Halfway through 2026, Ogilvy and WPP are holding on to the number one spots in The Drum’s World Creative Rankings. But things are moving fast just below them, and two names in particular, Leo Constellation and LePub, are climbing the charts quickly.
The mid-year’s updated stands this week as part of its mid year check in, following the agency and advertiser rankings that came out a few days earlier.
Ogilvy is still the best performing agency network overall, with VML sitting in second place. The biggest spot belongs to Leo Constellation, which shot up seven spots to land at number three. LePub also had a strong run, moving from ninth all the way to fourth. WPP and Omnicom are keeping their first and second place spots, while Publicis Groupe and Havas both pushed forward into third and fourth.
However, it’s worth keeping in mind that these rankings aren’t final. They’re based only on the awards shows that have happened so far this year, and there are still several major ones left to come. That means the chat could look quite different by the end of the year.
Ogilvy holds the lead, but VML and others are closing in
Ogilvy kept the same top spot it held in last year’s full year rankings, thanks to a wide range of award winning work. Its standout campaign this year has been Vaseline Verified, which picked up honors at The Drum Awards for Marketing, The One Show, the Clio Awards, D&AD, and Cannes Lions. The agency also had strong showings with Dove’s Dove R/Eal Reviews, Coca-Cola’s Shades of Red and You Must Love Coke, and Kraft Heinz’s You Can’t Have Fries Without Heinz.
VML is holding steady in second, boosted by work like Ziploc’s Preserved Promos, Coca-Cola’s Thanks for Coke Creating, and Oreo’s Name This Oreo. KitKat’s KitKat Phone Break and The KitKat Heist, along with Telefónica Movistar’s Game Guardian, also helped keep the agency near the top.
Leo Constellation breaks into the top three
The biggest surprise near the top of the list is Leo Constellation, which leapt from tenth place all the way to third. Much of that climb comes down to AXA Business Insurance’s campaign AXA, Three Words, which was recognized at four separate major award shows. Heineken’s Pub Succession also gave the network a boost, performing well across different clients, markets, and types of creative work.
LePub landed in fourth place, up five spots from ninth last year. The agency’s rise was driven mainly by Tecate’s Gulf of Mexico (Bar), one of the strongest performing campaigns in this year’s rankings so far. A solid run of Heineken work also helped, including Could Have Been a Heineken, Pub Succession, Starring Bars, and Tocayos.
TBWA moved up from seventh to fifth place, led by Hornbach’s No Project Without Drama and Apple’s A Critter Carol. McCann held steady in sixth, thanks in part to L’Oréal Paris’ The Final Copy of Ilon Specht.
BBDO and DDB both had strong showings at the awards, yet they still slipped to seventh and eighth. DDB, which is being folded into other operations by its new parent company Omnicom, is still putting out solid work through campaigns like Columbia Sportswear’s Expedition Impossible, backed by Engineered for Whatever and Death Wishes.
Uncommon Creative Studio is the only fresh face in the network top ten, coming in at number nine. Its momentum comes from The Ordinary’s The Periodic Fable, the same campaign that helped Uncommon Creative Studio London reach fourth place in the Agency Rankings.
FCB, another Omnicom network that’s being wound down, dropped from third place in last year’s full rankings to tenth at this halfway point. Its strongest work includes Chicago Hearing Society’s Caption with Intention and SickKids Foundation’s The Count.
WPP and Omnicom stay out front
Things look more settled at the top of the Holding Company rankings. WPP keeps hold of first place, and Omnicom stays in second. WPP’s strength comes from its two leading networks, Ogilvy and VML, continuing to perform well. Standout campaigns across its portfolio include Vaseline Verified, Ziploc’s Preserved Promos, Coca-Cola’s Thanks for Coke Creating, KitKat’s The KitKat Heist, Dove’s Dove R/Eal Reviews, and Oreo’s Name This Oreo.
Omnicom’s strong position comes down to its high profile purchase of IPG and a wide range of award winning work, including Chicago Hearing Society’s Caption with Intention, Hornbach’s No Project Without Drama, Columbia Sportswear’s Expedition Impossible, L’Oréal Paris’ The Final Copy of Ilon Specht, SickKids Foundation’s The Count, and Apple’s A Critter Carol.
Publicis Groupe moved up one spot to third, though part of that shift is simply due to changes in how the holding companies are now organized. IPG, which sat in third place last year, is no longer listed on its own after being bought by Omnicom. Even so, Publicis had a genuinely strong year, helped along by the rise of Leo Constellation and LePub, plus campaigns like Tecate’s Gulf of Mexico (Bar), AXA, Three Words, and Heineken’s Pub Succession and Could Have Been a Heineken.
Havas also climbed one spot to fourth, helped in part by the breakout success of Uncommon Creative Studio. Accenture rounds out the top five after climbing up from seventh.
Globant moved up three places to sixth, while Dentsu Group slipped one spot to seventh. Hakuhodo DY rose from tenth to eighth, and Stagwell broke into the top ten after gaining two spots. Chime Communications dropped to tenth, while S4 Capital moved up one place to eleventh.
This mid year update covered 1,059 campaigns from 691 advertisers across 606 agencies. For the first time, organizers also plan to publish the full annual World Creative Rankings before the year wraps up, coming out at the end of 2026 rather than the usual February date, in an effort to keep the rankings closer to real time.
