Area 23 New York and The New York Times Magazine New York are among the top firms in the Art Directors Club’s ADC 2026 Global Creative Rankings, based on point totals for wins at last week’s ADC 105th Annual Awards ceremony during Creative Week in New York.
Area 23 New York was named 2026 ADC Global Agency of the Year on the strength of a Best of Discipline win in Pharma for EarliTec Diagnostics’ “The EarliShow,” working with Aardman Animations (Bristol, U.K.), an ADC Fusion Cube for Gavião Kyikatejê FC’s “Kyikatejê,” and a total of eight Gold Cubes, four Silver, three Bronze, and five Merits.
The New York Times Magazine was named ADC Design Firm of the Year for the ninth straight year, winning Best of Discipline in Illustration for “How A.I. Sees Us,” as well as five Gold Cubes, two Silver, three Bronze, and three Merits.
Highlights of this year’s ADC Global Creative Rankings are as follows:
Agency Rankings
1, Area 23 New York
2. HeimatTBWA Berlin
3. McCann New York
4. Klick Health Toronto
5. Romance Paris
6. FCB Canada (TBWA Canada) Toronto
7. Serviceplan Germany Munich
8. VML Health Spain Madrid
9. TBWAMedia Arts Lab Los Angeles
10. Dentsu Inc. Tokyo
Design Firm Rankings
1. The New York Times Magazine New York
2. Established New York
3. SMLXL New York
4. Mallandrich Barcelona
5. The New York Times for Kids New York
ADC 105th Global Creative Rankings in other categories are as follows:
Brand-Side Agency Rankings: Squarespace New York
Brand Rankings: Squarespace
Non-Profit Client Rankings: Second Nurture
Production Company Rankings: Superprime Los Angeles
Music & Sound Company Rankings: Wave Studios New York
Agency Network Rankings: Omnicom Health
Creative Professional: Diego Tórgo, Group Creative Director, Area 23 New York
Highest Ranked Work
1. “Unavailable” for Squarespace by Squarespace New York with One Of Us London, Trim Editing New York and Superprime Los Angeles
2. “No Project Without Drama” for Hornbach by HeimatTBWA Berlin
3. “Tilt” for Tilt by Established New York
ADC 105th top-ranked agencies by region this year are as follows:
Asia Pacific Agency of the Year: Dentsu Inc. Tokyo
Europe Agency of the Year: HeimatTBWA Berlin
Latin America Agency of the Year: R/GA Argentina Buenos Aires
Middle East & Africa Agency of the Year: Horizon FCB Dubai
North America Agency of the Year: Area 23 New York
Country Rankings
1. United States
2. Canada
3. United Kingdom
4. Germany
5. Japan
Region Rankings
1. North America
2. Europe
3. Asia Pacific
4. Latin America
5. Middle East & Africa
Rankings methodology
Rankings in each category are calculated by the company that garners the most points overall for winning entries based on ADC Cubes, Merits and Special Awards, allocated as follows: Gold Cube 45 points, Silver 21, Bronze 9, Merit 3, Fusion Cube 90, Designism Cube 90, Best of Discipline 90, Best of Non-Profit 90, and Black Cube for Best of Show 135.
Ranking points are awarded to eligible agencies credited under the Primary Agency listing on a winning entry, including agencies, digital agencies, media agencies, PR/marketing agencies, design firms, type foundries, and brand-side/in-house agencies.
When multiple eligible agencies are credited on the same win, the points are divided equally among them. These points determine honors such as Agency of the Year, Design Firm of the Year, Brand-Side Agency of the Year, and others.
If the same entry wins multiple awards within a discipline or in multiple disciplines, the points for all awards and wins are counted towards the rankings.
