Hankin’s Rankins: Bestest Dogs in the Advertising Industry
Shrinking budgets. A lack of creativity. A lack of jobs. AI taking over. DDB vanished. M&C Saatchi gone.
They say the industry has gone to the dogs.
If that’s true, I reckon it’s time we celebrated them.
Because while the industry might be doing it tough, our four-legged colleagues continue to turn up, lift morale and, frankly, contribute more to agency culture than any AI-written strategy deck ever has.
Dogs have already earned their place in Australian advertising folklore. In front of the camera, we’ve had the Dulux Dog, the Kleenex puppy, Budget Direct’s Chief the Jack Russell and countless others.
Then there was Clayton — Grant Millington’s much-loved agency dog in the ’90s. Clayton was so loved that he was stuffed and then sat beside Grant’s desk for more than 20 years. Grant affectionately describes him as “the dog you have when you don’t have a dog.” Twenty years without doing a timesheet. We tip our hat, or bowl, to the legend of Clayton.
Which brings us to the second instalment of Hankin’s Rankins.
This time, we’re celebrating advertising’s Chief Morale Officers, Heads of Greetings, Directors of Walkies and Executive Vice Presidents of Doing Absolutely Fuck All.
The dogs making our agencies, and our industry, a much brighter place.
10. Fil — Revolver
Best known as the canine companion of Revolver director Gabe Gasparinatos, Fil has spent years hanging around production houses, eating other people’s catering and contributing absolutely nothing to the final film.
So, essentially, a director.
Fil is a 10-year-old Scottish Deerhound who apparently started life looking like a whippet before growing some extremely questionable hair and eventually being rescued by Gabe.
Since then, he’s become the director’s sidekick, confidant, catering enthusiast and occasional new-business tool, often appearing in pitch decks to help Gabe get the job. He also claims to have thought of the iconic line ‘Dogs go whacko for Schmackos’ but we are still looking into that.
9. Toby — HERO
Toby is HERO’s Chief Happiness Officer, responsible for boosting office morale and spearheading the agency’s highly successful pat-based engagement program.
At 11 years old, Toby is one of the most senior members of the Australian advertising industry. He remembers retainers, long lunches and when a TVC actually had a TVC budget.
Younger staff occasionally gather around him just to hear stories about the old days.
Under Toby’s leadership, HERO has implemented a simple employee wellbeing strategy: arrive, receive pats, sleep for several hours, eat something, go for a walk and knock off early.
Finally, an agency culture initiative people actually want to participate in.
8. Monty — Advertising Council Australia
If you work in advertising, chances are you love chasing shiny things. Particularly awards.
Meet Monty the Manchester Terrier. A slightly unhinged creative director who also loves chasing shiny things. Only his are balloons.
Monty is a creative maverick. Obsessed with big ideas, allergic to the ordinary and absolutely relentless in his pursuit of anything bright, bold and floating three feet off the ground.
He doesn’t believe in playing it safe. He doesn’t take no for an answer. And once he’s got an idea in his head, he’ll chase it around the office for hours, barking at anyone who gets in his way.
He has no interest in budgets, timelines or what your name is. So yep, he’s a creative director.
7. Max Dowling — We Are Social
At 11 years old, Labrador Max Dowling has reached that stage of his career where he’s less interested in climbing the corporate ladder than he is lying underneath it.
His official position at We Are Social is Horizontal.
And he takes the role extremely seriously.
Max’s internal calendar is so finely tuned to his office days that if it looks like he’s being left at home, he mounts an immediate and vigorous protest.
Not because he loves advertising.
Because Wednesday is communal lunch day.
Over the years, Max has strategically befriended every We Are Social office manager, coincidentally, the people responsible for breaking up the chicken.
This is what LinkedIn would call building your professional network.
6. The Dog Squad — Heckler
Most agencies have an agency dog.
Heckler appears to be building an agency entirely out of them.
The Heckler Dog Squad moves through the office as one highly coordinated unit, like a bunch of producers heading to a pre-production meeting.
One gets up, they all get up.
One hears a packet open in the kitchen, suddenly it’s an all-agency.
They’re constantly checking where everyone is, they work the room brilliantly and possess an almost supernatural ability to know exactly when catering has arrived.
The only discernible difference is that when something goes wrong, the dogs don’t start a WhatsApp group about it. Unless they have and we don’t know about it.
5. Indi – Akcelo
Meet Indi. A five-year-old Australian Cattle Dog and Akcelo’s Head of PR (Puppy Relations).
She’s swapped herding sheep for herding creatives.
And frankly, the sheep were easier.
Known for her intelligence, boundless energy and ability to keep everyone moving in the same direction, Indi is perfectly suited to advertising.
Her biggest challenge? Getting creatives into a room during lunchtime.
4. Ziggy — Enigma
Don’t let the face fool you.
Behind those innocent eyes sits one of the advertising industry’s most prolific thieves.
Socks. Sandwiches. Snacks. Tennis balls.
Anything left unattended is considered fair game.
In agency terms, of course, Ziggy doesn’t steal.
She proactively identifies underutilised assets and relocates them into her personal ecosystem.
Which is exactly why Enigma appointed her Executive Director of Treat Acquisition.
Ziggy lists her favourite campaign as The KitKat Heist.
“Finally, a campaign that understands the thrill of stealing unattended snacks and turning it into entertainment,” she told this masthead.
As someone with an extensive history of unauthorised snack acquisition, Ziggy has enormous respect for the strategy.
She’s offered to consult on phase two.
Her fee is chicken.
3. Vivi — Supermassive
When they’re not rescuing brands from dull campaigns, the team at Supermassive are rescuing dogs.
Vivi is a beautiful rescue who can initially be a nervous wreck around strangers but once she decides you’re okay, she falls madly in love with you and displays an almost embarrassing level of devotion – which makes her an HR nightmare.
Vivi’s enthusiastic approach to workplace affection — particularly unsolicited licking — has resulted in several informal complaints.
Unfortunately, disciplinary action has proved difficult because she’s adorable and HR keeps giving her treats.
Her biggest strength is loyalty. Her biggest weakness is personal boundaries. Her preferred management style is sitting directly on top of you. Vivi forever!
2. Oscar Benson — Studio Tonic
Likes to avoid meetings by going for walks around the block.
Sleeps on the job.
Only appears in the office when there’s food in the kitchen.
But enough about me.
Oscar Benson is the former Head of Security at Song Zu, now consulting from the couch.
At ten years old, Oscar has survived more restructures, rebrands, production meetings and “quick little amends” than most people in the industry.
These days he’s taken on a non-executive role, offering strategic oversight from a horizontal position.
Oscar was named after jazz legends Oscar Peterson and George Benson.
Unfortunately, his own musical talents are largely limited to snoring so loudly you can barely hear what’s happening in the recording session.
Oscar Benson is currently open to freelance opportunities.
1. Priscilla — Fat Poodle
There was really only one dog who could take the #1 spot.
Because Priscilla is possibly the only dog in Australian advertising to have an entire agency named after her.
Yes, Priscilla was the inspiration behind Fat Poodle and has quietly been running the show for years.
And unlike most agency figureheads, she actually has screen credits.
Priscilla appeared in Season One of NCIS: Sydney, playing Angel, a dog held hostage in a dog café.
Range.
She’s also appeared in campaigns for The Nosh Project, Lyka and Petbarn, making her one of the few agency employees who can legitimately claim to work both sides of the camera.
Talent. Management. Agency figurehead. Actual billable hours. Priscilla has cracked the business model.
She’s not just the top dog at Fat Poodle. She’s the big dog in the Aussie advertising scene.
For all the current follies of our strange little advertising universe, there are still plenty of reasons to enjoy it. Some are a little furrier. Some steal your lunch. Some sleep through meetings. And not one of them has ever said: “I wonder if AI could make this better?”
Have a pooch I missed? Feel like saying “Who left the dogs out?”
Email me at [email protected].
Seriously. Please email me. I’m so lonely I just ranked ten dogs.
Up next: The best lines of the last 25 years.
Copy lines. Obviously.
Hank.
Andrew “Hank” Hankin is a contributing writer for Campaign Brief and former Group Creative Director at Ogilvy.
Missed Hankin’s last ranking? Read ‘Sydney’s best advertising pubs of all time’ here.
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