After Thirty Years, KesselsKramer Closes Its Doors

Advertising agencies go out of business every day. But what about agencies with superlative creative credentials? Do they fail on a less frequent basis? I’d like to believe that, although I don’t have the data to support the thesis, and the list of great creative shops like Wexley School for Girls, Modernista, Barton F. Graf, and Cliff Freeman & Partners that are no more is long and growing longer.

Now KesselsKramer is on the list. The Amsterdam-based marketing agency was declared bankrupt after three major commercial assignments fell through unexpectedly, according to NL Times. The bankruptcy marks the downfall of one of the Netherlands’ most influential creative agencies, founded in 1996 by Erik Kessels and Johan Kramer.

According to co-owner Matthijs De Jongh, the bankruptcy resulted directly from lost business. “It was an accumulation,” he said. “Three major commercial assignments did not go through, which caused the company to go under.”

Working a new business pipeline is a perpetual challenge for all agencies, creative and otherwise. Clients are under intense pressure to deliver job-saving metrics, and they want their agency partners to help them do it. Yet, agencies have their own goals and cultures.

In 2022, creative director Rens de Jonge told Little Black Book that KesselsKramer has always been about telling the truth, no matter the shape or form. “We didn’t and still don’t like lying about things,” he explained. “We don’t take ourselves very seriously; our work, on the other hand, comes with great responsibility – that, we take very seriously.”

Did their refusal to lie about things hinder their new business efforts? It’s a possibility. What about the agency’s core beliefs? Helpful or harmful?

Agency Beliefs:

1. There is no formula
2. Make it meaningful
3. Don’t be safe
4. Advertising is unhealthy
5. Meetings are fine, gatherings are better
6. Community = communication
7. No way in the middle
8. Always carry a mirror
9. Ambition needs humility and vice versa
10. Salute flaws
11. Change requires dissent
12. Start small, then it’s all downhill

I love this list of beliefs, particularly numbers one, four, and 11. And I can imagine how clients seeking a safe harbor and growth at all costs might be repelled by the audacious nature of this thinking.

One client that KesselsKramer told the truth about was Hans Brinker Budget Hotel, a budget hotel now known for its lack of amenities, a fact that the agency turned into intentionally ironic (and iconic) advertising.