For ten years, Grabarz & Partner served as Porsche’s international lead agency. In early August, that collaboration came to an end, with the international creative account moving to Serviceplan. Instead of issuing a conventional farewell statement, the Hamburg-based agency responded with what it does best: an idea.
“KEEP ON PUSHING, PORSCHE AND SERVICEPLAN. SERIOUSLY.”
That was all it took. One visual, one line – and a farewell that clearly struck a chord across the industry.
According to Grabarz & Partner, the post generated around 2,000 reactions, more than 230 comments and over 270 reposts and shares across LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook within just a few days – both in Germany and internationally. Among those reacting were nearly 100 Porsche employees from around the world, including Executive Board level, as well as senior figures from many of the industry’s leading agencies and representatives of the new lead agency, Serviceplan.
What stands out, however, is less the sheer number of reactions than their tone. Instead of the usual winner-and-loser rhetoric, the end of a ten-year agency relationship became, for a moment, something like a public tribute to the work they had accomplished together.
“This is as classy as it gets.” – Dr. Kjell Gruner, President & CEO Volkswagen of America and former Porsche CMO
“Great attitude, great copy.” – Thomas Strerath
And there was recognition from the new agency too: “Nothing but love and respect.” – Jeannette Bohné, Managing Director Serviceplan Berlin
Some of the reactions from the community were perhaps even more memorable:
“10 years, measured in hundredths of seconds.” “If you go fast enough, the tears never meet the track.”
For Grabarz & Partner, the response shows that even the end of a long-standing client relationship can be an expression of creative attitude. No settling of scores, no pathos, no lengthy retrospective – just one final message to Porsche and its new agency partner: keep going, keep pushing.
Or, as Grabarz & Partner put it:
“KEEP ON PUSHING, PORSCHE AND SERVICEPLAN. SERIOUSLY.”
GoSee spoke with Ralf Heuel, CCO and Partner at Grabarz & Partner, about the idea behind “Keep on Pushing”, ten years together with Porsche, how to creatively deal with losing a major account – and why good competition should end with a handshake after going full contact.
Ralf, ten years with Porsche – and then you say goodbye with just one line. How did “KEEP ON PUSHING” come about, and how quickly did you know: this is our answer?
It came more from the gut – or the heart – than from the head. We had been going full throttle for ten years. Porsche had too. And after such a long journey, you don’t simply want to say: “Thank you for the collaboration. Goodbye.” That wouldn’t have done justice to the intensity of the journey we shared. “Keep on pushing” means: We’ll be leaving soon. You’re still on the track. So please keep your foot firmly on the gas. Even with a new agency. Don’t slow down. Especially not now, when an entire industry is redefining itself.
The response came not only from the agency world, but also from a surprising number of Porsche employees, right up to Executive Board level. Did that reaction surprise you – and was there one comment that particularly touched or pleased you personally?
Yes, we were surprised. Not only by the sheer number of reactions, but above all by who responded. The fact that so many Porsche people from all over the world reached out, commented, shared the post or wrote to us directly – right up to Executive Board level – is very special. After ten years, you don’t know many of these people just from a few video calls. We won together, argued, worked through the night and probably drove each other crazy a few times along the way.
I was particularly pleased by VW North America CEO Kjell Gruner’s comment, “This is as classy as it gets.” Especially because Kjell experienced a large part of that journey together with us. And I also thought Serviceplan’s “Nothing but love and respect” was great. That’s how competition should be. Full contact before, handshake afterwards. What probably touched us most, however, were the countless private messages from the teams. Nobody else sees those. But those are the ones that stay with you.
Losing a major international account isn’t usually something agencies particularly like to talk about. Why was it important for you not to simply let the relationship end quietly, but to give the farewell one final creative and communicative statement?
We simply wanted to close this great chapter in an appropriate way. With respect. With sportsmanship. Not just publicly or towards Porsche, but also for our teams. They invested an incredible amount in Porsche over ten years and went full throttle for eight months during the pitch. To say nothing at all afterwards would have felt completely wrong.
It was also more than a gesture of courtesy. We were Porsche enthusiasts and we will remain Porsche enthusiasts. In football, they say the club is bigger than the coach or any individual player. That applies pretty well to Porsche. And particularly at a time when the entire automotive industry is changing, we genuinely want Porsche to remain successful.
The fact that it ultimately became an idea again probably has something to do with the fact that we are a creative agency. It would have been strange to suddenly start behaving like a press office when it came time to say goodbye.
After ten years of working together, there is presumably a lot of Porsche in Grabarz & Partner – and vice versa. What will personally stay with you from that time?
A lot, because Porsche was never just another car brand to me. When I was 30, I saved for a long time to buy my first Porsche. A 1970 911 T in Albert Blue. Condition 3. Minus. It cost a few thousand euros back then. Not as an investment, not as a collector’s item. I simply desperately wanted to own a Porsche. But what matters even more to me are our teams. We have had – and still have – incredible people working on Porsche. People who invested an enormous amount of time, love, energy and passion in the brand. And the same was true on the client side. You don’t always experience that.
When you work together this closely for ten years, you do take it personally. You probably have to. Otherwise, the good stuff doesn’t happen. And we’ll continue to take it personally and keep going until the end of the year. Full throttle. So that we can put as many great things for this brand on the road as possible.
Ralf Heuel is CCO and Partner at Grabarz & Partner – an agency he co-founded in 1993 at the age of 26, when he was still a junior copywriter. His work has since received hundreds of international creative awards, including Cannes Lions, D&AD, The One Show, Clio and Eurobest. Heuel is a member of the Art Directors Club Germany, D&AD and The One Club New York and has served on the juries of many of the world’s leading creative festivals.
In 2025, Campaign Germany and G50Unleashed selected him for their inaugural “50 over 50” list of influential figures in the communications industry, describing him as a voice whose influence extends far beyond agency boundaries. Following Omnicom Group’s investment in Grabarz & Partner in 2023, Heuel remains CCO, Partner and shareholder of the agency.