Bartle Bogle Hegarty
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Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) is a British advertising agency, responsible for some of the more notable advertisement campaigns of the last twenty years.
The company was founded by John Bartle, Nigel Bogle & John Hegarty in 1982. John Hegarty and Nigel Bogle still lead it today, together with Simon Sherwood.
From its UK start, BBH pioneered a ‘micro network’ global agency model. It has just six offices worldwide - London, New York, Singapore, Tokyo, Sao Paulo and Shanghai. BBH employs more than 600 staff globally. Despite it’s size, the agency has attracted major global brands including Audi, Vodafone, Levi Straus, British Airways, Johnnie Walker, Omo/Persil & Axe/Lynx.
The company was responsible for some of the most talked about campaigns of the last two decades, including commercials such as Levi’s ‘Laundrette’, and Levi's ‘Flatbeat’ featuring Flat Eric, a small yellow puppet. They were also responsible for 'Vorsprung durch Technik' for Audi, ‘The Axe Effect’ for Unilever’s and ‘Keep Walking’ for Johnnie Walker. The agency’s extensive use of music has produced nine number one singles in the UK alone.
The company’s success has been built on its core belief in “the power of creativity and the primacy of the idea”. Its unique approach to the development of brand communications and its commitment to ‘engagement planning’ further differentiates it from competitors. BBH recently launched the Audi Channel for Audi and works with clients on a range of innovative ‘brand content’ projects, including TV programme production, radio programming, press content, film integration and mobile & gaming initiatives.
BBH London recruits graduates every year as part of a training scheme that is regarded as one of the best in the industry. Graduate students are provided with the opportunity to establish a career in account management. The programme provides a grounding in general business skills as well as those specific to advertising. Competition is fierce and applicants have been known to go to any length to demonstrate their determination (cf. Jayme Goldstein). This year the deadline for applications is 3 December 2006 with first round interviews being held between 3 January and 15 January 2007 for placements commencing September 2007.
BBH has won many creative awards over the years. It has been Agency of the Year twice at Cannes, and has won 32 IPA Effectiveness Awards since 1988.
BBH London is Campaign magazine’s current UK Agency of the Year (for the third successive year and the fifth time in total – a first in the industry). In the USA, Advertising Age recently voted BBH Global Network of the Year and, in Singapore, Ad Asia has chosen BBH as its Agency of the Year for the region.
Update: 01.09.06 - BBH opens the first virtual advertising office in Second Life, a popular online game.
By Pete Rogers, BBH Digital Consultant
