Wavemaker – the new agency brand forged from merging MEC and Maxus – was revealed by Campaign yesterday and Tim Castree, its global chief executive, was quick to tell us the new name underscores its ambition to be a "leader" and is "making waves by making bold choices." How exciting. Aside from the fact that Wavemaker is also the name for hair tongs, pumps for home aquariums and was also MEC’s content division, its logo also looks remarkably similar to that of the late lamented Walker Media whose vintage stretches back to 1997.
In case you hadn’t noticed, Donald Trump spent most of last year waving his tiny hands with threats to build a wall between the US and Mexico. Meanwhile, Moray MacLennan, the worldwide chief executive of M&C Saatchi, has been using his small appendages to build them – well, more accurately, agencies. M&C Saatchi Mexico City is the 26th office in its network and uses a Brutal Simplicity of Thought that is rather different to Trump’s.
Sir Ernest Shackleton, the polar explorer, famously escaped from his ship the Endurance after it became trapped for months by pack ice while on his exploration of the Antarctic. Martin Brooks, a co-founder of Work Club, on the other hand, showed rather less endurance when he left Havas less than halfway into a six-year deal that was meant to lock him and his partners into the agency after its sale to Havas. Perhaps it’s little wonder, then, that serial entrepreneur Brooks’ latest venture – a clothing brand – is named after the famous explorer? That or maybe the fact that the outdoor clothing is designed for adventurous types. Either way, it’s just been stocked by Harvey Nichols.
