American Dairy Queen Corporation Announces Barkley as New Advertising Agency of Record

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--American Dairy Queen Corporation (ADQ) today announced Barkley as the company’s new advertising agency of record after a four month formal agency review.

“Dairy Queen® is an iconic brand that is well-known and loved, so we received a tremendous amount of interest from agencies across the nation”

“Dairy Queen^® is an iconic brand that is well-known and loved, so we received a tremendous amount of interest from agencies across the nation,” said Barry Westrum, executive vice president of Marketing for ADQ. “We were impressed with Barkley’s creative approach, experience and keen understanding of our brand and the QSR industry. They captured the soul of our brand in a unique, contemporary and relevant manner. Barkley understands the untapped power of the DQ^® brand lies within the hearts and minds of our consumers and franchisees.”

Founded in 1964, Barkley is the largest employee-owned advertising agency in the U.S. with offices in Kansas City, Mo., Pittsburgh and Boulder, Colo.

“Agencies are best known by the company they keep, and a brand like DQ is pretty amazing company,” said Jeff King, CEO of Barkley. “We are so excited about this partnership. We believe the best advertising in the world simply tells the truth in an interesting way, and this brand has some powerful truths. We can’t wait to help tell the DQ story.”

Barkley will be responsible for all television creative as well as other touch points in the U.S. and Canada. The first of the new national television commercials will begin launching this spring.

“We are confident that Barkley will showcase the DQ brand not only as the treat category leader, but as something different and something better,” Westrum said. “Their campaign will continue to reinforce the brand’s positioning as contemporary and relevant for today’s consumer.”

About ADQ:

American Dairy Queen Corporation (ADQ), which is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., develops, licenses and services a system of more than 6,000 Dairy Queen^® stores in the United States, Canada and 19 other countries. ADQ is part of the Berkshire Hathaway family, a company owned by Warren Buffett, the legendary investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. For more information, visit DairyQueen.com.

About Barkley

Barkley believes that creativity and innovation can change the world. As the nation's largest employee-owned advertising agency, they are fiercely independent and committed to adding GOOD. Barkley's goal is to help build the biggest future possible for their clients. They provide fully integrated advertising services as well as specialized services through four partner companies: Crossroads, PR and Cause Marketing; Blacktop, Branding and Design; Barkley REI, Interactive Marketing; and Grenadier, Strategic and Creative. For more information, please visit http://barkleyus.com/