If there were any question marks still lingering last year around whether the management team from Smart of Ben Lilley, Ash Farr and John Mescall could reverse McCann’s flagging fortunes in Australia following the ‘reverse takeover’ of the indie by the global advertising giant, they have well and truly been put to bed.
The last 12 months have seen awards and accolades heaped on the revitalised creative outfit, thanks in no small part to, wait for it – can you guess? That’s right, ‘Dumb Ways to Die’ for Metro Trains. (Quick, name three things that aren’t ‘Dumb Ways to Die’. Hugo Weaving, Jackie Chan, ‘Dumb Ways to Die’. Shit!)
The viral PSA, along with work for V/Line, the Federal Government, MasterCard and others, saw McCann recognised at just about every major awards show – Caxtons, Spikes, AIMIA, Award, New York Festivals, D&AD, One Show, Sirens... you get the gist.
Revenue growth of 10.1% year-on-year for the 2013 financial year was helped along by new business from the likes of Google, Lion, Hitachi, the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, and one very big ‘not for publication’. The momentum is strong with this one. Keep behind the yellow line.
Sourced from AdNews Agency Report Card, May 31 2013 edition.
More recently McCann has had a spate of new hires in both its Sydney and Melbourne offices, including Adrian Mills as MD of Melbourne, Dejan Rasic as executive creative director in Sydney, Tony Prysten as digital director in Melbourne and David Ponce de León as creative director in Melbourne. In addition, John Mescall was moved to New York as Global ECD for the McCann Group.
It also won an account with Pacific Brands, handling the Hard Yakka, KingGee and Stubbies brands. McCann’s other clients include Coca-Cola, L’Oreal, MasterCard, Google, Uncle Tobys, Metro, V/Line, Lion Dairy & Drinks and the Federal Government.
What they say:
McCann has created the world’s most enduring stories, for the world’s most enduring brands. With offices in over 130 countries, we’re the world’s largest advertising agency network. And as part of McCann Worldgroup, we provide our clients with a completely integrated and comprehensive marketing services offering.
