A look back. A sobering look back.

In the deep, dark recesses of my files I found a listing I had saved from Adweek of the top 100 agencies from 1992, published 25 years ago, in 1993. 

In the wake of the latest spate of agency mergers, I've highlighted the agencies that have changed their names since then usually through merger(s), and crossed out the agencies whose names, for whatever reason, no longer exist. 

No further comment.

TOP 100 AGENCIES OF 1992

Agency Domestic 1992 Billings Change
(thou)
1 Foote, Cone & Belding 2,288,469 +5.7%
2 Leo Burnett Co. 2,104,073 +3.1%
3 J. Walter Thompson 1,944,000(*) +10.9%
4 D'Arcy, Masius, Benton & Bowles 1,929,000(*) -1.7%
5 DDB Needham 1,910,721 -5.2%
6 Young & Rubicam 1,842,000(*) -0.6%
7 Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising 1,750,000(*) -0.7%
8 Grey Advertising 1,719,000 +5.9%
9 BBDO 1,634,768(*) +6.8%
10 McCann-Erickson 1,567,800(*) +12.0%
11 Ogilvy & Mather 1,545,000 +0.8%
12 CME KHBB 1,008,542 +3.4%
13 Backer Spielvogel Bates 976,029 -10.0%
14 Lintas:USA 920,000(*) +0.9%
15 Wells Rich Green BDDP 919,900 -0.4%
16 Ayer 855,300 +13.4%
17 Bozell 850,000 +9.1%
18 Chiat/Day 620,000(*) +9.2%
19 Ketchum 612,400(*) +1.3%
20 MVBMS/Euro RSCG 500,635 +23.4%
21 Earle Palmer Brown 408,840 -2.1%
22 Temerlin McClain 405,000(*) +15.7%
23 Jordan, McGrath, Case & Taylor 370,000 +5.7%
24 Tatham Euro RSCG 349,563 +7.7%
25 Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos 338,049 -5.4%
26 Hal Riney & Partners 335,000 +3.1%
27 Admarketing 329,700 +3.9%
28 TBWA 325,597 +7.2%
29 Lowe & Partners 325,000 0.0%
30 Ammirati & Puris 325,000 +30.0%
31 W.B. Doner 295,746 -0.4%
32 Ally & Gargano 275,000(*) -3.2%
33 Avrett, Free & Ginsberg 260,000 +6.1%
34 Lois/USA 246,000(*) +3.8%
35 Wieden & Kennedy 240,000 +42.9%
36 Arnold Fortuna Lawner & Cabot 217,705 +11.6%
37 Bloom FCA 215,000 +13.7%
38 Rubin Postaer & Associates 210,800 +16.7%
39 Laurence, Charles, Free & Lawson 208,723 -3.0%
40 GSD&M 201,083 +34.5%
41 Team One 197,000 +7.4%
42 Tucker Wayne/Luckie & Co. 196,000(*) +17.4%
43 Evans Communications 185,000 -0.3%
44 Griffin Bacal 182,600 +5.1%
45 The Richards Group 182,500 +1.4%
46 Scali, McCabe, Sloves 182,500 +13.7%
47 AC&R 181,616 +5.1%
48 Partners & Shevack 178,900 +4.1%
49 Goodby Berlin & Silverstein 166,445 +41.9%
50 Bernstein-Rein 159,112 +17.5%
51 Fahlgren Martin 158,808 +10.2%
52 Lord, Dentsu & Partners 158,000 +3.9%
53 Bayer Bess Vanderwalker 151,338 +20.8%
54 McCaffrey and McCall 150,000(*) -45.4%
55 Warwick Baker & Fiore 150,000(*) -2.0%
56 Dailey & Associates 149,000(*) -4.3%
57 The Martin Agency 148,043 +30.4%
58 Davis, Ball & Colombatto 141,720 -4.7%
59 Cramer-Krasselt 141,460 +12.1%
60 Ingalls, Quinn & Johnson 140,008 +0.7%
61 Calet, Hirsch & Ferrell 135,000(*) 0.0%
62 Deutsch/Dworin 135,000 +50.0%
63 Wyse Advertising 133,000 +2.3%
64 Eisaman, Johns & Laws 131,000(*) 0.0%
65 Rosenfeld, Sirowitz, Humphrey & Strauss 129,000 -4.4%
66 Fallon McElligott 125,098 -0.8%
67 Martin/Williams 125,000 +5.0%
68 Margeotes Fertitta & Weiss 122,000 +18.4%
69 Meldrum & Fewsmith 119,827 +3.1%
70 Long Haymes & Carr 119,300 +36.0%
71 Valentine-Radford 119,060 +28.1%
72 Doremus & Co. 111,914 +29.4%
73 Carmichael Lynch 110,700 +0.9%
74 Mullen 108,300 +12.6%
75 The Weightman Group 108,000(*) +3.8%
76 Angotti, Thomas, Hedge 105,000 +16.7%
77 Cliff Freeman & Partners 105,000 +30.0%
78 Kirshenbaum & Bond 105,000 +61.5%
79 CHC & M.E.D. 103,000 -26.4%
80 McKinney & Silver 101,880 +12.3%
81 Rotando Lerch & Iafeliece 100,300 +16.9%
82 Cadwell Davis Partners 98,000(*) -2.4%
83 Kresser Craig 96,773 +5.0%
84 Venet Advertising 94,500 -24.3%
85 Goldberg Moser O'Neill 89,600 +10.6%
86 Gianettino & Meredith 89,000 +9.6%
87 Fogarty & Klein/Winius-Brandon 87,777 +0.4%
88 Rumrill-Hoyt 85,836 -13.6%
89 Towne, Silverstein, Rotter 85,000 0.0%
90 Gray Kirk/Van Sant 80,750 +7.0%
91 Lauglin/Constable 80,500 +17.7%
92 Waring & LaRosa 80,400 +16.2%
93 Henderson Advertising 80,094 +6.7%
94 Ackerman McQueen 79,640 +5.4%
95 Cole & Weber 79,006 -5.1%
96 Richardson, Myers & Donofrio 77,950 +14.8%
97 Lotas Minard Patton McIver 77,800 +117.3%
98 Anderson & Lembke 77,700 +14.4%
99 Jack Levy & Associates 77,400 +12.6%
100 Asher/Gould 76,000 +2.7%

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