With Omnicom now confirming the DDB brand will disappear after more than 76 years, we look back at the work that defined one of advertising’s most influential agencies.
As Omnicom’s acquisition of IPG concluded, rumors had been mounting over which agency brands might survive under the new consolidated group. Today, Omnicom confirmed that DDB, one of the most storied names in the business, will be retired and folded into TBWA as part of the restructuring.
The 76-year-old network has been home to some of the industry’s most decorated advertising executives. With staff in 90 offices in over 40 countries, still producing work for clients including McDonald’s, John Lewis and Heinz and being named Cannes Lions’ Network of the Year in 2025, the idea that DDB was expendable seemed, to some, a sorry ending for such a storied agency.
But, as Nils Leonard recently wrote, agency brands can’t exist at “any cost.”
Today, Omnicom confirmed a new operating model with all of its creative agencies falling under a new ‘Omnicom Advertising’ division. The brand names that survive in this new structure will be BBDO, McCann and TBWA, with the remaining (including DDB and FCB) falling under a new ‘Omnicom Advertising Collective’ marque. Troy Ruhanen will lead the Omnicom Advertising division as CEO.
DDB was founded in 1949 by Bill Bernbach, James Edwin Doyle and Maxwell Dane. Omnicom Group was subsequently founded in 1986 through a merger of DDB, BBDO Worldwide and Needham Harper Worldwide.
Here, we look back at some of DDB’s most iconic work.
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Volkswagen: Think Small
The original Volkswagen ad changed the course of advertising history. The work, for a little-known German car brand and its even lesser-known car, the Beetle, helped turn it into one of the most popular and successful companies in the US.
Quaker Oats: Little Mikey
In 1972, the TV ad introduced the nation to a character called Mikey and, for the next 12 years, he would front campaigns for the cereal brand. The work was inducted into the TV Commercial Hall of Fame and earned its creators Clio awards.
Avis: We Try Harder
Created by DDB copywriter Paula Green, the work was celebrated for its bravery in acknowledging that the car rental firm wasn’t the best. It argued that as the underdog, Avis had to work harder than market leader Hertz to provide better customer service. The firm ran with the tagline for almost 50 years before dropping it in 2012.
Budweiser: Football
This ad sees a herd of unbridled Clydesdale horses playing football, in the lee of a majestic mountain range, while two cowboys look on. Viewers got used to those horses, too. Budweiser used the idea for decades.
H&M: Wes Anderson’s Christmas 2016
H&M managed to tap none other than Wes Anderson and Adrian Brody for its 2016 Christmas ad. It’s easy to forget after four minutes of quintessential Anderson that the spot is even marketing H&M.
Philips: Carousel
A TV ad that pushed production to its very limits. This freezeframe vision of a heist gone wrong reminded us why we need the latest tech to best be immersed in drama.
Budweiser: Wassup
Every now and then, an ad will capture the zeitgeist in a bottle. Wassup did just that. How a silly greeting became perhaps the best way to encapsulate the year 2000 remains a mystery, but we suspect you’ll be trying it out on your next phone call.
Read more:
Omnicom confirms post-IPG leadership, DDB, FCB & MullenLowe sunsetting and job cuts
Farewell FCB: A look back at the creative renaissance of an agency sunsetted at its peak
