N
othingis impossible.SomemightsayCharlesandMauriceSaatchiset
thebarprettyhighbackin 1970 withthistagline.But,thelegacyand
mindsetstillliveontoday.
Uponjoiningtheagency,AnthonyGregorio,Saatchi&SaatchiCEO
forANZ,certainlybegantounderstandthatthesewordsweremorethan
a tagline.“Thisspiritpermeateseverythingwedo:webelievethatany-
thingis possibleforourclientsandweholdeachotheraccountableevery
daytoensurewhateverwedois theabsolutebestit canbe.”
Takingoverthereinsin2018,Gregoriomadetheleaptoanagency
thathehasalwaysconsidered“thebestbrandinadvertising”.
“It’sa privilegetofinallybeworkinghere.Forme,thereputationofthe
businesshasalwaysbeenincrediblyhigh.Very,veryfewagencybrands
stayrelevantandstrongforaslongasSaatchi& Saatchihas,”hesays.
“Therewasa leveloftrepidationintakingtherolebecauseI needed
toensureI maintainedthestandard,especiallytakingthemantleonin
AustraliafromMikeRebelo,whohassetanincrediblyhighbar.”
In1979,Saatchi& SaatchigracedtheshoresofAustralia,openingup
shopinSydney.Fortyyearslater,it is stillthrivingwith 160 staffacross
threeofficesinSydney,MelbourneandAdelaide,andclientsincluding
Toyota,St.GeorgeBank,NRMA,CampbellsArnott’sandNestlé.
Theplethoraofbig-namealumniwasevidentattheagency’s40th
birthdaycelebrationsat QuayRestaurantwithsprawlingviewsofSydney’s
harbour– celebratinganiconicnameataniconiclocation.
Laughterwasubiquitousasthelikesofformerworldwidecreative
directorBobIsherwood,formerTeamSaatchimanagingdirectorSharon
Skeggs,ex-Toyotamarketingboss Bob Miller, and more relived their
memories with the agency.
Celebrating ‘nothing
is impossible’
Saatchi&Saatchi,with
anetworkof 114 offices
in 76 countries,isthe
agency“evenyour
mumhasheardof”.
Clock ingtheforty-year
markdownunder,the
agency’slegacylives
onasitprovesany
chanceofitsdemiseis
theonlythingthat
is impossible.
PAIGE MURPHYWORDS BYOfallthestoriestoldonthe
night– includingsomeoftheout-
rageous“urbanlegends”– one
storyreigned.A storyofa boyfrom
Perthwhowantedtoworkinretail
atSaatchi.A boywhospottedthe
agency’slatestaccountwin,David
Jones, in a copy of AdNews,
promptinghimtowritetothe
agency,pitchinghimselfasa suit-
ablecandidateforthem.
Twenty-twoyearslater,that
boyhasheldrolesincludingman-
agingdirectorofSaatchi& Saatchi
London andCEO ofSaatchi&
SaatchiAustralia.Now,theCEOof
Saatchi’sparentcompanyPublicis
GroupeANZ,Mike Rebelohas
beena loyalmember.
RebelodrillsSaatchi’ssuccess
downtothreecorereasons:con-
tinuedbeliefinthepowerofcrea-
tivity,theSaatchispiritandworld-
classstandards.“Ithasbeenableto
f lexandadaptwiththechanging
times. In1998, Bob Isherwood
removedthe word‘advertising’
fromournameandrepositioned
Saatchi & Saatchi as an ‘Ideas
Company’.Forcontextthatwasthe
yearGooglelaunched!”Rebelosays.
Namingitthe“mostfamous”
agencyinadvertising,Rebelodubs
Saatchiasthe“adagencybrand
evenyourMumhasheardof”.He
alsoattributestheagency’ssuccess
tothecalibreoftalentit haspulled.
“Overtheyears,thepeopleand
the culture can be described asFeature