Struggles of a Mad Man

Kevin Roberts may well be the most successful adman of his generation. Over the past decade the British-born chief executive of Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide has transformed his agency from one of Madison Avenue's biggest jokes into one of its brightest stars. Roberts has been signing up clients at an impressive clip--adding J.C. Penney (JCP ), Wendy's International (WEN ), and Ameriprise Financial (AMP ) to a blue-chip roster that already included Procter & Gamble (PG ) and Toyota (TM ). His agency has been scooping up awards for its creative work. Saatchi is back in the black and expects operating profits of about $117million this year on $780 million in revenues. Not bad for a guy who, prior to becoming Saatchi's chief in 1997, hadn't worked a day in advertising.

And yet it's not enough. Despite the brutal hours, the nonstop schmoozing with clients, the hopscotching around the planet chasing the next piece of business, Saatchi is eking out 6% revenue growth. That's better than other traditional agencies but not so impressive at a time when there are more places than ever to stick ads--online, on cell phones, on the men's room wall.