DDB launches Unexpected Works

Agency DDB Worldwide has unveiled an evolved brand positioning brought to life by a billboard running in one of the least expected places imaginable, a sheep farm in Garston, New Zealand.

Carrying the address www.unexpectedworks.com, the billboard redirects to DDB’s homepage featuring the refreshed visual identity. While the campaign may seem like an antithetical way to launch a new brand positioning with Garston having a population of 100 humans and 40,000 sheep, it recognises creativity is the most powerful when it's unexpected.

DDB Worldwide has a rich history of tapping into the unexpected dating back to Volkswagen Lemon and finding more contemporary interpretations in campaigns, including Skittles Broadway Musical, Marmite Gene Test and Stayfree Project Free Period.

“The formula for creating breakthrough creative work that drives business results is timeless,” DDB Worldwide Chief Creative Officer Ari Weiss said. “It’s how we bring that formula to life that changes on a daily basis. We’re not reinventing the wheel here. We’re simply putting more focused language around a truth that anyone who has ever worked at DDB can feel in their bones: Unexpected Works.”

DDB Worldwide Chief Strategy Officer Alex Hesz said: “We are in the business of creating growth, delivering work that unambiguously helps our clients to achieve their business goals. Creativity is a means to that end, just as it has always been. At DDB, we believe truly creative ideas are inherently unexpected; they’re the ideas you never saw coming, the insights that truly surprise you, the approaches that go counter to the category. We call that the ‘Unexpected’, and it’s what we strive for on every brief, every client, because we know that’s the work that truly works for our clients. It’s proven, across categories, across markets, and over time; Unexpected work drives growth. Unexpected work transforms businesses. Unexpected, Works.”

“All of us are emerging from this pandemic fundamentally changed,” DDB Worldwide CEO Marty O’Halloran said. “We took this opportunity to evolve the DDB Network and refine what makes us special, relevant and successful in this new world. Unexpected Works is our commitment to doing the best work of our lives and I’m confident it will carry us into the future while staying committed to our legacy. I’m excited to see our network come together to bring Unexpected Works to life.”

The proposition was revealed at DDB’s first-ever all-staff conference held virtually for its 10,000 staff around the world.