• by Fern Siegel , July 14, 2025

Dark Horses, the sports marketing agency, is aligning with TBWA\London, though it retains its independent status. The two embrace disruptive creativity.

The agency originally joined Omnicom in 2023, producing work for adidas, Nissan and Prime Video.

Though based in the UK, Dark Horses caters to global clients in multiple markets. In addition, Dark Horses just expanded in the Netherlands with TBWA/Neboko, 180 and DDB.

The business, which works with the TBWA Collective, reports to Larissa Vince, CEO of TBWA\London, Matt Readman,  CSO of Dark Horses and Andy Jex CCO of TBWA\London.

"Sports has long been an area of strength for TBWA. Integrating Dark Horses even more closely will further bolster this expertise at a time when the world of sport is becoming even more powerful for brands. There is greater dimension to how brands can engage with sports teams, stars and culture," said. Erin Riley, TBWA’s global CEO. She added the alliance "will help our partners to unlock all of this potential with unmatched impact."

With the TBWA\London alliance, Dark Horses' former CEO, Melissa Robertson and COO CCO Steve Howell are leaving the agency. 

TBWA’s global hub model has been replicated with other specialty agencies, such as Aura (luxury), DxD (design) and Plex (B2B).