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February 2007 - Strategy Magazine
Creative report card

Top Client: Leo Burnett/Pfizer

by Natalia Williams, figures compiled by David Spevic
page 46

Back in November, during the opening skit for strategy's Agency of the Year festivities, MC Chris Pastirik, Dentsu's strategic catalyst, quipped: "In a bold move, Leo Burnett has fired all their clients citing their recent success designing their own website. Quote, 'Leo Burnett likes Leo Burnett as a client because Leo Burnett lets Leo Burnett do whatever Leo Burnett would like.' End of quote."

He was partly right. The site's success has bode well for the Toronto office (D&AD fittingly awarded it a Black Pencil), injecting a massive dose of creative credibility. The agency-as-client model also resulted in a tie for Top Client,

a Creative Report Card first. The other Top Client was Pfizer.

"We were pretty surprised," says president/CEO David Moore of the

accolades upon the site's launch in August 2005. His personal fave is the Black Pencil because the competition included a range of designers. "We were up against the iPod Nano."

"The genesis of all this was that we were tired of being embarrassed about our website," says Israel Diaz, CD. "[So] we treated ourselves as a real client: We had an account person on it, we had brainstorm meetings."

And real deadlines. The site's unveiling coincided with the quarterly meeting of about 30 managers and CDs from Leo's global offices held in Toronto. Diaz says it was the reaction of Leo's top execs to the site's simple but contemporary design (which harkens back to founder Leo Burnett's penchant for the big, black pencil as creative catalyst) that made them realize it was a winner.

All interactive was led by the agency's digital arm Arc Worldwide, Toronto, and Toronto is now responsible for content management of the Leo Burnett site globally. "The black pencil has become the icon for the agency everywhere," says Moore, a shift away from the apple and the hand reaching for the stars logos.

THE RANKING

Leo Burnett Canada 83

Pfizer Canada 83

Science World 80

BC Dairy Foundation 77

IKEA 75

NIKE Canada 72

Mini Canada 61

Royal Ontario Museum 57

Canadian Film Centre 50

United Way of the Lower Mainland 48

Kellogg Canada 44

Royal BC Museum 35

The World of Comedy Film Festival 31

BC Lions 28

Greengate Garden Centres 28

Irving Oil Corp. 26

W Network 25

WWF Canada 24

Labatt Breweries 23

Assulted Women's Help Line 21

Dose 21

Federation Des Producteurs de Lait du Quebec 19

Contemporary Art Gallery 19

ICBC 19

Mio Watch 18

New Brunswick Family & Community Services 18

Toyota Canada 18

Bogart's Chophouse & Bar 16

Canadian Tire 16

James Mahon 16

Federation Des Producteurs de Lait du Quebec 15

Nissan Canada 15

Virgin Mobile 14

Birthways 13

Future Shop 13

Michelin North America 13

The Chrysler Jeep Dodge Retailers of Ontario 13

1-800-GOT-JUNK 12

Canadian Scooter Corp. 12

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