17280: Overreaction Of The Week.

 

Pantone Color of the Year 2026 is described as follows:

 

A Whisper of Tranquility and Peace in a Noisy World

 

Introducing Pantone Color of the Year 2026, PANTONE 11-4201 Cloud Dancer, a lofty white that serves as a symbol of calming influence in a society rediscovering the value of quiet reflection. A billowy white imbued with serenity, PANTONE 11-4201 Cloud Dancer encourages true relaxation and focus, allowing the mind to wander and creativity to breathe, making room for innovation.

 

Adland is undoubtedly ecstatic—and fully supports—the honored color is White.

17279: RIF FYI WTF.

 

Advertising Age published timely—albeit useless—content featuring advice for people experiencing layoffs.

 

The uselessness derives from the source of the counsel: industry recruiters.

 

Upon submitting the drivel, the headhunters undoubtedly ghosted the Ad Age reporter.

 

But seriously, recruiting for White advertising agencies is a role that could easily be replaced by AI—and is increasingly shifted in-house alongside HR duties.

 

Independent recruiters are amazingly unfamiliar with the industry—and typically ignorant about the true specifications for roles. Contrary to self-promotional hype, these commission-seeking bottom feeders indiscriminately throw candidates at agencies.

 

On second thought, “indiscriminately” might be the wrong word; in their heyday, industry recruiters were prime culprits and collaborators in stymieing DEIBA+ progress via discriminatory practices.

 

What you need to know if you’ve just been laid off

 

By Lindsay Rittenhouse

 

Omnicom’s massive restructuring following its acquisition of Interpublic Group of Cos., including the dismantling of three storied creative agency brands, leaves thousands of people without jobs.

 

Chairman and CEO John Wren told Ad Age that Omnicom expects to have 105,000 employees worldwide post-merger. That’s a decline of about 23,200 employees from 128,200, the combined headcount of Omnicom and IPG at the end of 2024.

 

The layoffs have shaken the industry, with many ad professionals reacting to the restructuring online and commenting on the toll the cuts will take. These job losses add to many that have already been happening across the industry for the past few years, and come as fears mount about AI’s ability to replace even more jobs.

 

“We are in the midst of a perfect storm where there is a triumvirate of economic instability, significant agency consolidation and the rise of AI,” said Jay Haines, founding partner of Grace Blue, which is part of Sinecure, a collection of talent firms specializing in scalable recruiting solutions and executive search. “Each of those would individually be enough to cause significant disruption, but together they have had the huge impact we are seeing today.”

 

Serena Wolf, founder of recruiting firm Wolf Creative Co., said she hasn’t witnessed this many layoffs since the first year of COVID, referring to the period of pandemic-related lockdowns between March and December of 2020.

 

Tony Stanol, president of Global Recruiters of Sarasota, said the amount of layoffs resulting from one merger is dramatic but not entirely surprising.

 

“It’s not shocking given the industry’s over-hiring during pandemic-era growth,” he said. “I’m seeing many more talented people coming at me for help than during the COVID layoffs and furloughs.”

 

It’s a scary time for many industry professionals who are affected. They’re going to have to figure out how to communicate that they have been laid off, decide how to best protect themselves and their interests as companies make sweeping cuts, and learn how to go about landing their next job in a tough hiring market.

 

Below is advice from industry recruiters on those considerations and more.

 

After being laid off, first, take a breath

 

“I know it’s scary, but good people land,” Stanol said. “Your skills, relationships and track record didn’t disappear overnight. Take a breath, regroup and remember: This moment doesn’t define your career, what you do next does.”

 

Recruiters who spoke with Ad Age said if you’ve been laid off, you may feel the need to jump into job hunting, especially amid the current rocky hiring landscape but that it’s important to take a minute to pause and really consider the next best move for your career.

 

Just don’t take too long, they added.

 

“Take 48 hours to decompress, assess your financial runway and get clear on the type of role and environment you want next,” Stanol said. “Once your head is level, tighten your narrative. Hiring leaders want clarity.”

 

Lawyer up and negotiate

 

Anyone impacted by a layoff should ask for a severance package, and lawyers can help.

 

“Regardless of your level, it is always worth speaking with a labor lawyer to review the proposed severance [and/or] separation agreement,” said Sasha Martens, president of industry recruiting firm Sasha the Mensch. “The best time to negotiate is early, so take the time to think through what you would want to ask for. It is important to be realistic as well, since each organization is different and the reality is that advertising agencies’ severance packages are not as generous as those of other Fortune 500 brands.”

 

Stanol noted that you only need to hire an employment attorney for an hour to have it be worthwhile.

 

A good severance package should be realistic and typically start at one to two weeks of pay for every year you’ve worked, according to some recruiters. Haines said your severance negotiations “should be based on facts and data,” meaning the years you served the company and the contributions you made.

 

You can also ask your former employer for confirmation or a letter stating that your layoff “was not performance-related,” Martens added.

 

Wolf said you can ask your next employer, when signing an offer letter, for severance of three to 12 months, as well, should you be laid off again (depending on your level).

 

How to announce you’ve been laid off

 

There is going to be a flood of announcements on LinkedIn from professionals who have been laid off, all hitting at once, due to the scale of the deal-related cuts.

 

Wolf advised professionals to pause and post their announcements in mid-January when hiring should ramp up, noting that hiring slows down at the end of December. Holding companies usually carry out most staff cuts in the fourth quarter, when they’re scrambling to meet margins.

 

Martens added that you may not want to rush to publicly announce that you are unemployed, and you might not have to if you do get severance.

 

“If you are on severance with your current employer, then you are being paid by them, and there are obligations for both parties, meaning you don’t need to change your status immediately,” he said. “Fair or unfair, your value as an employed person is always higher than that of someone out looking for work.”

 

When you do make a public announcement, Stanol said that you should “skip the vague ‘open to work’ halo above your LinkedIn portrait.” Instead, “be specific” about what you do, where you add value and what you’re after, he said.

 

Haines said that it’s important to set the right tone.

 

“The tone should be realistic about recognizing what has happened, with a recognition that it’s part of the broader instability of the industry, as opposed to anything that relates to you as an individual,” Haines said. “Alongside that should be a message of gratitude and humility about all that you have achieved to date, and your excitement to bring all the skills you have developed and experience you have gained to your next role. It’s also helpful to have a call to action around your desire to connect with your community at large.”

 

Connect with your network

 

Reaching out to your network will be crucial as well. But determining who to approach first takes some consideration.

 

Stanol said there’s a formula for that.

 

“Start with warm allies: Former bosses, peers, clients and recruiters who already trust your work,” he said. “They’re approachable, credible and they’ll go to bat for you. Then move to second-degree contacts at the companies and categories still hiring.”

 

Martens agreed, saying it’s first worth reaching out to “long-time industry contacts, people you have relationships with. Reach out to people that you may know who could use your work and talent in a full-time capacity, or could bring you in on a project.”

 

How to search for your next job

 

Some recruiters said it may take six months to a year to find a job in the current market. But Wolf said she’s seen some executives land on their feet “within a few short weeks/months.” She advises people to be open to freelance opportunities, not just full-time positions.

 

It all comes down to identifying what your next career move could be, including whether you want to go the route of entrepreneurship and start your own agency, as many former holding company executives have done, or maybe even switch industries, the recruiters said.

 

“Treat looking for a job like a job,” Haines said. “Action is the enemy of anxiety.”

 

Haines said Grace Blue advises the executives it works with to follow what it calls the “five box strategy” when it comes to searching for their next job.

 

The strategy involves identifying “five potential routes forward,” Haines said. “Think widely. Those five boxes might look like: Technology, entertainment, the Boston and Texas markets and PE-backed ventures. Having established that, you should then go through each potential box, one by one, working out who you might know in that space.”

 

Haines said you should tackle “one box each week and identify the first 10 people on your list in that space. Let’s say the first box is technology. You should then craft a note to each of those 10 people explaining that, having gained valuable experience through the course of your career, you are now thinking about what might come next and that the technology space is of particular interest.”

 

While you’re searching, Haines suggests mastering new skills and partaking in online education courses on AI, machine learning or LLMs—all of which will be critical to landing a more future-proof job in the industry.

 

Don’t take it personally

 

One point many recruiters drove home was that if you have been laid off, do not take it personally.

 

“It’s important to remind yourself that it’s not personal,” Wolf said. “You are not alone.”

 

Stay positive and use the time between jobs for a reset, Haines said. “It is an opportunity to define the rest of your career. It is an invaluable moment to take in all the information available and embark on a program of education that your previous role would never have allowed for. This is the moment to get yourself set for the next 10 years.”

 

And, despite some areas of the industry looking bleak right now, Martens said there is still a lot to be hopeful for in advertising’s future.

 

“What you are seeing is a new ecosystem of growing, nimble agencies and networks,” he said. “There are so many new networks and players entering the industry that weren’t there before. This is not just many new independents, but new networks and investors. The divide between the agency and the client side has long been broken, which offers more opportunities.”

17278: Sorrell Throwing Stones From An Ass House.

 

Storyboard18 interviewed Sir Martin Sorrell, probing his thoughts on the Omnicom acquisition of IPG.

 

Sir Peanut offered the following summation: “[A]s I sometimes put it, this merger is like two drunks propping each other up on a lamppost.”

 

Hard to assess the relevance, validity, or credibility of his perspective.

 

After all, Sorrell is like a pimp running a barren brothel.

 

“Two drunks leaning on a lamppost”: Sir Martin Sorrell on the Omnicom–IPG merger and the turbulence ahead

 

In a wide-ranging interview with Storyboard18, Sorrell delivers his frankest assessment yet of how the deal will redefine creativity, media, and talent across markets.

 

By Imran Fazal

 

As the dust settles on the Omnicom–IPG merger, the global advertising ecosystem is bracing for its aftershocks—ranging from leadership churn to widespread restructuring. Nobody is better positioned to interpret these shifts than Sir Martin Sorrell, Founder and Executive Chairman of S4 Capital. In a wide-ranging interview with Storyboard18, Sorrell delivers his frankest assessment yet of how the deal will redefine creativity, media, and talent across markets.

 

The industry sees consolidation as a reaction to market stress. How transformative is the Omnicom–IPG deal for global advertising?

 

Start with the basic structure of the industry. Of the six major holding companies, four are either flat or under significant pressure. Only two are genuinely growing. This is happening in a trillion-dollar market where the dynamics are split into two very different worlds.

 

Roughly $300 billion is traditional media, and that segment is shrinking. Free-to-air TV networks are down around 5% in ad revenue and as much as 10% without live sports. The remaining $700 billion is digital, which is growing at 10–20%, led by Google, Meta, Amazon, Alibaba, Tencent and TikTok.

 

Combined, global ad expenditure grows around 5–6%. Yet holding companies struggle because they’re still heavily tied to the shrinking traditional pool. For some groups, 40–50% of revenue still comes from traditional media or legacy creative structures. So the Omnicom–IPG merger is fundamentally a capacity-reduction move. The overcapacity isn’t in digital. It sits in the traditional, declining part of the industry. This deal shrinks that.

 

What kind of capacity reduction do you foresee?

 

When the deal was announced a year ago, Omnicom and IPG had 127,500 employees combined. IPG has already reduced headcount. Omnicom projected $750 million in efficiencies, equivalent to about 7,500 roles. I suspect combined headcount is already closer to 120,000. To reach their targets, they’ll need to come down to roughly 112,000 or even lower. This is a defensive merger, designed to reduce cost and scale down the legacy infrastructure.

 

Omnicom says the merger strengthens its data and media stack. Does that argument hold?

 

Scale is useful only in traditional media, because that’s where pricing leverage matters. In digital, it’s about brainpower, analytics and data science, not buying clout. They’ll argue that fusing Omni with Acxiom creates a stronger data backbone. But the core of this merger isn’t offensive. It’s a consolidation of the weak, not an acceleration of the strong.

 

You’ve called John Wren’s decision “strange.” Why?

 

The proxy filings reveal that IPG shared its projections with Omnicom—and clearly stated that 2024 revenues would fall 3.7%. Wren knew he was buying into decline. If he had waited for IPG’s quarterly numbers, the stock would have dropped and Omnicom could have paid far less—maybe one-quarter of the combined entity instead of one-third.

 

Why did he rush? Two possibilities: Fear of another buyer. But neither private equity nor Publicis was seriously interested. Concern about Omnicom’s own stagnation. Omnicom reports gross revenue, but net revenue is flat for three straight quarters. There’s also a personal angle: after decades in charge, he may want to go out on top—as the CEO of the largest group.

 

What happens to the combined brand architecture?

 

It’s incredibly complex—dozens of global brands, overlaps in creative, production, and media. Rationalisation is unavoidable. One difference worth noting: Wren has not destroyed creative brands the way WPP did with JWT, Y&R, Grey and others. He has gradually nudged them together under Omnicom Advertising Group. Now, with McCann, FCB, DDB, BBDO and TBWA in the mix, simplification becomes inevitable.

 

Eventually, the model will resemble Publicis: one company, one P&L, country-led structures, unified capabilities across creative, production, data and media. December 1 will tell us how aggressive they intend to be. But 2025 will be a year of upheaval, the first with a unified budget, and therefore guaranteed mayhem.

 

Are other holding groups facing similar stress?

 

Yes. Dentsu International is in deep trouble—the second worst performer after WPP. The Japanese domestic business is solid, but the international arm is structurally weak.

 

WPP, frankly, has passed the point of no return. It is vulnerable, may fall out of the FTSE 100 after 27 years, and yet there’s no activist investor, no PE fund, nobody willing to step in. McKinsey has been called in for a strategic review, but that only buys time.

 

If you look at the traditional part of the industry, capacity must shrink. IPG being absorbed is only the start. Something must happen to WPP and Dentsu International. Eventually, the landscape may look like this: Publicis, Omnicom, Havas. Dentsu as a domestic Japanese player. WPP possibly broken up. AI will accelerate all this by exposing the weaknesses of time-based legacy models.

 

How do leadership teams decide which agency brands survive or merge?

 

Usually, the weaker leadership teams get absorbed or dissolved. That’s the wrong way to do it. You should merge strong entities under strong leadership; that preserves value. When you collapse a business that is already struggling, you lose clients and talent — which deepens the decline.

 

In this case, it looks like DDB, BBDO, TBWA and McCann could be consolidated. If DDB had stronger leadership globally, the outcome might have been different. There will be heavy casualties.

 

India is a market where IPG has traditionally been strong. What should India expect?

 

Disruption. Clients worry when they see internal reorganisations. That triggers account reviews, even if no problem currently exists. If the India structure mirrors global strengths, IPG leaders should run the creative side and Omnicom should lead media. But until clarity emerges, agencies remain vulnerable.

 

Conflicts will be handled through structural insulation. Many clients today are more open to overlapping agency relationships, but some conflicts remain non-negotiable.

 

When do layoffs begin—December or over 6–12 months?

 

The clean-room planning has been underway for a year. Legally, they couldn’t integrate earlier, but they have been modelling options. So yes, expect a concrete plan on December 1. Job cuts are inevitable. Client churn is inevitable. Account reviews are inevitable. There is simply no way around it.

 

By 2030, what will define a successful holding company?

 

Two things: Top-line growth and profitability. Top-line growth will indicate whether the company has genuinely embraced future-facing capabilities—AI, digital engineering, new media, quantum, blockchain, and data-driven content. Profitability will reflect restructuring discipline.

 

One more point: Omnicom still refuses to publish net revenue. That is unwise. The market sees through it—their share price fell from $105 at the announcement to around $70.

 

Is the merger a reaction to AI automation and creative commoditisation?

 

No. Neither Omnicom nor IPG has strong AI solutions. No major client would describe them as leaders in AI. The merger isn’t about AI—it’s about surviving AI. AI compresses production time, improves personalisation, and automates planning and buying. You simply don’t need 127,500 people.

 

Could this merger be an offensive play to build proprietary tech and data assets?

 

It’s entirely defensive. IPG sold because its leadership didn’t see a future. Only three executives received golden parachutes—the ones who negotiated the deal.

 

Omnicom’s motives were defensive as well, with perhaps a personal legacy dimension for Wren. He has been CEO since 1985. If he retires, he wants to retire as the head of the world’s largest group. The traditional part of the industry is under unprecedented pressure. These two companies are built on the old model. When a chill wind blows, people huddle together.

 

Or, as I sometimes put it, this merger is like two drunks propping each other up on a lamppost.

17277: Holiday Jeer At The New Omnicom…?

 

Adweek published a lengthy report on the perceived awfulness of Omnicom employee perks and benefits compared to what legacy IPG workers allegedly enjoyed. Why, there’s talk of forming a union to combat the oh-so-unfair conditions.

 

Sounds like former IPG employees are experiencing the 5 stages of grief applied to job status, compounded by PTSD associated with facing ruthless RIFs—or witnessing teammates erased from rosters.

 

But here’s a reality check.

 

Sorry, the Omnicom package is not significantly worse. It all probably evens out in the end.

 

Unlimited PTO, for example, is a farce that certain White holding companies have adopted, knowing most employees won’t take full advantage; plus, requests for time off must still be approved by managers. In short, unlimited is highly limited and restricted.

 

If former IPG employees are frustrated, consider aiming the ire at former IPG leadership.

 

The confederacy of dunces that ran IPG failed to build and sustain a professional, profitable, and prosperous enterprise, ultimately pruning practices, terminating troops, and setting the stage for takeover.

 

IPG was a dinosaur—inevitably devoured by a slightly larger dinosaur—in a prehistoric land where inhabitants are heading toward extinction.

 

Spend the holidays feeling grateful for the opportunity to be part of the biggest brontosaurus.

 

EXCLUSIVE: How Omnicom Stole Christmas Week And Nixed Other Perks From IPG’s Benefits Package 

 

Employee handbooks and benefits documents obtained by ADWEEK reveal sweeping cuts to retirement plans, parental leave, healthcare, severance, holidays, and PTO for U.S. based employees.

 

By Audrey Kemp

 

Days after Omnicom closed its acquisition of Interpublic Group, U.S. employees returned from Thanksgiving break to a harsh reality: thousands of layoffs, dissolved agencies, and a new benefits package that workers describe as “the worst [they’ve] ever had.”

 

Employee handbooks and benefits documents obtained by ADWEEK show the new Omnicom’s policies are a significant downgrade from IPG’s legacy package in the U.S. 

 

Those coming from IPG will lose a number of paid vacation days while trading in for reduced parental leave and holiday time, new severance limits, health plans that can result in higher costs, and a return-to-office requirement that affects raises and severance eligibility.

 

As one former IPG business manager told ADWEEK, “It’s the worst benefits package I’ve ever seen in my life.”

 

Three legacy IPG employees spoke with ADWEEK on the condition of anonymity about how insiders are reacting to the new benefits package.

 

Omnicom declined to comment on the changes to employee benefits.

 

Goodbye, guaranteed 401(k) match

 

Among all the benefits outlined in Omnicom’s materials, workers say the 401(k) overhaul is the most shocking. 

 

Under IPG’s former plan, employees received a 50% match on up to 6% of their contributions, vesting over three years and hitting every pay period, plan documents show. It’s a system several workers described as predictable and “trustworthy.”

 

Omnicom’s plan, however, includes a fully discretionary match of up to 50% on just 5% of contributions, paid once a year and only for employees still on payroll on December 31.

 

“The fact that it’s discretionary is disgusting and feels weird,” the IPG business manager said. “It’s decided at the end of the year if you actually get it or not.”

 

The new structure undermines long-term financial planning, according to a former IPG health creative. “You don’t have a guaranteed [match] rate,” they said. “It hits at the end of the year, so you don’t get the benefit of consistent time in the market.”

 

“It’s a huge, huge cut,” said a former IPG employee who works in media. “It’s just so bad.”

 

PTO and holidays disappear

 

IPG’s 2024 employee handbook, reviewed by ADWEEK, shows employees across many of its agencies had unlimited paid time off (PTO). Offices were closed the week between Christmas and New Year’s, as well as during an August Appreciation Week. Staffers also got Election Day and Indigenous Peoples’ Day off, plus monthly wellness days.

 

Omnicom’s new structure wipes much of that away. Employees now receive a set 10 to 15 vacation days, depending on tenure, with strict accrual rules and no floating holidays, no holiday closure periods beyond the actual holiday, and no wellness days. The maximum amount of annual vacation is 20 days, reserved only for those who have been at the company for more than 10 years.

 

A source familiar with the transition said the new holiday calendar will not take effect for IPG employees until 2026, but ADWEEK was unable to verify this with Omnicom. 

 

The business manager estimated that former IPG employees had a total of 38 days off between holidays and wellness days. The new Omnicom package is “a 60% decrease in days off that aren’t PTO,” they said.

 

One detail stunned staffers the most: if an employee takes vacation the day before or after a holiday, they won’t be paid for the holiday.

 

“It’s probably the worst PTO package I’ve ever had,” said the media employee.

 

Parental leave slashed from six months to 10 weeks

 

Under IPG, birthing parents could combine short-term disability, state family-leave programs, IPG’s Employee & Family Leave, parental leave days, and unpaid FMLA to reach as much as six months of time off post-birth. The leave could be taken in segments, allowing parents to divide caregiving time or coordinate with partners.

 

“You could work it out with your partner, and be there for your kids as best as you both can,” the business manager said.

 

Documents obtained by ADWEEK show Omnicom offers 10 total weeks of paid parental leave, which must be taken as a continuous block and used within 20 weeks of birth, adoption, or foster placement. The policy also requires employees to exhaust all state or disability benefits before Omnicom pays anything.

 

“We’re going from a flexible, maximum six months to a rigid, not flexible, 10 weeks,” said the business manager. The media employee added the new policy is “so absolutely cruel to the workers and their children.”

 

Healthcare costs rise for “lower quality” coverage

 

Workers described IPG’s healthcare plans as comparatively affordable, with multiple options — including inexpensive HMOs — and single combined deductibles that made costs easier to manage. Several employees said they previously paid into UnitedHealthcare or Cigna plans that felt “straightforward” and less confusing than what they are now being offered.

 

According to Omnicom’s 2026 benefits materials, employees will have access to four Aetna medical plans: an EPO option, a Premier PPO with a lower deductible, a Health Savings Plan and a high-deductible HSA-eligible plan. Workers told ADWEEK the lineup is more limited and more expensive, with some plans carrying higher premiums and separate deductibles for medical and prescription drugs. Employees may also opt into a more expensive plan with broader out-of-network coverage.

 

“It’s generally more expensive for lower quality care,” said the health creative. “If you do want the premier package, it’s notably more expensive.”

 

Return to office–or forfeit your severance

 

IPG did not enforce a return-to-office mandate before the acquisition, according to employees; many teams operated fully remote or hybrid.

 

Several workers said Omnicom’s policy, which requires employees to be in-office three days per week with a stated intent to move to five, represents an abrupt cultural change. Managers have been instructed to begin bringing in teams immediately. 

 

The policy also allows Omnicom to deny raises and promotions to employees who do not comply, and explicitly states that workers terminated for violating the policy are not eligible for severance.

 

The business manager described it as “jarring,” while health creative added that Omnicom “is obsessed with RTO [return to office].”

 

Omnicom’s severance policy in general is also less favorable than IPG’s, providing roughly one week of pay per year of service, capped at 12 weeks for employees with five or more years of tenure. 

 

IPG’s domestic employee termination policy, reviewed by ADWEEK, guaranteed employees two weeks’ pay after three months of service, three weeks at two years, and an additional week of salary for each year through their 14th anniversary. Workers there for more than 14 years earned two extra weeks per year — a structure that could easily exceed 20 or 30 weeks of pay.

 

“It’s the worst severance package I’ve ever seen,” the health creative said of the Omnicom plan.

 

Workers describe a breaking point

 

Many employees are interpreting the new benefits package as an attempt to push people out voluntarily, in addition to the 4,000 staffers already cut from the combined company’s ranks. Omnicom declined to comment on potential future layoffs.

 

“I’m fully expecting to get laid off or fired in the next six to 12 months,” said the media employee. “I don’t think Omnicom is going to keep most of us around.”

 

The business manager pointed out that younger talent is especially disheartened. “Younger talent who entered the industry in the last couple of years have only ever experienced layoff after layoff for pretty blatant shareholder value gains,” they said. “We’re at the precipice of it not being sustainable for employees.”

 

Some employees said the upheaval has revived conversations about organizing. 

 

“I’ve probably talked to three people about unionization in the last couple of days,” said the business manager. “With the way these holding companies are operating, it’s so clearly a race to the bottom.”

 

“Workers are shafted in every possible way,” the media employee said, adding that the real obstacle is leverage. “If we went on strike, they’d replace us in 30 seconds.”

17276: Mafioso Santa Is No No No.

This Patreon campaign featuring Wiseguy Santa delivers clichéd and contrived cultural cluelessness.

 

Oddly enough, Patreon Community Guidelines allegedly frown on using stereotypes—as well as engaging with crime and criminal activity.

17275: WPP Demoted, Heading Towards Demolition.

 

Advertising Age republished Bloomberg News content reporting WPP is dropping out of the FTSE 100—the UK’s premier stock index—as the beleaguered White holding company continues its financial and professional death spiral.

 

At this point, WPP is seemingly being held together by flimsy wire and plastic products. As well as professional hucksterism and political lies.

 

WPP to exit FTSE 100 as client exodus, AI threat pummel shares

 

WPP Plc’s residency in the UK’s premier stock index is ending after a client exodus and fears over competition from artificial intelligence pushed the group’s shares to their lowest level in more than two decades.

 

The advertising firm’s place in the FTSE 100 will be taken by British Land Co. after the close of trading on Dec. 19, index provider FTSE Russell said in a statement Wednesday.

 

Founded by Martin Sorrell, WPP has been a constant member of the FTSE 100 since the summer of 1998. It has twice cut its sales growth target this year and has undergone a management transition, with former Microsoft Corp. executive Cindy Rose taking over the top job in September. Rose succeeded Mark Read, who retired after a seven-year tenure.

 

The stock has fallen by nearly two-thirds this year, hitting a 1998 low in November and leaving the company with a market value of around £3.1 billion ($4.1 billion).

 

Competition from artificial intelligence tools is pressuring WPP’s business, causing concern among investors that large corporates may prefer to build their own in-house teams for creative designs. Big tech firms are also entering the fray, with Meta Platforms Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google rolling out products helping smaller businesses create automated ad campaigns.

 

A string of high-profile client losses has added to the company’s troubles. WPP lost packaged food giant Mars Inc.’s $1.7 billion ad portfolio to rival Publicis Groupe in June. Other setbacks include Pfizer Inc. pulling assignments since 2023 and failure to win a U.S. contract with Coca-Cola Co. in North America this year.

 

A recent speculative rally failed to save WPP from relegation. The stock jumped on Nov. 17 after a report that Havas had expressed interest in buying part or all of its rival, but has since surrendered those gains following the French firm’s denial.

 

As of Tuesday’s close, WPP’s market value had plunged to 117th among the UK’s biggest listed companies, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. FTSE Russell’s rules state that a FTSE 100 member is automatically demoted in a quarterly review if its ranking falls to 111 or below. Being dropped from the index can trigger selling by funds that track the gauge.

 

British Land returns to the blue-chip index, having yo-yoed in and out of the gauge as rising interest rates hit the value of its real estate investments. WPP would ordinarily have been replaced in the benchmark by Spectris Plc, but the precision testing company is in the process of being acquired by KKR & Co.

 

—Bloomberg News

17274: On Papa Johns + Leo Name Game.

Advertising Age reported Papa Johns named Leo Chicago as its new White advertising agency.

 

So, a pizza chain still bearing the name of a founder no longer associated with the enterprise will be serviced by a White advertising agency that underwent a 2025 name update further separating the firm from its founder.

 

It’s a who’s who of who the fuck are you?

 

It also seems like a perfect spokesman opportunity for Pope Leo.

 

Papa Johns hires Leo Chicago as new creative agency

 

By Erika Wheless and Ewan Larkin

 

Papa Johns has hired Leo Chicago as its new creative agency as one of the nation’s largest pizza chains looks to bolster its marketing and overcome a sales slump.

 

The brand confirmed in early October it had initiated a creative agency review and had parted ways with The Martin Agency, which had held the account since late 2023. The former IPG shop is now part of Omnicom.

 

Joanne Davis Consulting supported the pitch. Dentsu’s Carat will continue to handle Papa Johns’ media buying.

 

The win adds another major food brand to Publicis Groupe-owned Leo’s roster. Leo New York won Subway in April and Coffee mate in September.

 

The change comes under Chief Marketing Officer Jenna Bromberg, who joined the chain in November 2024.

 

“Papa Johns is a challenger brand founded on quality, craft and pride in our product. A brand partner who can help us channel that spirit is essential,” Bromberg said in a statement. “The team at Leo Chicago brings a deep understanding of what makes Papa Johns distinct. Their insights-driven creative, cultural fluency and deep QSR expertise will help us power a modern marketing engine.”

 

The agency change comes as Papa Johns looks to become a bigger national player; it finished 2024 as the fourth-largest U.S. pizza chain by sales. But it has been stuck in a sales slump of late, with North American comparable sales down 3% in the third quarter ended Sept. 28. Comparable sales were up just 1% in the second quarter.

 

Domino’s has outperformed most of the pizza competition this year. Its U.S. same-store sales were up 5.2% in the third quarter.

 

Pizza Hut reported that its U.S. same-store sales were down 6% during the same period. Yum Brands is exploring “strategic options” for Pizza Hut, including a potential sale of the brand.