Barton F. Graf

Highly regarded independent creative agency known for award-winning, unconventional campaigns for major consumer brands

Barton F. Graf was an independent creative advertising agency founded in New York City by Gerry Graf, a veteran creative director who had previously worked at TBWA\Chiat\Day and Saatchi & Saatchi. The agency built a reputation for producing bold, unconventional, and often darkly humorous advertising that stood apart from mainstream agency work. Its campaigns were celebrated for their originality and cultural resonance, earning numerous industry awards and widespread recognition within the creative advertising community. The agency became perhaps best known for its long-running work with Skittles, producing a series of surreal, absurdist commercials that became cultural touchstones and helped define a distinctive brand voice for the candy. It also produced memorable work for Little Caesars, Kayak, and other notable brands. Barton F. Graf was widely regarded as one of the most creatively ambitious independent agencies of its era, frequently appearing on industry 'best of' lists and winning accolades at Cannes Lions and other prestigious award shows. Despite its creative acclaim, Barton F. Graf announced in 2019 that it would be closing its doors, citing the increasingly difficult economics of running an independent creative agency in a media landscape dominated by holding companies and shifting client spending patterns. The closure was mourned widely across the advertising industry as the loss of a genuinely distinctive creative voice. Gerry Graf went on to pursue other ventures, but the agency itself ceased operations, leaving behind a legacy of some of the most inventive advertising work of the 2010s.