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.
‘Sightwalks’ by Circus Grey for Sol Cement helped Ogilvy hold firm at top of network leaderboard
Following the release earlier this week of The Drum’s World Creative Rankings Mid-Year Leaderboards for campaigns, advertisers and agencies, today we turn our attention to the agency networks and holding companies making the biggest waves so far in 2025’s awards season.
Ogilvy continues its dominant run, holding firm at the top of our agency network leaderboard. The global powerhouse has shown consistent performance across the year’s major festivals, including The Drum Awards, Cannes Lions and The Clios, with work spanning sectors and continents, helping it retain its number-one spot from the most recent annual rankings.
FCB, however, is the network to watch. Making a major jump from fifth to second, FCB’s rise has been fueled by a string of standout campaigns, including the wildly successful ‘Spreadbeats’ for Spotify, which is currently the most-awarded campaign of the year.
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DDB Worldwide climbs into third, trading places with VML, which drops to fourth. Both networks remain consistent performers, but DDB’s momentum across multiple regions nudges it ahead at the mid-year point.
BBDO rounds out the top five, rising from seventh, while McCann drops to sixth after previously holding third place. TBWA remains in the mix at number seven, showing stability in a fiercely competitive field.
LePub makes a notable leap from 13th to 8th, while Serviceplan and Havas complete the top 10, also improving on their earlier standings.
| Rank (previous) | Agency Network | |
|---|---|---|
| = | 1 (1) | Ogilvy |
| ↑ | 2 (5) | FCB |
| ↑ | 3 (4) | DDB Worldwide |
| ↓ | 4 (2) | VML |
| ↑ | 5 (7) | BBDO |
| ↓ | 6 (3) | McCann |
| ↓ | 7 (6) | TBWA |
| ↑ | 8 (13) | LePub |
| ↑ | 9 (11) | Serviceplan |
| ↑ | 10 (12) | Havas |
Meanwhile, on the holding company front, WPP remains on top, buoyed by Ogilvy’s continued dominance and solid performances from VML and other key agencies in its network.
Omnicom rises to second place, overtaking IPG, which slips to third. With DDB, BBDO and TBWA all delivering high-impact campaigns, Omnicom’s creative strength is showing through in the first half of the year.
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Publicis Groupe holds steady in fourth, while Havas Worldwide breaks into the top five, replacing Dentsu, which falls outside the top five for now.
| Rank (previous) | Holding Company | |
|---|---|---|
| = | 1 (1) | WPP |
| ↑ | 2 (3) | Omnicom |
| ↓ | 3 (2) | IPG |
| = | 4 (4) | Publicis Groupe |
| ↑ | 5 (6) | Havas Worldwide |
As always, the full World Creative Rankings will only be revealed once the entire calendar of creative awards is complete at the end of 2025. But with The Drum Marketing Awards, Cannes Lions, D&AD, The One Show and The Clios already wrapped, this release hints at the work and companies that will be in contention to top the final tables.
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