MullenLowe U.S., originally known as Mullen Advertising, was founded in 1970 in Wenham, Massachusetts by Jim Mullen, a biophysicist and racing sailor.[3] Three years later, the company hired Paul Silverman as its original creative director.[4] Other early employees included then-Chief Operating Officer Joe Grimaldi, who would go on to become Chairman of MullenLowe U.S., and the agency's fourth partner and executive creative director Edward Boches.[5][6]
In April 1999, Mullen Advertising, by then the largest independent agency in New England, was acquired by Interpublic Group of Companies.[7] In October 1999, Jim Mullen stepped down and turned the CEO duties over to Joe Grimaldi.[8]
In January 2001, Interpublic merged Mullen with another of its holdings, Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based agency Long Haymes Carr (LHC). LHC was renamed as Mullen/LHC.[9]
In 2011, the agency was named to Ad Age's A-List as the third best agency in the country.[10] In the same year, American business magazine Fast Company named Mullen to its top 10 innovative marketing and advertising companies.[11]
In December 2013, Alex Leikikh succeeded Joe Grimaldi as Mullen's CEO.[12]
In May 2015, Interpublic merged Mullen with global agency Lowe & Partners, creating MullenLowe Group, and Mullen's US offices were renamed as MullenLowe U.S. Mullen CEO Alex Leikikh became Worldwide CEO of MullenLowe Group.[1] Lee Newman was appointed MullenLowe U.S. CEO.[2]
MullenLowe U.S. is headquartered at 40 Broad Street in Boston, where it moved on June 1, 2009, following 22 years in a manor houseinWenham, Massachusetts.[13] Additional offices are located in Los Angeles, New York City, and Winston-Salem North Carolina. The agency is part of MullenLowe Group's network of 90+ offices in over 65 locations around the world.[14]
MullenLowe U.S. belongs to the similarly-named division of the global network, MullenLowe, which focuses on brand strategy, communications planning and through-the-line advertising. MullenLowe sits alongside three other divisions of MullenLowe Group: MullenLowe Comms, Mediahub, and MullenLowe Profero.[15]
One of MullenLowe U.S.'s more notable campaigns was creating the Monster.comSuper Bowl commercial When I Grow Up.[16] The agency has also gotten press coverage for its E*TRADE Superbowl ads with the tagline "Don't Get Mad, Get E-Trade".[17] In 2022, KFC has named MullenLowe as the brand's creative agency of record.[18]
