Young & Rubicam has a long history of creating great advertising and innovative solutions to media and marketing challenges and remains one of the most respected brands in the business.

But today Y&R has evolved into a global community of brands, separate yet united in providing a wide range of marketing communications to hundreds of advertisers in dozens of countries.

Y&R Brands, including Wunderman (direct, digital and database marketing), Landor Associates (brand consulting and design), Sudler & Hennessey (strategic healthcare communications) and Burson-Marsteller (public relations/public affairs), have been brought together under one banner and enfused with a new sense of energy and purpose.

And leading the charge is Ann Fudge, chairman and CEO of Y&R Brands, and her team, including Michael Patti, global creative director, Gord McLean, CEO of Y&R North America, Sally Kennedy, chief marketing officer, and Daniel Morel, CEO of Wunderman.

They've created a program for evaluating the “Brand Energy” of clients' brands to help assess whether a brand is moving forward or at a standstill and not working hard enough. Three key dimensions for assessing a brand's energy level is vision (take Apple for example), invention (Jet Blue) and dynamism.

The recent work for two of their own clients showed the new process and the teamwork of Y&R Brands at work.

For Chevron, a giant in the energy category, they created a campaign that addresses the real issues taken from today's headlines. Dramatic television commercials, direct and print all encourage consumers to join in a dialogue with the company on Chevron's website, “willyoujoinus.com,” already generating a tremendous response.

And their new campaign for Land Rover's super-charged Range Rover Sport was successfully launched in the U.S. as well as Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific regions. With the theme “The New Rush,” it uses not only traditional television commercials, but also direct, online advertising and print and even featured a “New Rush” energy drink for dealers.

Nothing like a little adrenaline to get things moving.