The Richards Group is an American

advertising agency An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generally ...

. It was once the largest independently-owned agency in the country. Working with founder Stan Richards, there are now far fewer than 35 creative group heads. In October 2020, following racist comments about an advertising campaign idea made by the agency's founder, Stan Richards, the company lost two of its longtime clients
Motel 6
(34 years) and Home Depot (25 years); other clients also decided to leave the firm, including

Keurig Dr Pepper Keurig Dr Pepper Inc., formerly Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (1981–2014) and Keurig Green Mountain (2014–2018), is a publicly traded American beverage and coffeemaker conglomerate with headquarters in Burlington, Massachusetts. Formed in ...

, the brewers of Shiner Bock beer and grocery chain

H-E-B H-E-B Grocery Company, LP, is an American privately held supermarket chain based in San Antonio, Texas, with more than 340 stores throughout the U.S. state of Texas, as well as in northeast Mexico. The company also operates Central Market, an u ...

. Richards (who had recently delegated most day-to-day management of the firm to his senior creative directors as part of a previously announced succession plan) resigned from the firm soon thereafter. Based in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

, The Richards Group reports annual billings above $1 billion. Memorable work includes the

Chick-fil-A Chick-fil-A ( , a Word play, play on the American English pronunciation of "wikt:filet#Pronunciation, filet") is an American fast food restaurant chain which is the country's largest which specializes in chicken sandwiches. Headquartered in Coll ...

Cows ("Eat Mor Chikin"), and the

Motel 6 Motel 6 is a privately owned hospitality company with a chain of budget motels in the United States and Canada. Motel 6 also operates Studio 6, a chain of extended-stay hotels. The hotel brand is owned by The Blackstone Group's real estate busi ...

campaign featuring

Tom Bodett Thomas Edward Bodett ( ; born February 23, 1955) is an American author, voice actor, and radio personality, primarily as a host, correspondent and panelist for a number of shows that air on National Public Radio (NPR). Since 1986, he has been t ...

. Major clients include or have included

Fruit of the Loom Fruit of the Loom is an American company that manufactures clothing, particularly casual wear and underwear. The company's world headquarters is in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Since 2002 it has been a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway. Products manu ...

The Home Depot The Home Depot, Inc., is an American multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportation rentals. Home Depot is the largest home improvement re ...

, Sub-Zero/

Wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...

, and

Zales The Zale Corporation is an American jewelry retailer, incorporated in Delaware in 1993. The principal executive offices are located in Coppell, Texas. History The company began in 1924 in Wichita Falls, Texas, when the two Russian-Jewish immig ...

. The agency handles advertising, public relations, and promotions for dozens of clients nationwide, in addition to sports/entertainment marketing for colleges and universities. The Richards Group is associated by common ownership with Houston advertising agency Richards/Carlberg. In 2014, a $10 million fundraising campaign was completed to rededicate the advertising and public relations department at the University of Texas at Austin, naming it the Stan Richards School of Advertising and Public Relations. The university released a statement after Richards' 2020 comments and resignation from the firm condemning the incident.

History

Key Dates: 1953: Stan Richards begins doing freelance design work in Dallas. 1976: Company becomes a full-service advertising agency. 1986: Motel 6 is signed as a client. 2016:The Richards Group takes AOR (agency of record) for

Blue Bell Creameries Blue Bell Creameries is an American food company that manufactures ice cream. It was founded in 1907 in Brenham, Texas. For much of its early history, the company manufactured both ice cream and butter locally. In the mid-20th century, it abandon ...

. 2018:

Dish Network DISH Network Corporation (DISH, an acronym for DIgital Sky Highway) is an American television provider and the owner of the direct-broadcast satellite provider Dish, commonly known as Dish Network, and the over-the-top IPTV service, Sling TV. A ...

selects The Richards Group as its new creative agency of record. 2020
Richards Group Fired by Motel 6 Over Racist Remark by Agency Founder
2020
Home Depot Breaks With Richards Group Following Founder's Racist Remarks
2020

H-E-B severs ties amid reports of racist comments by its CEO. 2020: Stan Richards resigns from The Richards Group.

References

Advertising agencies of the United States Companies based in Dallas Business services companies established in 1976 1976 establishments in Texas {{US-company-stub