Havas London

“If you’ve been reading Campaign in the past few months, you’ll know Havas London is on a roll”, said UK Editor Maisie McCabe in May. Over the second half of the year, that roll only gained momentum. For 2021 marked the year the rest of the industry began to recognise Havas London not just as a remarkable turnaround story, but as an agency driving the industry forward, using its position of influence as a progressive force for good.

Led by CEO (and Campaign’s Agency Head of the Year) Xavier Rees and CCO (and Campaign’s Creative Person of the Year) Vicki Maguire, we became the first major agency to recertify as a B Corporation, and the first to join the Better Business Act Coalition. We committed to net zero by 2025, played active roles in organisations including Ad Net Zero and AdGreen, were named a Campaign ‘Best Place to Work’, and created 100 entry-level roles for people from atypical backgrounds through the Government’s Kickstart Scheme.

And none of this came to the detriment of success – quite the opposite. We won more than £5.2m new revenue, including one of the largest pitches of the year in Asda, retained our prized place on the revamped Government roster and, crucially, did not lose a single client. Our best work came on our biggest clients, including Asda, Durex and EDF, while we won Cannes Gold for The Black Plaque Project – with this great cause becoming, rather fittingly, our most awarded campaign ever.