INNOCEAN Tops Korea Creative Rankings, Breaks Cheil's 3-Year Streak
INNOCEAN claims Korea's No. 1 creative agency spot with 2,500 points, ending Cheil's 3-year reign. The agency ranks 6th across Asia in Campaign Brief's largest creative rankings edition.
Creative agency INNOCEAN has secured the top position in Korea and placed sixth across Asia in the 2025 Campaign Brief Asia Creative Rankings, the largest edition of the rankings in the publication's history.
INNOCEAN Displaces Cheil Korea After Three-Year Reign
The rankings measure award wins from January 2024 through December 2025 across 12 major global shows, including Cannes Lions, New York Festivals, and the Clio Awards. Results are weighted by each show's prestige, making the list a widely used industry benchmark.
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INNOCEAN accumulated approximately 2,500 points to claim Korea's No. 1 position. Cheil Korea, which held the top Korea spot for three consecutive years, placed second with 440 points.
INNOCEAN's Hyundai Motor Company campaign "Night Fishing" was a primary driver of the result. The branded film, shot using the IONIQ 5's built-in camera, earned multiple Grand Prix wins across counted award shows. Campaign Brief Asia described INNOCEAN's Korea performance as "one of the standout stories of this year's rankings."
Jung A Kim, INNOCEAN's Global CEO and Chief Creative Officer, ranked No. 1 among Korea's creative directors and No. six individually across Asia. Three additional INNOCEAN creatives, Doyu Yang, Eun-Ha Oh, and Nari Moon, each earned 2,360 points to share the No. 1 position in Korea's most-awarded individual creatives category.
"This achievement goes beyond awards. It will serve as an important momentum for elevating Korea's creative standing in the global market while also driving our clients' growth," Kim said.
Asia Rankings Reveal a Wide Points Gap at the Top
Across Asia, Ogilvy Singapore led all agencies with 5,120 total points, including 4,075 points earned in 2025 alone. Dentsu Tokyo placed second with 4,325 points, followed by TBWA\Hakuhodo Tokyo at 3,830 points. Ogilvy India ranked fourth with 2,890 points.
INNOCEAN's approximately 2,500 points placed it sixth, behind Ogilvy Thailand at an estimated 2,325 points in fifth. The gap between INNOCEAN and the Asia No. 1 stands at roughly 2,620 points.
Japan's presence across multiple top-five positions, through both Dentsu and TBWA\Hakuhodo, reflects how that market fields several high-performing agencies simultaneously. Korea's creative output is concentrated more narrowly, with INNOCEAN holding a significant domestic lead.
INNOCEAN operates as Hyundai Motor Group's in-house global agency network, outside the traditional holding company structure. Its No. six Asia finish was achieved without the multinational client base and network infrastructure available to Ogilvy, Dentsu, or TBWA.
The One Club's 2025 Global Creative Rankings separately placed INNOCEAN Seoul at No. three in APAC, providing independent confirmation of the agency's regional standing across different ranking methodologies.
INNOCEAN's Regional Footprint Extends Into Southeast Asia
Beyond Korea, INNOCEAN ranked No. 1 in Indonesia for the second consecutive year, adding a second market leadership position to its 2025 results.
The 2025 Campaign Brief Asia rankings covered a record 2,885 individual creatives across more than 230 agencies. INNOCEAN has also received "Agency of the Year" recognition from three leading international organizations in consecutive cycles from late 2025 through early 2026.
The agency stated it will continue developing its integrated operating model, connecting local execution with global network competitiveness, as it pursues further regional expansion.
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