17141: Dunkin’ Golden Hour Refresher Refreshes Genetics Controversy.

 

Adweek reported Dunkin’ is getting a golden shower for its Golden Hour Refresher advertisement, which makes a reference to genetics.

 

It might be a case of bad timing, as the public is still processing the American Eagle “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Genes/Jeans” campaign.

 

Or it might be a case of the responsible creative teams at Dunkin’ and American Eagle having cultural cluelessness in their DNA.

 

Dunkin’ Faces Backlash Over Genetics Reference in New Ad 

 

Consumers are hyperaware of the topic amid outcry over American Eagle’s Sydney Sweeney campaign

 

By Elena Cavender

 

Dunkin’s latest ad, released on the heels of American Eagle’s new campaign starring Sydney Sweeney, is facing backlash on social media for mentioning genetics.

 

The ad stars The Summer I Turned Pretty star Gavin Casalengo and promotes Dunkin’s Golden Hour Refresher by playing on the actor’s “golden” tanned skin.

 

The spot came out days after American Eagle’s “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” campaign, which has drawn criticism for alleged racist undertones and promoting eugenics due to its celebration of Sweeney’s genes. In the ad, the blonde hair, blue-eyed actress says, “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color.”

 

While the Dunkin’ ad’s mention of genetics is subtler, it has struck a nerve for praising traits associated with white beauty ideals while mentioning genetics. In the ad, Casalengo says, “This tan? Genetics. I just got my color analysis back and guess what? Golden summer.” Color analysis refers to the beauty trend of picking colors that look best on based on skin tone.

 

The pushback against the Dunkin’ ad might have more to do with the timing of the ad than the content itself. But consumers were quick to comment on Dunkin’s YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok accounts to point out the troubling trend of mentioning genetics in advertising and to leverage accusations of racism. 

 

Dunkin’s TikTok post of the ad received over 1.3 million views at the time of writing. One comment reads, “What’s up with ads and the word genetics rn” received over 25,000 likes. Another comment says, “So no American Eagle or Dunkin’, got it,” garnered nearly 2,000 likes. 

 

Like with the American Eagle campaign, TikTokers are posting standalone videos on the controversy. One creator posted a video arguing it’s especially odd for Dunkin’ to mention genetics given that unlike the American Eagle ad, there is no gene-related pun. It received over 36,000 views at the time of writing. 

 

Dunkin’ did not respond to ADWEEK’s request for comment.

17140: Gene Therapy For Ailing Brand Produces Amazing Results.

Adweek dove into the gene pool of publications, pundits, podcasts, and pinheads opining on the American Eagle campaign starring Sydney Sweeney and her great genes/jeans.

 

No need to conduct a genealogical study, as the historical and hysterical details have been examined ad nauseum.

 

The scenario exposes a Darwinian devolution for liberals and conservatives alike.

 

The left side called out the tone deafness and cultural cluelessness of playing off eugenics and its racist overtones.

 

The right side pooh-poohed the offended with accusations of overreactive political correctness and over-the-top wokeness.

 

Meanwhile, American Eagle flew away, seemingly oblivious to having created a nationwide campaign that excluded a significant segment of Americans.

 

Expect campaign extensions featuring Gene Simmons.

 

How American Eagle’s Sydney Sweeney Ads Became a Culture War Flashpoint 

 

The brand has removed at least one video following ‘pro-eugenics’ accusations

 

By Rebecca Stewart and Robert Klara

 

‘Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans,’ declared American Eagle last Tuesday (July 22) in a series of wordplay-laden social ads and a Times Square billboard promoting its fall collection, fronted by the Euphoria and White Lotus star. 

 

On Thursday, American Eagle’s stock had jumped 7%. By Friday, the brand was facing a media firestorm that accused it of promoting “pro-eugenics” ideals—a jarring misstep in an America grappling with a rightward shift.

 

Outrage was sparked by dialogue from one particular video (which now appears to be removed from several social platforms) in which Sweeney says: “My body’s composition is determined by my genes.”

 

As the camera focuses on her breasts, she scolds the operator, “Hey, eyes are up here,” before continuing: “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color.” The camera pans to her eyes. “My jeans are blue,” she finishes.

 

Critics on TikTok, LinkedIn, and X have called the messaging a “racist dogwhistle,” claiming the creative direction, alongside images of the blue-eyed, blonde-haired star, was a nod to “Nazi” eugenics, an ideology which idealized Aryan features and sought to eliminate or suppress those who didn’t possess them.

 

Before the backlash, American Eagle’s chief marketing officer (CMO) Craig Brommers described Sweeney’s endorsement as one of the “biggest gets in American Eagle history.”

 

He told ADWEEK that the “pressure was on” for the investment to deliver following a $68 million adjusted operating loss for the business in the first quarter of 2025, owing to the impact of tariffs, product misses, and a cold spring.

 

ADWEEK reached out to American Eagle and its PR agency, Shadow, requesting an updated statement on the campaign. They did not respond; however, the brand has removed the film of Sweeney stating that her jeans are blue from several of its online channels, including YouTube and Instagram.

 

American Controversy

 

Reactions to the ad ran the gamut, and so did expert opinions on what caused the backlash. 

 

For veteran brand strategist Jean-Pierre Lacroix, author of books including Desire by Design, the pushback against American Eagle is less about a moral offense than it is a cry of disenfranchisement. 

 

Amid a swing to the right under President Trump, and corporate America’s recent backsliding on DEI initiatives, social progressives are feeling a loss of ground, said Lacroix.

 

This segment of consumers “feels like society has revolted against them, so they have portrayed this ad as the manifestation of a move away from diversity and inclusion,” observed Lacroix. “They’re reaching because they’re wounded, and they’re looking for a visual metaphor that validates their position. This ad became a lightning rod.”

 

Dory Ellis Garfinkle, CMO of global brand consultancy Siegel+Gale, suggested that the outcry over the ad may be missing the larger point that American Eagle could be ginning up outrage for its own sake.

 

“Rather than what the controversy is all about, what is more interesting is that a brand like American Eagle would stir controversy over an ad for denim,” she said. 

 

“It signals that creating controversy and attention-grabbing content is now everywhere, and this flavor may reflect a cultural longing for simpler times. It is unlikely that [the team] proceeded with this campaign without having insight into their audience and business that led to the decision.”

 

Leila Fataar, former Adidas and Diageo marketer-turned-founder of consultancy Platform13 and author of Culture-Led Brands, believes the backlash reflects a simple truth: brand messages don’t land in a vacuum; they land in culture, and that culture needs to be reflected in agency teams and marketing departments.

 

“Brands are active participants in a global dialogue, with cultural fluency not just a marketing advantage but a foundational element of successful contemporary business strategy,” she said. 

 

Fataar added: “In this transformational and pivotal moment in global history, and specifically in the U.S., ensuring a variety of perspectives both in ideation and, importantly, in decision making is essential.”

 

Return of the Male Gaze

 

Intentional or not, American Eagle’s campaign is a trip back in time to the so-called “pre-woke” era that held fast to a stereotypical view of the ideal American woman: young, beautiful, buxom, and almost invariably caucasian. It was an industry norm that endured for decades.

 

In 1971, for example, National Airlines ran a hugely successful campaign that featured coquettish flight attendants inviting male viewers to “fly me.” 

 

In 1980, Calvin Klein pushed the envelope further with ads—which some have compared to American Eagle’s current effort—featuring a 15-year-old Brooke Shields pulling on skin-tight jeans and, in a sotto voice, addressing the camera: “Do you know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing.” 

 

A quarter of a century later, little had changed. GoDaddy’s ad for the 2005 Super Bowl featured voluptuous model Candice Michelle spilling out of a too-tight tank top, feigning embarrassment when her bra strap broke.

 

Though it’s aimed at women, American Eagle’s campaign echoes that aesthetic. Some of the ads focus on Sweeney’s individual body parts, including her chest and buttocks, and several of the spots show her performing for and addressing an unseen cameraman.

 

American Eagle’s is not the first sexually suggestive ad starring Sweeney this year. In June, she fronted a campaign for Dr. Squatch, promoting bars of soap that contained her bathwater. The push was firmly intended for the male gaze, with Sweeney mocking “dirty little boys” with a product that smelled like “morning wood.”

 

The actor was involved in everything from product development to creative strategy, Dr. Squatch’s vp of global marketing, John Ludeke told ADWEEK at the time.

 

“Women also love Sydney Sweeney,” he said. “While there may be some people who say they don’t like the concept, overall, what we’ve heard is people appreciate a woman who is in power, who’s in control, who’s able to have fun and not take themselves too seriously.”

 

American Eagle’s campaign was originally intended to support a domestic violence charity, with 100% of the purchase price of Sweeney’s namesake jeans going to Crisis Text Line, which provides confidential, 24/7 mental‑health and domestic violence support via text.

 

Instead, it has become another flashpoint in America’s culture wars.

 

It’s a clear reminder for brands that without the right checks and balances, even well-meaning work can do more harm than good.

17139: Adland Hiring—Exclusions Apply.

 

Adweek published content on hiring in Adland, which inadvertently highlighted greater obstacles for true diversity beyond the anti-DEIBA+ vibe prevalent today, including:

 

• Fewer opportunities for entry-level talent counters contrived and performative stunts involving minority internships, erecting special high schools, and embryo recruitment.

 

• Searching for established talent with hybrid skills favors seasoned drones already in the workforce. The advantages will continue to go to White men and White women by virtue of their existing industry dominance.

 

The White advertising agencies actively hiring position themselves as “integrated”—although the term does not refer at all to racial and ethnic integration.

 

Associated hiring practices may seem new, but the end results are the same old same old.

 

In short, the shops tagged as “growing” are expanding systemic racism.

 

As Ad Industry Sheds Jobs, These Agencies Are Growing—and Hiring 

 

As a new class of hirers reshapes the agency workforce, junior talent has fewer ways in

 

By Audrey Kemp

 

Layoffs, restructuring, and vanishing entry-level roles: the past year has brought little relief for agency talent navigating a volatile job market.

 

Since January 2022, staff-level jobs at U.S. ad agencies have declined by more than 10%, according to Live Data Technologies. Entry-level positions are being hit hardest, as agencies automate routine tasks and lean more heavily into AI.

 

The industry has yet to recover to its pre‑2023 peak of 228,000 jobs. Ad agency employment now sits at around 219,500 jobs, down nearly 4% year‑over‑year.

 

Following cost-cutting efforts at WPP and Interpublic Group—including hundreds of layoffs and sweeping reorganizations—and ahead of the latter’s acquisition by Omnicom, holding companies are increasingly adopting AI and offshoring functions to boost efficiency amid mounting profit pressures.

 

While executive- and director-level roles have remained relatively stable, junior talent looking to break into the ad industry are facing a shrinking pipeline of traditional entry-level roles.

 

“We’re seeing the erosion of the apprentice model,” said Jay Pattisall, principal analyst at Forrester. “Agencies are playing the role of editors now—orchestrating workflows, managing creators, content pipelines, influencer strategies. That requires seasoned professionals.”

 

AI-related job skills are also becoming standard; mentions of AI in global job listings for advertising and marketing roles have jumped more than 67% year over year, according to a recent report from Autodesk.

 

As the agency job market shifts, a new wave of independent and private equity-backed shops is hiring in earnest—and reshaping the profile of ad industry talent.

 

The New Agency Hirers

 

Independent full-service agency Known is currently hiring for 30 open roles, representing about 7% of its workforce. The hiring spree comes as Known is growing between 20% and 30% year over year, according to CEO Kern Schireson.

 

“It’s driven by demand for the things that we do—and that’s inseparable from the talent we hire,” he said.

 

DEPT, a global agency backed by PE firm Carlyle Group, is seeing similar momentum. It is growing double digits and has more than 130 open roles across the Americas—nearly 10% of its regional headcount. Most of those roles are mid- to senior-level.

 

Croud, a digital agency backed by ECI Partners, is hiring for 11 to 15 roles in the U.S., accounting for about 10% of its U.S. headcount. Open positions span mid- to senior-level, including planners, media buyers, analysts, and social strategists. Multiple director-level roles are open.

 

On the creative side, new shop Cape Agency recently made its first full-time hire and is recruiting for another full-time role, as well as eight fractional roles. Most are senior-level jobs in creative, strategy, and account management, though mid-level positions are expected to open soon.

 

And Nice&Frank, a 23-person creative agency, has seven to 10 open roles across creative, design, account, production, and strategy—primarily mid- to senior- level.

 

“Director-level talent is our sweet spot,” said Cape co-founder and CEO Casey Ritts. “People who are confident decision-makers but still love rolling up their sleeves.”

 

What They Have in Common

 

Many of these shops have commonalities that set them apart from the legacy agency business.

 

DEPT and Croud both have PE backing, fueling their investment in more senior talent as they experiment with AI. Both agencies, as well as Known, offer modern, integrated services with capabilities in data, technology, AI, commerce, influencer, and other growing media channels.

 

“We’re not a holding company. We’re an integrated, end-to-end business,” said Carryn Quibell, CEO of DEPT Americas. “Gone are the days of agencies with layers and layers of management and red tape.”

 

Integration, plus the fuel of PE investment, is allowing these agencies to grow organically by landing clients in one area and expanding the scope from there.

 

“We don’t tend to win $40 million AORs,” said Quibell. “We tend to win with an area of expertise like commerce and see those clients expand.”

 

On the creative side, clients are flocking to small, nimble agencies like Cape and Nice&Frank, which can deliver great work quickly—without as much overhead.

 

“In the smallest organizations, hiring is often funded by good work and over-investment,” Forrester’s Pattisall said. “They don’t suffer the same commercial model issues that large, scaled holding companies have to deal with. What CMO doesn’t want to hire a startup that’s willing to do twice the work for half the price?”

 

The New Skill Sets

 

As these agencies create new models that work at speed, they’re looking for a different breed of talent than the classically trained agency employee.

 

Kris Tait, chief business officer at Croud, said that though the agency is recruiting holding company talent, it is looking for people with hybrid skills that understand how to translate creative work across social platforms, “not just get the creative and put it in the platforms.”

 

“We need people that are open to this new world,” he said.

 

Schireson said Known, which receives up to 4,000 applicants per open role, has a job requirement that every employee—from legal to analytics—uses AI in their daily workflow.

 

“If you were an analyst spending 80% of your time crunching numbers and 20% thinking strategically, now you get to flip that,” he said.

 

In addition to embracing new tech, agencies want talent that’s curious and able to work cross-functionally.

 

“The question is, what is your mindset?” said Schireson. “What is your personal story that demonstrates to us that you have what it takes to engage and collaborate?”

 

“Nobody knows exactly what’s going to happen over the course of the next five years, but if you…lean into the change and the evolution, you can win,” Quibell added.

 

What About Junior Talent?

 

As agencies experiment with automation and prioritize senior and mid-level hires, junior talent are left without as many avenues to break into the industry. To combat that, agencies are broadening their internship programs and recruitment pipelines.

 

Croud recently expanded its 12-week summer internship program globally, giving underrepresented, early-career talent experience with clients, projects for their portfolios, mentorship, and exposure to agency talent. The agency has also partnered with COOP, a fellowship program that supports first-generation college grads, helping it recruit from schools like Columbia, Emerson, and NYU. And it has dropped degree requirements to broaden its applicant pool.

 

Other agencies are changing the way they train junior talent once they have broken in. At DEPT, for instance, new hires choose a subject to “major” in and another to “minor” in, allowing them to develop cross-functional expertise from the get-go.

 

At growing creative agencies, the path to bring in junior talent is less clear.

 

Cape Agency is in the early stages of hiring junior talent, working to establish a formal internship program through university partnerships. And Nice&Frank, which began with a mostly senior team, is starting to focus more on bringing in and providing support to early-career talent.

 

“Our youngest employees tend to hit us with the hottest takes that keep us rethinking how we’re growing a new kind of agency,” said Nice&Frank co-founder Graham North.

 

While these agencies are searching for ways to bring new, young talent into the fold, the reality remains that these roles are shrinking—which could lead to a dried up industry talent pipeline down the road.

 

“There are secular and structural things happening in our industry,” Schireson said.

17138: Sir Martin’s Musing, Muttering, Mumbling, Madness.

 

Digiday published more pointed pissing from Sir Martin Sorrell, who appears to be confusing thought leadership with resentment; that is, the old man believes he’s delivering insight, yet he’s just spewing insolence.

 

As Digiday notes, Sorrell is quick to critique the White holding company business model he refined and developed to spectacular disaster. However, his purported solution—S4—has not proven a viable alternative. In fact, S4 might wind up being just another failed venture.

 

Of course, Sorrell never acknowledges the human costs associated with his mad experiments. How many people have lost their livelihoods because of ill-conceived mergers, blundering takeovers, and inept management?

 

Such indifference separates leaders from losers. And louts.

 

As S4 struggles, Sir Martin Sorrell keeps firing shots at the industry he created

 

By Seb Joseph and Michael Bürgi

 

Sir Martin Sorrell has never lacked for sharp opinions. That’s expected from the architect of the holdco company era. But lately, his commentary has gone from reflective to biting.

 

In recent months, he dismissed WPP’s consolidation efforts as a “disgrace”, lobbed shade at Omnicom for what he implied would be an overpriced acquisition of IPG and blamed WPP’s current struggles on what he called “weak leadership” under CEO Mark Read. In June, he went further: WPP, he said, might be beyond saving. 

 

Needless to say, Sir Martin makes his views known. 

 

“People, including you, ask for my views,” said Sir Martin in an email to Digiday in response to a request for comment on this story. “I’ve spent almost 50 years at Saatchi & Saatchi, WPP and S4Capital — perhaps, as a continued shareholder in WPP, I have some helpful experience and views.”

 

Helpful or not, those views come with baggage. S4 Capital, the company he built in response to the holdco model he now criticizes, has lost 97% of its market value, issued multiple profit warnings and been caught in the crosswinds of shifting ad budgets. His pointed commentary hasn’t gone unnoticed.

 

“I only wish he was as vocal and clear minded on what needs to be done at S4,” said Anthony Freedman, CEO of marketing services group Common Interest and a shareholder of S4 Capital, on LinkedIn.

 

Sir Martin sees no contradiction. He’s clear-eyed about S4’s challenges — but sees them as macroeconomic not structural. The plan, as he told Digiday, is to stay the course — tighten operations, ride out the volatility and focus on growth in the Americas, Middle East and APAC where clients are still chasing gains. In Europe, he’s betting on a push for greater efficiency and effectiveness.

 

S4 Capital, he insisted, was built for moments like this — when clients demand more for less and faster. 

 

The company is focused “on top-line growth with our existing clients and new ones, improved operating margins and liquidity, focussing particularly on improved pricing, billability and reducing duplication,” he wrote. 

 

But markets don’t trade on messaging alone. In September 2021, S4 Capital’s shares peaked at $12.25. Today, they hover near 30 cents. 

 

Whether there’s an actual bounceback is unclear — but Sir Martin sees one. He points to a current blue-chip client list that includes Alphabet, Meta, Amazon, GM, T-Mobile and Walmart as well as a newly won CPG advertiser he declined to name, as proof that the model still works. As for the broader slowdown in ad dollars from tech clients? That was inevitable, he said. 

 

“With 50% of our almost $1B of revenues coming from tech there has been pressure on opex and hence marketing as the “Magnificient 7” and others spend over half a trillion dollars on AI-related capex,” wrote Sir Martin. 

 

What’s certain is this: Sir Martin’s critique of the holding company model may still resonate, but the industry feels that it hits differently when coming from someone whose own reinvention is under just as much strain. 

 

“What you have to question is, does he provide enough day-to-day leadership?” said one source who knows Sir Martin well.

 

But it wasn’t always like this. 

 

In its early days, S4 Capital had momentum. Launched in 2018 with Sir Martin freshly out of WPP, the company moved quickly — acquiring MediaMonks and MightyHive within months, and landing marquee clients like Procter & Gamble, Nestle, Mondelez and Bayer in its first year. 

 

“I always thought the work from them was outstanding, and a big part of that was down to the people who worked there,” said a senior marketer familiar with the group’s pitch, speaking on condition of anonymity. “They weren’t just typical ad agency people, they were from tech and consulting backgrounds.”

 

For a time, this was the story of S4 Capital: proof that a tech-first approach could disrupt the industry. But as the years went on, the cracks began to show.

 

Audit delays in 2022 rocked investor confidence. The following year brought revised revenue guidance — twice — along with 500 layoffs and pressure on margins. The stock cratered. By 2024, S4 Capital was still playing defense, issuing fresh profit warnings and watching its tech-heavy client base pull back on spending. In the background, a CFO change signaled yet another attempt to restore stability. 

 

“The person at the top is all about finance models and therefore doesn’t put anywhere near enough emphasis on people and the actual operating of the business,” said an exec familiar with S4’s plans, who exchanged anonymity for candor.

 

As the issues mounted up, so did the tensions at the top. S4 Capital’s equity-heavy acquisition model, which had once helped close deals, began to backfire as the share price fell. Founders who had bought into Sir Martin’s vision started to disengage. 

 

“The model of 50% cash and 50% equity works when the share price is growing,” the same exec said. “But as soon as it starts falling, all the owners of the acquired companies become extremely disgruntled, demotivated and less productive.”

 

Despite these issues, few in the industry are ready to count Sir Martin out. His track record, stubbornness and proximity to power still matter. But there’s a growing sense — even amongst those who admire him — that the public markets may no longer be the right arena. 

 

“In 12 months’ time, I believe S4 Capital will not exist in its current form,” said an ad exec, with knowledge of the internal issues at the business. 

 

Industry chatter suggests that delisting is one option. A merger or acquisition is another. Some believe parts of the business could be spun out through a management buyout. However it unfolds, the status quo isn’t expected to hold. 

 

Sir Martin did not comment on any of these potential routes for the company.

 

“I don’t think any public company chairman could or should answer that,” he wrote.” At S4 Capital, I’m focussed on long-term shareowner value maximization and acting in the best interests of all shareowners.”

 

Where S4 will end up is anyone’s guess. It certainly can’t keep headed in the same direction it’s been going. Sir Martin knows what’s wrong with holding companies, but has not yet proven he knows how to build the alternative.

17137: Putting The Stain In Sustainability.

Sukle Advertising is behind this propaganda for the Office of Climate Action, Sustainability, and Resiliency in Denver, Colorado.

 

To advocate for environmental causes with an OOH campaign littering the landscape seems like, well, a waste.

17136: Mickey D’s OOH Campaign Rates Thumbs Down.

TBWA\ANG in Malta is responsible for this Mickey D’s campaign, boasting about the alleged brilliance of how thumbs typing on mobile devices organically create the Golden Arches “M” icon.

 

And what’s with reviving a tagline from the 1990s?

 

You deserve a thumbs down today.

17135: Coca-Cola Corporate Hilltop Reunion.

Advertising Age reported WPP Chief Marketing & Growth Officer and Open X CEO Laurent Ezekiel—whose latter role involved overseeing the White holding company’s bespoke Coca-Cola unit—is bailing out for Publicis Groupe.

 

The move signals yet another leader abandoning WPP, although this shift presents additional twists.

 

For starters, the executive originally spent 16 years at Publicis Groupe before migrating to WPP in 2019. The Coca-Cola EVP Global CMO credits Ezekiel as a key architect in creating the WPP Coca-Cola unit.

 

Publicis Groupe wrested Coca-Cola’s media business from WPP in March of this year.

 

The crisscrossing events could all be coincidental, but the scenario sure smells fishy.

 

There was a time—not so long ago—when the mythical Cola Wars involved battling for global market share with splashy campaigns delivering award-winning entertainment.

 

Now, the competition features c-suite scheming, corporate politics, and poaching cronies.

 

WPP’s Laurent Ezekiel leaving for Publicis

 

By Lindsay Rittenhouse

 

Laurent Ezekiel, chief marketing and growth officer of WPP and CEO of WPP Open X, its bespoke Coca-Cola unit, is leaving for Publicis Groupe.

 

His departure comes after Coca-Cola shifted its North America media account from WPP to Publicis after a closed review. It’s unclear what Ezekiel’s role will be at Publicis.

 

A WPP spokesperson said a successor for Ezekiel will be announced shortly.

Publicis declined to comment.

 

Manolo Arroyo, executive VP and global CMO of Coca-Cola, confirmed the news in a memo obtained by Ad Age. Arroyo wrote that the beverage giant would work with WPP to identify Ezekiel’s successor.

 

“When we began our global marketing assessment in late 2020, Laurent was at the center of our partnership and eventually took on the leadership role as CEO,” Arroyo wrote. “He helped architect WPP Open X. ... He established a fully integrated, agile modern marketing team representative of the best of WPP across leading agencies and regions.”

 

WPP won Coca-Cola’s creative, media, data and marketing technology business spanning more than 200 countries in 2021, and formed the bespoke Open X team to service the account following the win. WPP retained the rest of Coca-Cola’s global business following the recent review.

 

Ezekiel joined WPP as CMO in 2019 from Publicis, where he had spent the majority of his career beginning in 2003. He most recently was president of North America and international for Digitas and a client lead on Publicis Groupe’s GSK business.

 

Contributing: Brian Bonilla