LONDON ISSUE 30 Mar 2005

Not everybody knows this, but London has its own CIA... But this is not some American spying organisation; it's The Central Illustration Agency, representing some of the world's best illustrators.

Some of CIA artists' recent successes include: the Piriteze campaign by Fine and Dandy for Grey London; the FIFA 2005 computer game press and poster campaign by Kai and Sunny for See of London; the Evening Standard campaign for Banc ad agency; the Marmite bus side and poster campaign by Mark Thomas for DDB.

CIA says they take a lateral, innovative approach to spreading the word about the artists they represent, and avoid run-of-the-mill promotional activities. Interestingly, all staff at the CIA are artists themselves which they say helps with both clients and the artists.