The three founders had worked at Pritchard Wood but went their own way after failing to buy the company from its parent. Cadbury-Schweppes had been a client of Pritchard Wood, and BMP's first campaign was for Cadbury's Smash, a powdered mashed-potato mix. Other early BMP campaigns included the Cresta bear ("it's frothy, man"), Hofmeister bear, the Humphreys, and John Smith's Arkwright.
In 1977 Havas of France paid £1.5m for a 50% stake in BMP. It later sold its holding back to BMP.
In 1983 BMP floated on the London Stock Exchange valued at £16 million. After a hostile bid by a French company, BMP was bought in 1989 for £125 million ($200 million) by DDP Worldwide, part of Omnicom Group, a giant American holding company controlling many agencies.
BMP DDB Needham is now one of the UK's leading advertising agencies. A poll in 2000 selected the UK's top 100 television commercials - 16 were produced by BMP DDB. An example: BMP advertisements for the Barclaycard credit card, featuring an accident-prone card user played by Rowan Atkinson. BMP is also regularly honoured at the Clio awards in the US.
The company is said to have a strong relationship with the Labour Party, dating from the early 1970s when it placed press advertisements for the TUC attacking the then Conservative government's Industrial Relations Bill. Chris Powell, BMP DDB Needham's chief executive is the brother of Jonathan Powell, the Labour Party's chief of staff, and several people who served in the Labour Party's Shadow Communications Agency came from BMP.
