Campaign reckons that adam&eveDDB, Havas, Uncommon Creative Studio and Wonderhood Studios are pitching for the big Virgin Media account, formerly held by BBH.
DDB handled it before BBH and its exit was a reason for the merger with adam&eve. Havas London seems on an upswing under the overall tutelage of Chris Hirst but the two really interesting ones are “studios” Uncommon (formed by a former Grey trio headed by Nils Leonard) and David Abraham’s Wonderhood.
Abraham was a founder partner of St Luke’s and later CEO of UK broadcaster Channel 4. The agency side of Wonderhood has been quiet since it formed last year – two strands, one an agency one a programme maker – despite hiring some top level talent. But so was Uncommon in its first few months of existence.
The various Virgin brands, although no longer controlled by Richard Branson, have a history of giving newbies a chance.
Virgin Media used to be known as a high maintenance account in its days at DDB so it’s a fair old challenge for Uncommon and Wonderhood. But it would be good to see two UK indies really establishing themselves. Mother, on a high at the moment after 21 years in business, shows it can be done.
