Young & Rubicam

Y&R

Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Integrated Marketing Communications
Founded	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA (1923)
Headquarters	3 Columbus Circle New York City
Key people	David Sable, CEO Peter Law-Gisiko, CFO Tony Granger, CCO
Number of employees	16,000 (2008)
Parent	WPP plc
Website	www.yr.com

Y&R (originally Young & Rubicam) is a marketing and communications company specializing in advertising, digital and social media, sales promotion, direct marketing and brand identity consulting.

In 1923, John Orr Young and Raymond Rubicam established a small advertising agency in Philadelphia. The company moved to New York in 1926 as a condition of securing a contract with the newly formed Jell-O company. Soon the company moved into offices at 285 Madison Avenue, which remained the company's location for 87 years.

During the 1960s, Y&R produced the first color television commercials. In the 1970s, under the leadership of Edward N. Ney as chief executive officer, Y&R expanded with the acquisition of Wunderman Ricotta & Kline in 1973, Cato Johnson in 1976, and Burson-Marsteller in 1979. Throughout the 1980s, Y&R bought diverse firms like Landor Associates in corporate and brand identity. By the end of the decade there were nine companies formally owned.

Y&R became the highest-billing advertising agency in the United States in 1975 with billings recorded at US$477 million.

In the 1990s, Y&R was charged with bribery related to a Jamaican tourism account, and a partnership with Dentsu and Eurocom fell apart when Eurocom withdrew. Y&R and Dentsu reformed as Dentsu, Young & Rubicam Partnerships.