Clutter-Busting Work Makes Deutsch ADWEEK's 2024 US Agency of the Year

A cartoon Yung Gravy parties with a bedazzled pink tiger, serenades anthropomorphic fruit, and showers a concert crowd with Dr Pepper’s newest flavor, Strawberries & Cream. The rapper’s surprise drop of a cheeky earworm, “Strawberries & Creamin’,” along with the animated music video and quirky swag, would turn out to be immediate hits with the Gen Z target audience. But giving the green light to such an unconventional campaign, even though it came from longtime agency of record Deutsch, initially took some convincing, according to Andrew Springate, CMO of parent company Keurig Dr Pepper. “It made us a little uncomfortable and certainly pushed boundaries,” Springate said. “But we loved the concept—it was differentiated, it was on brand and on strategy, and it played on multiple [media] channels.” Tipping the scales was the trust built over a 16-year partnership with Deutsch, an agency that Dr Pepper credits with helping boost it to the No. 2 U.S. soda brand (toppling Pepsi) and becoming the most-followed carbonated drink on TikTok with 1.5 million fans. “They understand our brand, and they understand our consumers and how to resonate with them,” Springate said. “And they’re committed to winning.” That kind of clutter-busting, internet-melting work—that Deutsch CEO Kim Getty calls “unignorable and innovative”—has propelled the freshly rebranded shop to ADWEEK’s 2024 U.S. Agency of the Year. Blue sky outlook The proudly West Coast firm—with a dynamic new logo infused with the sun, sand, surf, and graffiti of Los Angeles—has been firing on multiple cylinders in the past year, topping its standing as a 2023 Agency of the Year finalist. Female-led Deutsch has grown revenues by double digits year-over-year and 60% since it officially split from Deutsch NY in 2020. Adding more than 100 new hires, the agency kept its turnover low (8.5%) and increased its BIPOC population to 40% from 37% a year ago. Fueling growth was a slew of new business added in the last year, including Verizon’s value brands, Credit One Bank, Cedars-Sinai, St. Jude Children’s Hospital, and returning clients Pizza Hut and Behr. Despite the new business tear, Getty noted that “we don’t do much pitching—our current clients are our best source of future business. The way we invest in those relationships, the points we’re able to put on the board, are the most important thing that we’re going to do.” In that vein, Deutsch also deepened ties and expanded its duties for Adobe, Nintendo, Walmart+ and others on its roster. Creative wave Deutsch’s breakthrough creative spans far beyond traditional media. The agency has doubled its social output in the last year, leaning on its in-house Steelhead production facilities, with Getty noting, “the thing we’ve always been best at is creativity at scale.” Recently debuting the seventh season of Friday Night Lights parody series Fansville for Dr Pepper, along with the “It’s a Pepper Thing” campaign, Deutsch also created an AI tool for PetSmart Charities to help thousands of shelter animals find forever homes. A program for Walmart+ turned out 54 TikToks of “Moms Answering Moms,” while a brand revamp for Verizon’s StraightTalk, the first in 15 years, established a new marketing framework that’s now used across channels, from online to in-store. Since its founding, Deutsch has had “scrappy, outsized ambition. We always said, ‘Why not us? Why can’t we do that? Let’s figure it out, let’s move forward,’” said creative chair Karen Costello, one of the agency’s first 13 employees who rejoined in 2020 as its top creative. “It was baked into those early days, and it’s baked into who we are today.” The only constant is change Like its Hollywood hometown, Deutsch loves a reinvention story and is constantly looking for industry firsts and fresh approaches while still drawing on its rich legacy (average tenure for its senior leadership is 11 years). Taco Bell CMO Taylor Montgomery, noting its 13-year alliance with the agency, said the brand “needs to be on the edge of culture, and shape and push where culture goes.” “One of Deutsch’s superpowers is its ability to roll with us, to change and evolve with us as consumers change,” Montgomery said. “There’s a great symbiosis between our teams.” The partners spend more time these days talking about simple yet scalable ideas—as opposed to strictly tactics, platforms or objectives—including ways to extend the wildly successful “Freeing Taco Tuesdays.” A recent iteration brought together two of the brand’s A-list spokesmen, LeBron James and Jason Sudeikis, for a purposely cheesy ‘90s-inspired buddy sitcom. Deutsch helped Taco Bell debut the premium Cantina Chicken menu, one of the biggest launches in its history that “definitely changed the trajectory of our business this year,” per Montgomery. The shop also collaborated with Kellanova’s Cheez-It snacks with ads that mirrored Silicon Valley tech marketing, a departure for the category. Depending on the day, the agency or brand could be the instigator for pushing into different, edgier territory. “The best meetings are the ones where the Deutsch team says, ‘You guys are dumb if you don’t do this,’” Montgomery said. “And we end up saying, ‘OK, you know what, you’re right.’ STATS Key wins: Cedars-Sinai (AOR), St. Jude Children’s Hospital, four Verizon brands, Credit One Bank (AOR), Pizza Hut, Behr (AOR), six Adobe brands (social AOR) Losses: Lowe’s (AOR) Revenue: Deutsch did not disclose revenue but said it achieved double-digit growth between October 2023 and October 2024. Strategic Moves: Completing the split with its New York office, Deutsch dropped the “LA” from its name during 2024’s AI-boosted rebrand. The agency also made more than 100 new hires to support growth. Diversity: Half of new hires were BIPOC, and Deutsch promoted five female strategy directors and added a dozen Hispanic marketing experts. Blackness in Bloom, a program that supports Black and Latino entrepreneurs, extended a partnership with Pharrell Williams for its fifth year. The Work Taco Bell: “Taco Twosday” LeBron James led a decorated effort to liberate the Taco Tuesday trademark, while Jason Sudeikis led a Chicken Cantina menu push. What if they came together to hype a new chicken taco? In a ’90s buddy sitcom-style spot, the duo try new things like watercolor painting, beekeeping, rollerblading—and the Crunchy Chicken Taco. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clD_dG0ZFug PetSmart Charities: “Rescue Writer” Shelter animals with detailed profiles have a better chance of getting adopted. Deutsch’s innovation lab, Creat-ai-thon, and PetSmart Charities developed an AI tool that crafts engaging profiles to capture each animal’s unique qualities. The tech was made available free to rescue organizations, foster homes and volunteers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E857CZJkJWI Dr Pepper: “Feeding the Ducks/Fansville” This Dr Pepper series comes packed with Easter eggs and self-referential humor about college football. A recent episode jabbing at sports corporatization blatantly plugs its flagship drinks and new Strawberries & Cream flavor. A special guest, the Aflack duck, loudly name-checks the brand as an angsty character notes, “My whole life is a commercial!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQNCErHCXfs Walmart+: “Moms Answering Moms” Celebrity moms Paris Hilton, Whitney Cummings, and Tia Mowry shared their no-nonsense parenting advice in this Mother’s Day program for TikTok. The women took questions from fellow moms on social media, addressing issues from sleep training to meal prepping. Deutsch created 54 videos in a lightning-fast two-day turnaround. https://www.tiktok.com/@walmart/video/7360098457195154734

Agency of the Year

Clutter-Busting Work Makes Deutsch ADWEEK's 2024 US Agency of the Year

The newly rebranded shop takes the title with internet-melting work that has led to robust business growth

T.L. Stanley

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