The Drum has published its 2025 mid-year update to their World Creative Rankings, highlighting the advertisers, agencies, and work leading the way so far this year.

In a major three-spot jump from last year, FCB is “the network to watch,” having risen to the #2 position on the global network leaderboard.

We’re delighted to see two FCB agencies among the Top 20 Agencies; three campaigns in the top 10 Best Campaigns; and three of our world-leading clients among the Top 20 Advertisers, two of which earned the #1 and #2 spots. These rankings underscore the power of bold ideas, born from deep collaboration, in driving impact that goes far beyond the accolades. The recognition on this list is a byproduct of something far more meaningful: our belief that creativity is the ultimate economic multiplier, and the best tool we have in fueling business transformation, building cultural relevance, and most importantly, delivering growth for our clients.

In the agency leaderboard, FCB New York has once again cemented the top spot in the mid-year rankings, thanks to the “wildly successful” “Spreadbeats” for Spotify. This campaign transformed the humble media plan spreadsheet into a dynamic music video, earning it the title of Most Awarded Campaign of the Year so far. Adding to FCB New York’s momentum is “Lap of Legends” for AB InBev’s Michelob ULTRA. This campaign made history with the first-ever real vs. virtual F1 race and currently ranks #2 among the year’s top campaigns. This breakthrough work exemplifies our New York team’s ability to push creative boundaries and deliver transformative business results for clients in unexpected ways. The rankings build on a stellar start to the year, with FCB New York being named “Agency of the Year” at the Clio Awards, The One Show, ADC, and D&AD.

FCB Chicago has also had an impressive showing, currently ranked at #11 on the agency leaderboard, up two places from last year. This ranking is driven in part by standout work like “The Last Barf Bag” for Dramamine. The campaign, which is currently the sixth Most Awarded Campaign of the Year, paid tribute to the non-obsolete barf bag, rendered unnecessary by the brand’s effectiveness against motion sickness. FCB Chicago’s momentum is also marked by a Cannes Lions 2025 #3 “Agency of the Year” ranking, a “Craft Agency of the Year” win, and a prestigious Titanium Lion for “Caption with Intention,” a captioning design system, created alongside the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community in collaboration with the Chicago Hearing Society and Rakish Entertainment, to improve entertainment accessibility.

We want to extend a huge congratulations to our clients who have been ranked in The Drum’s Top 20 Global Advertisers. AB InBev holds the #1 spot, with Michelob ULTRA enjoying a strong showing at the awards so far; Spotify ranked #2, thanks to FCB New York’s “Spreadbeats”; and Dramamine rounds out our trio at #18, following its standout collaboration with FCB Chicago on “The Last Barf Bag.”

And congratulations to our holding company Interpublic, which ranked #3 in the ranking of Top Holding Companies.

A total of 1,091 campaigns from 708 advertisers working with 609 agencies have been analyzed to produce this mid-year report, with the rankings factoring in results from some of the industry’s most-recognized annual awards competitions including, The Drum Awards, Cannes Lions, and The Clio Awards.

Stay tuned for the release of the full 2025 World Creative Rankings later this year. Until then, congratulations to all the teams driving this creative momentum forward.