Founded in by Lawrence Valenstein and Arthur C. Fatt, Grey Global Group began as a direct marketing company named Grey Studios, reflecting the color of the wall of its original quarters, changing to Grey Advertising in 1925. In, Grey acquired its first major client, Procter & Gamble. In 1961, billings reached $59 million and in the same year, Herbert D. Strauss was named president and the firm expanded domestically and internationally. In 1961, the firm opened an office in Los Angeles, and in 1962 the firm opened an office in London and in 1963 in Japan. In 1964, billings reached $100 million. In 1965, the firm went public, trading on the Nasdaq exchange, and the firm expanded into the use of psychographics. In 1966, Grey became one of the top 10 agencies in the U.S. In 1967, Strauss was named CEO and chairman, and Edward H. Meyer was named president. In 1969, Strauss was named chairman In 1970, Meyer was named CEO. In the 1970s, Grey was responsible for several popular ad campaigns including Star Wars toys for Kenner, aspirin and toothpaste for SmithKline, and Stove Top Stuffing for Kraft General Foods. In 1973, Strauss died of a heart attack. Through the 1960s and 1970s, Grey continued to acquire major accounts, and grew into related communication fields. In, Meyer became CEO and would remain in that position for 36 years. In, Grey Advertising became Grey Global Group. On, WPP Group beat out Havas in a race to acquire Grey Global, the seventh-largest advertising agency at the time, for approximately $1.3 billion USD. In late, James R. Heekin III became CEO of Grey Worldwide, Grey Global Group's traditional advertising agency. On, he became Chairman and CEO of Grey Group, the renamed agency holding company. He reports to Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP Group. Grey Group, Grey Advertising New York and G2 moved to a LEED certified building at 200 5th Avenue in New York in November 2009, after 45 years at their previous location. Grey San Francisco is the company's San Francisco-based West Coast headquarters. Its clients include Symantec, LendingTree, Pernod Ricard, and SunEdison. In 2016, Grey acquired , a mobile design and development studio, which it operates as a subsidiary. In March 2017, Grey's London office announced its rebranding as Valenstein & Fatt for 100 days, to celebrate its Jewish founders and later executives, and to highlight prejudice in society. In August 2017, Grey Group appointed Michael Houston as worldwide CEO on its 100th anniversary.
Awards
In 2010, Grey was listed on Fast Companys "50 Most Innovative Companies". In 2010, it was added to Advertising Ages "Agency A-List". In 2006, Grey was awarded 12 "Spots of the Week" by Ad Age, which placed it second-highest overall.
Controversy
In 2016, Grey for Good, Grey Group's philanthropic communications division, created a hoax app that claimed to use crowdsourcing to help the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean Sea. After it was debunked by developers, the Apple Store pulled the app on the same day it was awarded a Bronze Lion at the Cannes Lions festival.
In the AMC series Mad Men, Duck Phillips joins Grey Advertising after being dumped by Sterling Cooper. The agency is frequently referenced as a chief competitor of Sterling Cooper throughout the series.
In episode three of the 2010 series of BBC Three's Young, Dumb and Living Off Mum, the young adults spend a day at Grey Advertising working on a mock sexual health campaign.
