Nicolas Bard, one of the managing partners at Naked in France asked French bloggers to name their top 3 creative agencies in the world. As Alex tagged me I am playing along with the meme.

Creativity is such a subjective concept. Although our industry is changing and everyone is talking about engagement vs. messages, the principle of a great idea well executed is still true. What has changed though is that we aren’t only judging a result, a visual or a movie but the entire creative process.

Anyway back to the original question. As I am biased I can’t really mention the Brooklyn Brothers can I? Ok I have but I am still going to name three other agencies!

Number 3: Ideo
Ideo is not exactly an agency, in their own words their ‘focus lies at the intersection of insight and inspiration, and is informed by business, technology, and culture.’ They are the kind of place that inspires the entire industry because they are doers at heart. I love their principles: Inspiration, Iteration and storytelling.

Number 2: Anomaly
Founded in 2004, Anomaly is one of these agencies that go beyond traditional distinction in a genuine way. “When a client comes in with an advertising problem, Anomaly addresses it more broadly as a business issue, analyzing everything from design to product development.” I love the work they did for Converse; it is a great example of an agency understanding a client heritage. They are good at crafting things as well: “half of Anomaly’s business is doing client work, the other half is building brands from scratch.”

Number 1: Droga5
Similar model here, small, flexible, people from unconventional background… They have a great ability to put brands in a cultural context; their work for Ecko, Unicef and Guitar Hero is representative of that. I also love the fact they have everyone participating on their website.

[Pic via]