Best Advertising Agencies in Chicago (2026)

Introduction

Chicago is still one of the main US centres for network advertising and media buying, and the 12 agencies below are the ones to know in 2026. They include the network offices that run national campaigns from the Loop and Streeterville, two of Publicis Groupe's largest media agencies, and independents that specialise in media or healthcare.

The network side has been reshaped twice in two years. Publicis merged Leo Burnett and Publicis Worldwide into a single network called Leo in January 2025. Omnicom completed its acquisition of IPG at the end of 2025 and in December announced more than 4,000 job cuts and the retirement of the FCB and DDB brands: FCB Chicago joined BBDO, and DDB Chicago was folded into TBWA. Both surviving offices won at Cannes Lions in 2026, with a Silver Lion for TBWA\Chiat\Day Chicago and a Bronze for BBDO Chicago.

Every agency here has an active Chicago office in 2026. They were chosen for recent work, 2025 and 2026 recognition, and the strength of their client rosters. Independent idea shops such as Highdive appear on our creative agencies page instead. The list runs in no fixed order of merit, since the right choice depends on your brief, budget and how you like to work.

The best advertising agencies in Chicago

1. Leo

Publicis Groupe · the Loop · leoburnett.com

Leo is the creative network Publicis Groupe formed in January 2025 by merging Leo Burnett and Publicis Worldwide, with about 15,000 people across 90 countries. Leo Burnett was founded in Chicago, and the city office, now Leo Chicago, remains one of the network's anchors. The bowl of apples that greeted visitors to the old Leo Burnett office has given way to the Publicis lion.

In April 2026 Smithfield Foods named Leo Chicago its creative and strategic agency of record across Smithfield, Nathan's, Eckrich, Farmland, Armour and the rest of its portfolio. Recent work from the office includes campaigns for Miller Lite and ALDI. Leo works closely with Publicis's media and data companies, so it suits brands that want creative and media under one holding company.

2. BBDO Chicago

Omnicom · Streeterville · bbdochi.com

BBDO Chicago, formerly Energy BBDO, is Omnicom's main creative agency in the city and works from 875 North Michigan Avenue. After Omnicom completed its acquisition of IPG, FCB Chicago became part of BBDO as the FCB brand was retired in the first half of 2026. At Cannes Lions 2026 the agency won a Bronze Lion in Entertainment for Instacart's "For Papa!", made with McCann New York and Local Produce, and M&M's "Creativity From Soil to Snack" was shortlisted in the new Creative Brand Lions.

Mars Wrigley has been a client for decades: BBDO Chicago has handled Extra gum since 1984 and recently introduced a new mascot, Chewbert, in the "Chew Into It" campaign. For Brown-Forman it launched Tequila Herradura's "We Leave Nothing to Luck and Everything to Craft" in May 2026, and other clients include Jack Daniel's, Kerrygold, The General, Boeing and Clorox. As the agency absorbs FCB Chicago staff, it is worth asking which team will run your business.

3. TBWA\Chiat\Day Chicago

Omnicom · Chicago · tbwachiatday.com

TBWA\Chiat\Day Chicago is where DDB Chicago was folded when Omnicom retired the DDB brand in the first half of 2026. DDB Chicago traced its roots to Needham, one of the city's oldest agency names, and the combined office now sits alongside TBWA\Chiat\Day's agencies in New York, Los Angeles, Boston and Nashville. At Cannes Lions 2026 it won a Silver Lion in Entertainment Lions for Gaming for Skittles' "Gaming Flute".

Recent work is broad and often funny: Skittles with "Kangarooman", jellyfish massages and real-world puppetry, a Coors Banquet and Wrangler collaboration, a scholarship programme for Orkin, and a Thomas' breakfast campaign with Cecily Strong.

4. VML Chicago

WPP · Chicago · vml.com

VML is the WPP network formed in 2024 when VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson merged, and its Chicago office combines brand advertising with social media and search teams. In April 2026 it released a cinematic spot for Abbott's Ensure, made with the production company PRETTYBIRD, and in 2025 a film on the social stigma around diabetes.

The office has been the national agency of record for the YMCA of the USA and the global lead creative agency for Lee since 2020. Other work includes Butterball and Mondelez's belVita.

5. Havas Chicago

Havas · the Loop · chi.havas.com

Havas Chicago works from East Washington Street under president Kat Ott and chief creative officer Frank Dattalo. It runs what it calls a "High-Low" model, pairing long-term brand strategy with fast, social-first content made in-house. Stanley Steemer chose it as creative agency of record in August 2025 after a review that started with about 50 agencies, and in March 2026 the office hired Lou Amodeo to lead growth.

The client list leans towards packaged food and household brands: Bel Brands (Babybel, Boursin, The Laughing Cow), Morton Salt, Chamberlain Group, Coca-Cola and Citi. In July 2026 it launched "Eat Your Buddig" for the Chicago lunchmeat company Buddig, a CTV, Meta and TikTok campaign featuring Grandma Buddig and a biker, directed by The Grandmas.

6. Starcom

Publicis Groupe · the Loop · starcomww.com

Starcom is a global media and communications planning agency headquartered at 35 West Wacker Drive, with about 7,000 people in more than 100 markets. It is part of Publicis Media and traces its history back more than 80 years.

Clients include Bank of America, Best Buy, Coca-Cola, Kellogg, Kraft Heinz, P&G, Samsung and Visa. Starcom also publishes its own research, including a recurring Fandom Report on how fans relate to brands. It suits advertisers who need national media planning and buying rather than creative.

7. Spark Foundry

Publicis Groupe · Chicago · sparkfoundryww.com

Spark Foundry is Publicis Groupe's other Chicago-headquartered media agency. Its lineage goes back to Benton & Bowles in 1929, which was the first agency to bring media and programming into one organisation, and later ran through DMB&B and MediaVest. MediaVest merged with Spark in 2016, and the business took the Spark Foundry name in 2017. It has more than 2,000 employees.

The agency covers media planning and buying, branded content, data and analytics, search, out-of-home, multicultural and shopper media. Its size and Publicis connections make it a practical choice for advertisers with large national budgets.

8. Kelly Scott Madison

Independent · the Loop · ksmmedia.com

Kelly Scott Madison is an independent media agency founded in 1966, headquartered on East Upper Wacker Drive with a second office in Austin. It describes itself as a "make it happen" agency, with a focus on the detail and science of media rather than on presentation.

Clients include Amtrak, Cabela's, CIBC, Ferrara, Hagerty, Smoothie King and Zimmer Biomet. In April 2026 it was named as the media partner on Smithfield Foods' new integrated team, working alongside Leo Chicago.

9. AbelsonTaylor

Independent, employee-owned · the Loop · abelsontaylor.com

AbelsonTaylor is a healthcare advertising agency founded in Chicago in 1981. Founder Dale Taylor turned down more than 35 offers to buy it and began moving it to employee ownership in 2005. Since 2022 it has been part of AT Group with its sister agency AT Nutrient. Jeff Berg has been president since 2019.

The agency has brought 57 drugs to market, including Ambien in 1992, Prevacid, Actos, Neulasta, Latuda and the immuno-oncology brand Imfinzi. Pharmaceutical work goes through medical, legal and regulatory review, and an agency with this history will plan its timelines around it.

10. Cramer-Krasselt

Independent · Chicago · c-k.com

Cramer-Krasselt has been independent since 1898 and is one of the few Chicago agencies of its size that offers creative, media, PR, performance and shopper marketing under one roof. Peter Reel is CEO.

WeatherTech named C-K its agency of record in 2026. Recent work includes Porsche's "Snow Day" and ECHO's "We Are Yarders", which won two Shorty Awards in 2026.

11. Burrell Communications

FVLCRUM · the Loop · burrell.com

Burrell was founded in 1971 by Thomas J. Burrell and Emmett McBain and is one of the largest multicultural advertising agencies in the US. FVLCRUM Funds and View Park Capital completed their acquisition of it in November 2023, and CEO Tara DeVeaux describes it as "the subculture agency".

Toyota and McDonald's have been clients for decades. Recent work includes Toyota's electric vehicles, PUMA's hip-hop programme and a TextNow campaign with Katt Williams.

12. BarkleyOKRP

Independent, backed by Keystone Capital · West Loop · barkleyokrp.com

BarkleyOKRP formed in 2024 when Chicago's OKRP merged with Kansas City's Barkley. The combined agency has more than 600 staff and about $1.1 billion in media billings, without a holding company, and Katy Hornady is CEO.

Strategy, creative, media and production are all in-house, with The Bananary as its production studio. Clients include Burger King, Macy's, Red Lobster, Frontier Airlines, Sonic and Planet Fitness.

What to look for in a Chicago advertising agency

Start with ownership, and with what has changed. Three of the largest offices on this list were renamed or merged in the past two years, and staff from FCB Chicago and DDB Chicago are still settling into BBDO and TBWA. Ask which legacy team will run your account, and whether the people in the pitch will stay on it.

Decide early whether you want creative and media from one agency. Publicis houses creative agencies and media agencies such as Starcom and Spark Foundry in the same city, while Cramer-Krasselt and BarkleyOKRP do both in-house. Independent media specialists such as Kelly Scott Madison work alongside other agencies' creative, as on Smithfield's account.

Look for category experience. Chicago agencies have long records in packaged food, confectionery, quick-service restaurants and insurance, and the city also has specialists in pharmaceutical advertising, where every asset needs regulatory sign-off. An agency that already knows your approval process will save time.

Finally, ask how the agency handles production volume. A single campaign now runs as a TV spot plus dozens of cutdowns for CTV, Meta and TikTok, each with its own round of client feedback. Agencies with a clear review process and one place where clients find the latest versions lose less time to version confusion across email and shared drives.

How Fabric helps advertising agency teams

Fabric gives an agency one workspace for its files, client feedback and team knowledge, with AI search across all of it. The agency setup works around one space per client, with briefs, scripts, decks, edits and call notes kept together.

Spots and their cutdowns sit in Fabric's cloud drive, which streams files on demand so they take no local disk space, and editors can open heavy video files without a full download. There is more on how this fits commercial production. Search works by meaning across documents, images and transcribed recordings, so a line from a client call or a frame from last year's campaign can be found without remembering a file name.

For client review, any file or folder can be published as a web page and shared with password protection. Link analytics shows when each named recipient opened a link and how long they spent with it, which helps with pitch decks and approval rounds. Clients can leave threaded comments through a shared link without creating an account, and annotations cover scripts and PDF storyboards today, with timestamped comments on video coming soon. The review and approval page shows the full flow.

On Team plans, self-writing docs can maintain a page for each client from meetings, Slack and the workspace, covering decisions, deliverables and open items. That helps when an account moves between teams, as many Chicago accounts did in 2026.

Password protection and link analytics are included on Pro and Team plans, and self-writing docs on Team plans. See plans for teams.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best advertising agency in Chicago?

There is no single answer, as the right agency depends on the brief. On 2026 recognition, TBWA\Chiat\Day Chicago won a Silver Lion at Cannes for Skittles, BBDO Chicago won a Bronze for Instacart, and Leo Chicago won Smithfield Foods' creative account.

What happened to FCB Chicago and DDB Chicago?

Omnicom retired the FCB and DDB brands after completing its acquisition of IPG at the end of 2025. FCB Chicago became part of BBDO Chicago, and DDB Chicago was folded into TBWA.

Is Leo Burnett still in Chicago?

Yes, under a new name. In January 2025 Publicis Groupe merged Leo Burnett and Publicis Worldwide into Leo, and the Chicago office is now Leo Chicago.

Do I need a separate media agency?

It depends on your budget and structure. Chicago is home to large media agencies such as Starcom and Spark Foundry, and to independents such as Kelly Scott Madison. Agencies such as Cramer-Krasselt and BarkleyOKRP handle creative and media together.

Should I hire a network agency or an independent in Chicago?

Network offices bring scale, production capacity and access to their holding company's media and data. Independents tend to offer more senior attention and faster decisions. Our list of the best creative agencies in Chicago covers the city's independent idea shops.

Related lists

Advertising agencies in other cities: New York · Los Angeles · London · San Francisco · Toronto

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