Tbwa\Group Hires Adam Reeves As Cco For Ddb, Juniper Park\Tbwa

One year after merging DDB with Juniper Park\TBWA in Canada, Omnicom has hired Adam Reeves as CCO, overseeing creative at both agencies comprising TBWA\Group Canada.

While he was born in Canada, Reeves has spent his entire career in the U.S., with stints at widely respected and globally successful agencies including R/GA and Goodby Silverstein.

In addition to winning a Grammy and earning an Emmy nomination, he has won awards from the top industry shows. He’s written and creative directed campaigns such as the NBA’s holiday classic “Jingle Hoops”, the  ground-breaking VR project “Dreams of Dali’, Adobe Photoshop’s 25th Anniversary “Dream On”, limited-edition Doritos Rainbows, HBO’s multi-award winning “Imagine”, and multiple Super Bowl commercials for Pepsi.

Having two famous creative brands under one leadership group is “unique,” but Omnicom remains fully committed to growing both brands in Canada, said TBWA\Group Canada CEO Eve Rémillard-Larose. "This is pretty different than most agency models out there and there is no set playbook,” she said. “One hour we wear one hat, and the other another hat.”

The agency was seeking a creative leader with the maturity required to work in those unusual circumstances, she said. “But first and foremost, we wanted a creative partner who brought big creative thinking and innovative thinking to the table.”

“This particular opportunity to be part of two great brands, two great networks, was almost too good to be true,” said Reeves.

While both DDB Canada and TBWA are world-famous creative brands, the industry perception was that both had been struggling—or at least lost some of the status accorded to their antecedents, Palmer Jarvis DDB and Juniper Park for TBWA—prior to the merger.

Juniper Park\TBWA had lost long-time client CIBC, and Rémillard-Larose became the DDB’s third CEO in two years when she joined in the summer of 2022. Meanwhile, the DDB name was retired in Vancouver in 2022, after more than 20 years in the market.

If Rémillard-Larose was hired to lead the revival of DDB, the addition of Reeves signals that TBWA\Group is ready for the next steps. Both agencies have built up momentum the last year, winning at least five new brands at each agency, she said.

“2023 was about setting the foundation for each agency and re-anchoring them in what they stand for—disruption for JP\TBWA, and emotionally charged creative for DDB,” said Rémillard-Larose. “With the addition of Adam to complete our team, 2024 is about adding more opportunities for both agencies to develop creative that connects with culture and deliver growth for our clients.”

Reeves believes both agencies have potential to rebound still more because of their rich creative history—DDB famous for its moving, emotional storytelling, and TBWA for bias toward disruption.

“You need those in great creative cultures,” he said. “You can empower people with a clear mission. And I think both of these brands and networks have that.”

“Adam has been with us for a few weeks and, in the best of ways, it feels like he has always been here," said Rémillard-Larose. "He is very human in his approach, very down to earth, and open for a good debate for the sake of better creativity; creativity that will connect with culture and actually be talked about in ‘real people’ living rooms.”

Meanwhile, TBWA\Group Canada also announced the hiring of Lauren Gomes as vice-president, business operations. Before joining TBWA\Group, Gomes spent five-plus years at Sid Lee Toronto, where she worked under Rémillard-Larose, who was managing partner until she left to join DDB.

“Lauren  thoroughly understands that creativity is everyone’s job," said Rémillard-Larose in a release. "She is excellent at defining and implementing  operational plans that support creativity."