JWT

By far one of my favorite ad agency names - there's no way this guy got beat up in kindergarten, unless they called him Walter... but that's another story. J. Walter Thompson was founded in 1864, when Abraham Lincoln was re-elected for a second term (when you put it into a historical perspective it makes you realize how old the company is). It was acquired by WPP in 1987. In 2005 they dropped all but three letters in an attempt to "re-launch" the agency. Although I'm not sure it it worked, I do like saying JWT better than its original title. They have a separate entity called "Ethos" which aims to develop socially responsible marketing and advertising strategies for non-profit and corporate clients. They have done work for DeBeers, Bayer, Johnson & Johnson, Nokia, Royal Caribbean, U.S. Marine Corps, Microsoft, and Nestle.

I've included two print ads that I really like:

JWT- New York. For those who can't tell, it says "no" then "yes" (in Swedish, of course) and the tag is "A friend you can eat". I absolutely love Swedish Fish, but this is the first ad I've seen for them. Albeit bizarre, I like this campaign because it makes Swedish Fish more than a candy, it's an edible friend - which is strange, but totally creates a cool, hipster, brand personality that totally fits with the type of people who first introduced me to the candy. So why not go to the store and take home a friend you can eat?

JWT - Milan. Although I find that this ad straddles the fence of distasteful and respectful, I've got to admit that it's creative and gets you to think. It reminds me of some Amnesty International ads, if AI decided to take a light-hearted approach to their usually serious and visceral ads. This one doesn't scare you into wanting to help feed Africa, instead it makes you think about it in a different way, connecting the audience with people halfway across the world who, turns out, aren't as different as we think.