Wieden + Kennedy Almost Dropped Out of Award Shows, But Decided It Would Be Disastrous to Young Talent

'It would be stealing part of their career path from them'

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CANNES, France—Before Publicis CEO Arthur Sadoun rattled the ad industry by putting a one-year ban on his staff entering award shows, one of the world’s most iconic agencies considered doing the same thing.

But when Wieden + Kennedy was considering the move 18 months ago, the independent agency’s leadership did something Sadoun seemingly did not: They asked their staff for feedback. And they got an earful.

“What it felt like was that a bunch of senior people had climbed a ladder that they were then pulling up behind themselves,” W+K CCO Colleen DeCourcy told Adweek today in Cannes.

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