In 1985, K & L Advertising was founded under its original corporate name, AMKO Advertising, by Eliot Kang, a young Asian American entrepreneur. By 1990, AMKO's size, breadth of clients, and public profile had already earned the agency its recognition by corporate America as the nation's leading Asian American advertising agency.
With the rapid development of the Asian-American advertising industry in the early 1990's, K & L experienced exponential growth in its client base, functional scope of operations, and full-time professional staff. At the end of 1994, AMKO Advertising officially changed its name to K & L Advertising.
In October of 1998, K & L's success and industry leadership was recognized when the agency made history as the first Asian American multicultural agency to be acquired by a major global communications company, Young & Rubicam Inc.
Following Young & Rubicam's acquisition by The WPP Group in 2001, K & L also became a division within the global WPP Group offering.
