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Young & Rubicam (Y&R) was a globally recognized advertising agency founded in 1923 by John Orr Young and Raymond Rubicam in Philadelphia, later moving its headquarters to New York City. Renowned for its creative excellence and innovative campaigns, Y&R built some of the world's most iconic brands over nearly a century. Key contributions include pioneering market research techniques and fostering a culture of 'Resist the Usual.' In 2000, Y&R was acquired by WPP Group. In September 2018, WPP merged Young & Rubicam with VML to form VMLY&R, combining Y&R's strong branding and advertising capabilities with VML's digital expertise. More recently, in October 2023, WPP announced that VMLY&R would merge with Wunderman Thompson to create VML, which officially launched in January 2024 as WPP's largest creative company. This page primarily reflects information pertinent to the historical Young & Rubicam entity and its evolution.
Served as the central hub for global operations, creative leadership, strategic planning, and major client account management for the advertising agency.
The historic Art Deco building in Midtown Manhattan became synonymous with Y&R and the 'Mad Men' era of advertising. It housed numerous creative departments and executive offices.
Historically, Y&R's HQ was known for its dynamic, highly creative, and often intense work environment. It fostered a culture of innovation and award-winning advertising, attracting top talent.
285 Madison Avenue was more than an office; it was a symbol of Y&R's global influence in the advertising industry for many decades and a landmark on Madison Avenue.
Historically, Young & Rubicam maintained a vast global network with offices in major cities across North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East. These offices supported a full suite of integrated marketing communications services including advertising creative development, brand strategy, media planning and buying, digital marketing, public relations (through Burson-Marsteller, also a Y&R company pre-WPP, then WPP), and market research. Its successor, VML, continues this global footprint as one of the largest creative companies worldwide.
285 Madison Avenue
New York
NY
USA
Address: Greater London House, Hampstead Road, London, NW1 7QP (Historical Y&R London address, later VMLY&R, now VML operations in London are at other WPP campuses like Sea Containers)
Spearheaded Y&R's creative and strategic initiatives across Europe, Middle East, and Africa, adapting global campaigns and creating regionally specific ones.
Address: 303 E Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60601 (One of Y&R's historical key US offices, VML now has presence in Chicago)
Focused on driving growth and brand engagement for clients in the central United States, leveraging local market insights.
Address: 50 Scotts Rd, Singapore (Historical Y&R address, VML now has presence in Singapore)
Led brand building, advertising, and marketing communications for diverse clients across the fast-growing Asian markets.
Highperformr Signals uncover buying intent and give you clear insights to target the right accounts at the right time — helping your sales, marketing, and GTM teams close more deals, faster.
As of April 2025, Young & Rubicam' leadership includes:
Young & Rubicam has been backed by several prominent investors over the years, including:
The most significant executive changes relate to the formation of VML from the merger of VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson, announced in October 2023 and effective January 2024. This involved establishing a new global leadership team for VML, drawing from the executive ranks of both merged agencies.
Discover the tools Young & Rubicam uses. Highperformr reveals the technologies powering your target accounts — helping your sales, marketing, and GTM teams prioritize smarter and close faster.
While historical Young & Rubicam email formats (e.g., @yr.com) are no longer in active use for new communications, employees of its successor company, VML (part of WPP), generally use standardized corporate email formats. The most common format is firstname.lastname@vml.com.
firstname.lastname@vml.com
Format
john.doe@vml.com
Example
90%
Success rate
WPP • October 17, 2023
WPP announced the merger of its two largest creative agencies, VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson, to form VML. This move aims to provide clients with a fully integrated suite of services, combining brand experience, customer experience, and commerce capabilities. The new entity, VML, became operational in January 2024 and is WPP's largest creative company....more
Adweek • January 9, 2024
Following its official launch, VML announced its global and regional leadership structures. Jon Cook serves as Global CEO, Mel Edwards as Global President, and Debbi Vandeven as Global CCO, leading a team comprised of talent from both legacy VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson agencies....more
Ad Age • September 26, 2018
WPP announced the merger of agency giants VML and Young & Rubicam to create VMLY&R. The move aimed to combine Y&R's advertising and branding strengths with VML's digital and technology expertise, creating a more integrated offering for clients. Jon Cook was named Global CEO of VMLY&R....more
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