10) | Ogilvy New York |
| ↑ | 20 (33) | AMV BBDO |
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The most-awarded campaigns of 2025 so far
The most-awarded advertisers of 2025 so far
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LePub Italy
TBWA\Media Arts Lab LA
Africa Creative DDB Sao Paulo
VML New York
DM9
Uma das agências mais criativas do mundo, pronta pra ser uma das agências mais criativas do #NovoMundo.
Klick Health
Klick Health is the world’s largest independent commercialization partner for life sciences, focused on hacking the boundaries of health by developing, launching,...
David Madrid
More than an ad agency, a creative company. Born in the legacy of David Ogilvy, based in sunny Madrid and ready to create pop culture ideas around the world.
Area 23
A diverse, passionate group of thinkers, creators, poets, artists & technologists devoted to creating marketing ideas that change behavior. #NeverFinished
Circus Grey
Grey Peru is part of the Grey Latin network which firmly believe that exceptional creativity is able to stand the test of time and give you something to talk about...
Ogilvy
Ogilvy has been creating impact for brands through iconic, culture-changing, value-driving ideas since the company was founded by David Ogilvy 75 years ago. It builds...
Energy BBDO
Energy BBDO is a global creative agency known for energizing people and brands. The “Energy” in Energy BBDO starts with its energized people, who are driven...
FCB New York
FCB New York is a full-service advertising agency based in New York City that offers creative and strategic services across multiple marketing disciplines.
FCB Chicago
We are the industry’s largest startup – the oldest and newest advertising agency in Chicago. Founded in 1873 as Lord & Thomas and reintroduced as Foote, Cone...
Ogilvy New York
Ogilvy has been producing iconic, culture-changing marketing campaigns since the day its founder David Ogilvy opened up shop in 1948. Today, Ogilvy is an award-winning...
Serviceplan Munich
The heart of the Serviceplan Group
AMV BBDO
We are AMV BBDO – a creative agency full of talented, hard-working, down-to-earth people who obsess about creating Big Ideas that 𝚛̲𝚎̲𝚊̲𝚕̲ people...
McCann London
We're a creative agency dedicated to telling the truth and telling it well. A Truth Well Told - our guiding principle since 1912 - underpins everything we do. It...
BETC Paris
Founded in Paris, France in 1995, BETC has become known throughout the advertising industry for its creativity and iconic campaigns led by co-founder Remi Babin...
Publicis Conseil
PUBLICIS CONSEIL, LOVE THE CHANGE