A crop of prestigious clients propelled Richmond's The Martin Agency to the No. 3 spot in Advertising Age magazine's 2008 ranking.

The agency jumped from the fifth spot in last year's annual ranking of the best advertising agencies in the United States to its new spot because of the caliber of clients it landed in 2007, according to Jonah Bloom, editor of the magazine.

"The biggest thing is they kept winning major national accounts," he said.

The Martin Agency fared better than Madison Avenue stalwarts Saatchi & Saatchi and Edelman.

Known for its work on campaigns for GEICO insurance and United Parcel Service, in 2007 the agency increased its client base by signing Wal-Mart and the extreme sports X-Games as well as the Alliance for Climate Protection, the group run by former Vice President Al Gore.

The Martin Agency also does work for BFGoodrich, Hanes, NASCAR and Sirius Satellite Radio. As far as Advertising Age was concerned, though, Wal-Mart was what put Martin over the top.

"Wal-Mart is as big as it comes," Bloom said.

The agency's creative work was another factor in the ranking.

"They tried some very interesting things, and they tried to do them in different formats," he said. "In a world where people can shut out advertising, they found out how to be entertaining."

Bloom points to the television show "Cavemen," based on the agency's insurance commercial in which cavemen react to the constant refrain that it's "so easy a caveman can do it."

While the show did not do well commercially or critically, Bloom said it showed Martin's willingness to try new things.

"It's a really terrific affirmation of the work [agency employees] are doing," said John Adams, Martin's chairman and chief executive officer, of the ranking.

While happy with it, Adams said the agency needs to continue aggressively going after new business and trying to stay on the cutting edge creatively.

"It's harder to stay at the top than it is to get there," he said.

Adams would not discuss how much revenue the agency brought in, but he said the agency billed about $600 million last year. Advertising is often gauged by billings.

Martin finished behind San Francisco-based Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, which billed $2 billion last year, and Miami-based Crispin Porter & Bogusky, with more than $1 billion in billings.

Last week, the Delaney Report, an industry newsletter, named Martin Agency of the Year for marketing, media and advertising executives.

According to the report, the ranking was given because of the Wal-Mart account and its "Save Money. Live Better." campaign.
Contact Louis Llovio at (804) 649-6348 or lllovio@timesdispatch.com.