Last night we hosted a dinner at the the agency for some of the team from Campaign. There was booze, balloons and lovely grub catered by Fifteen.

MD Neil Christie (above) explains to Campaign Deputy Editor Francesca Newland why he still hasn't had a haircut.

Creative Director Ben Walker  applauds Kate Nettleton's attempt to eat a balloon.

This shameless buttering up of the press was in no way connected to the positive stories in today's Campaign, which in its review of the year, named Wieden + Kennedy runner-up network of the year.

They wrote:

"This was the year Wieden + Kennedy resoundingly proved it had all the network credentials to compete against the old-world network juggernauts and – in most cases – win…Meanwhile, as creativity moves further up the agenda, the independent nature of the agency leaves it in pole position to capitalise. The work across Coca-Cola, Honda, Lurpak, Nike and Electronic Arts has been exceptional and the agency has ratcheted global billings of $1.4 billion."

And in their annual 'best of' lists we got a few mentions:

– Nike rugby World Cup campaign was number 3 best press ad and number 2 best radio ad.

– Stuart Smith was number 4 best planner

– Tony and Kim were number 2 best creative directors and number 6 'best double act'

– And W+K London was number 1 best place to work.

"Wieden + Kennedy seems to have it all. If you work there you can contribute to some of the best advertising campaigns in the world, and it has a reputation for treating its staff with respect. There's a knitting class, 'thirsty thursdays', a generous pension scheme and free language lessons. Trendy offices near Brick Lane complete the picture."

Meanwhile, Marketing magazine published its 'agency of the year' thing today. We didn't win it. AMV did. But we were named as a runner-up. Here's what they said:

"Wieden & Kennedy scored consistently highly in all categories. In terms of new business, it performed well, winning four out of the five pitches it took part in, scooping Nokia's global advertising brief and flagship stores account, as well as work for Save the Children. It was also awarded The Observer account by existing client Guardian Media Group.

The agency is probably best remembered this year for its work with Honda, and this account provided evidence of its contribution to clients' business. The marque registered its highest sales figures in
the UK in September, and Honda's market share has risen by 16% year on year."

Well done, us.

Above is one of our account directors Penny, second from left. We sent her to Brazil just recently via TIE, an organisation that provides the opportunity for people in the communications industry to work on short term contracts with NGOs in developing countries. Here’s a note from her about her experiences:

In November I went to Recife, Brazil to work with Plan International, a
Non-Government Organisation, who specialise in promoting the rights of
children.  The trip was a month long placement arranged by TIE and W+K
to help the NGO with their communications planning and implementation
for a local programme they are running on the outskirts of the city.