Best Advertising Agencies in Shanghai (2026)

Introduction

Shanghai is where most global advertising networks run their mainland China business, and the six agencies below are the network offices we could verify there in 2026. Each one has recent work, awards or client wins from 2025 or 2026.

The city’s clients set the tone. Beauty, luxury, automotive and EV, sportswear, food and drink, and the platforms headquartered here (Xiaohongshu, Bilibili, Pinduoduo, Trip.com) all buy advertising in Shanghai, and most campaigns are built for WeChat, Douyin, Weibo and Xiaohongshu as much as for television or outdoor. The network map also shifted. Omnicom completed its acquisition of IPG at the end of 2025 and retired the DDB, FCB and MullenLowe brands, which puts BBDO, TBWA and McCann under one owner. At Campaign’s Greater China Agency of the Year awards, held in Shanghai, TBWA\Group China took gold for Creative Agency of the Year in mainland China, with Leo China second and BBDO China third.

Every agency here has a Shanghai office in 2026, confirmed from its own site or trade listings. Independents and integrated idea shops appear on our creative agencies page instead. The list is unranked, since the right choice depends on the brief, the budget and the platforms you need.

The best advertising agencies in Shanghai

1. Ogilvy China

WPP · Shanghai · ogilvy.com/cn

Ogilvy’s China operation is based in Shanghai, where group executive creative directors Wei Fei and Thomas Zhu lead the creative department. In June 2026 Ogilvy promoted Yong Yuan to chief executive of The Ogilvy Group China.

Recent work includes a 2026 Chinese New Year campaign for Coca-Cola and an AI-led Winter Olympics project for Alibaba Cloud that turned fans into artworks. In May 2026 Changan Automobile handed Ogilvy its global social and digital remit. The client list on its China site also takes in SAIC Audi, Mercedes-Benz, KFC and Yili.

2. BBDO China

Omnicom · Xuhui · bbdogc.com

BBDO China works from Huaihai Middle Road and is led by Beck You as CEO for Greater China. It won bronze for Creative Agency of the Year in mainland China at Campaign’s 2025 Greater China awards, where its in-house “Tiny Team” also won the corporate communications and marketing team prize. Campaign Brief’s The Work 2026 ranked it third among China agencies.

Recent campaigns include an AI-driven Douyin campaign for M&M’s and a shelf-space idea for Harbin beer, both in 2025. BBDO is one of the creative brands Omnicom kept after the IPG deal, alongside TBWA and McCann.

3. TBWA\Media Arts Lab Shanghai

Omnicom · Shanghai · tbwa.com

Media Arts Lab is the TBWA unit dedicated to Apple, and its Shanghai team makes Apple’s China advertising. The wider TBWA\Group China won gold for Creative Agency of the Year in mainland China at Campaign’s 2025 Greater China awards, and TBWA\China ranked second among China agencies in Campaign Brief’s The Work 2026.

The 2025 and 2026 output covers most of Apple’s lines: China’s first “Shot on iPhone” campaign with Jackson Wang, two Chinese New Year films, a privacy series starring comedian Yue Yun Peng, Mac work around the post-gaokao summer, and a podcast series built from Apple Watch life-saving stories. It serves one client, so it is listed here as a reference point for craft rather than as an agency most brands can hire.

4. Leo China

Publicis Groupe · Shanghai · publicisgroupe.com

Leo China, formerly Leo Burnett, is Publicis Groupe’s main creative network in mainland China and lists Shanghai as its base. It won silver for Creative Agency of the Year in mainland China at Campaign’s 2025 Greater China awards, where Leo also took gold as the regional Creative Agency of the Year.

Publicis’s Shanghai creative operation did well in the people categories too. Kelly Pon of Publicis Communications Shanghai was named Creative Leader of the Year, Rachel Fu of the same office won Account Person of the Year, and Publicis EDGE won the AI Person/Team award. Leo’s capabilities in Shanghai span advertising, design, experiential, social and video content.

5. McCann China

Omnicom (formerly IPG) · Xuhui · mccann.com

McCann came to Omnicom with the IPG acquisition and keeps its Shanghai office on Huaihai Middle Road, alongside offices in Beijing and Guangzhou. Arthur Tsang, previously BBDO’s chief creative officer for Greater China, joined McCann Worldgroup as chief creative officer for Greater China in May 2025. McCann China placed in the China top five of Campaign Brief’s The Work 2026.

Clients include Centrum, which appointed McCann Shanghai as lead creative agency, and the instant-noodle maker Jinmailang, which named McCann China agency of record. It has also made work for MINISO, Hoegaarden China and TECNO, and launched a creative-led influencer marketing unit in 2023.

6. Dentsu Creative China

dentsu · Shanghai · dentsu.com/cn

Dentsu Creative is the creative network of Japan’s dentsu group, and its China team is based in Shanghai. Linzi Xie of dentsu China was named Effie Greater China Rising Star of the Year in September 2026, and the agency publishes regular China research, including a 2026 food and drink trends paper and a Gen Z report.

Recent work includes a silver-haired talent show for Voltaren. In July 2026 dentsu was certified as a Xiaohongshu Lingxi partner for consumer electronics, which matters to brands planning content and search on RED. The group’s China offer combines creative with media and commerce teams, so ask which parts sit in Shanghai.

What to look for in a Shanghai advertising agency

Start with platforms. A Shanghai campaign usually has to work on Douyin, Xiaohongshu, WeChat and Tmall or JD live commerce as well as in film and outdoor. Ask to see recent work made natively for those platforms, with results, rather than a television spot cut down for social.

Look at how the network has changed since 2025. Omnicom now owns BBDO, TBWA and McCann, and retired several other brands, so teams and accounts have moved between offices. Ask who will lead your account by name, and whether that team has worked together before.

Check the bilingual set-up. Many global brands brief in English and approve in Chinese, or the other way round. Agencies that keep strategy, copy and client service in both languages avoid a lot of rework, especially on regulated categories such as health and finance.

Finally, ask how files and feedback move. Shanghai teams often share films, key visuals and live-commerce assets with headquarters overseas, which means large files, time-zone gaps and several rounds of comments. A single place where both sides see the latest cut and every note saves days on each round.

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 suits network offices running several accounts at once: one space per client, holding briefs, scripts, key visuals, cuts and call notes.

Campaign films and high-resolution artwork live in Fabric’s cloud drive, which streams files on demand so they take no local disk space. Search works by meaning across documents, images and recordings, and transcription makes spoken words in uploaded video and audio searchable, with timestamps that jump to the moment.

For reviews, share a cut or a folder with the client as a commenter. Shared links work without sign-up, and annotations let reviewers leave timestamped comments on video and audio, draw on a video frame or an image, and highlight text in scripts and PDFs. The team marks each comment completed as it is handled, so a review round works like a checklist. There is more on this in the review and approval guide.

For pitches and final delivery, password protection keeps work private, and link analytics shows when each named recipient opened a link and how long they spent on it. On Team plans, self-writing client pages keep decisions, deliverables and open items for each account up to date from meetings, Slack and the workspace.

Password protection and link analytics are included on Pro and Team plans, and self-writing docs on Team plans, from $125 a month. See plans for teams.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best advertising agency in Shanghai?

It depends on the brief. On recent recognition, TBWA\Group China won gold for Creative Agency of the Year in mainland China at Campaign’s 2025 Greater China awards, ahead of Leo China and BBDO China, and Ogilvy won Changan Automobile’s global social and digital account in 2026.

Which global agency networks have offices in Shanghai?

All the large holding companies run Shanghai offices. This list covers Ogilvy (WPP), BBDO, TBWA and McCann (Omnicom), Leo (Publicis Groupe) and Dentsu Creative (dentsu).

How did the Omnicom and IPG merger affect Shanghai agencies?

Omnicom completed its acquisition of IPG at the end of 2025, bringing McCann under the same owner as BBDO and TBWA, and retired the DDB, FCB and MullenLowe brands. If you worked with a DDB or FCB office in Shanghai, confirm which agency and team now handle the account.

Do Shanghai advertising agencies work in English?

Yes. Network offices in Shanghai routinely run bilingual teams, because many clients brief from regional or global headquarters and approve locally. Ask for named bilingual leads on strategy and account management.

Where can I find independent agencies in Shanghai?

Independents and integrated idea shops are covered in our list of the best creative agencies in Shanghai.

Related lists

Advertising agencies in other cities: New York · London · Los Angeles · Singapore · Hong Kong

More in Shanghai: Creative agencies · Marketing agencies · Social media agencies · Branding agencies · Video production · Content studios

Run your agency on Fabric: Fabric for agencies · Fabric for commercials production · Best creative proofing tools