Clipland

Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) is a British advertising agency, responsible for some of the more notable advertising 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. In 1997, Leo Burnett Worldwide purchased a 49 percent share in BBH; that share is now held by the Publicis advertising group.

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 its 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 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 and gaming initiatives.

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 was Campaign magazine’s 2005 UK Agency of the Year, an honour it also held in 1986, 1993, 2003 and 2004. 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.

In 2006, BBH opened what it called the first virtual advertising office in Second Life.