• FORTUNE, Tuesday, December 6, 2005 12:27 PM

Marketers looking for cutting edge ideas are turning to New York, where a handful of boutique ad agencies with strange names are turning the industry on its ear. These shops are not brand new, but they are beginning to leave their mark on an industry grappling with how to adapt to the changing needs of clients and consumers. They have names like Strawberry Frog, Taxi, Mother, and Anomaly. Their influence is growing, and there are even those who say the industry hasn't seen anything like this since the creative revolution of the '80s spawned such renegades as Fallon and Wieden & Kennedy. Yet those agencies set up shop in Minneapolis and Portland, Ore., respectively. New York embodied all that they thought was wrong with the ad business. Now it's New York's turn to shine in the creative spotlight. And clients are most definitely paying attention. The list of marketers hiring these hot shops includes Coca-Cola, TBS, Milwaukee's Best, Virgin Mobile, Pfizer, Fox Sports, Target, and Oxygen Media.

Read the whole story at FORTUNE »