17431: How Omnicom Lost Its Car Keys To Acura.

 

Advertising Age spotlighted the latest escapade at Omnicom involving collateral damage from the acquisition of IPG, whereby the Acura creative account drove away from Omnicom and parked at independent White advertising agency RPA.

 

MullenLowe, formerly within the former IPG, had serviced Acura since 2013. The conflict pileup began when MullenLowe was absorbed by TBWA, the latter being a longtime partner of Nissan.

 

Omnicom sought to remedy matters via Corporate Cultural Collusion, offering other White advertising agencies like Deutsch. Acura wound up accelerating toward RPA, which has worked on parent brand Honda since 1987, and had already been handling Acura media duties since 2017.

 

Ad Age made no mention of the Omnicom drones who suddenly find themselves without a ride and may be forced to seek employment as Uber drivers.

 

How Omnicom tried—and failed—to keep hold of the Acura creative account

 

By Ewan Larkin

 

American Honda Motor Co. has moved Acura’s creative business to RPA, a longtime agency for the Honda brand and its media partner for both Honda and Acura, without a formal review.

 

The shift came after Omnicom couldn’t figure out where to park Acura within its expanded creative agency lineup. MullenLowe, which was part of Interpublic Group of Cos., had held the Acura creative account since 2013. After Omnicom acquired IPG in November, the holding company ran into an issue with MullenLowe’s creative relationship with the Honda-owned car brand.

 

Omnicom couldn’t place the Acura business with TBWA, which absorbed MullenLowe in the deal, because of that agency’s relationship with Nissan, which presented a conflict, according to people familiar with the matter. TBWA\Chiat\Day has worked with Nissan since it won the creative account in 1987, and that relationship has evolved into Nissan United, Omnicom’s bespoke creative and media team for the brand.

 

The situation follows the collapse of merger talks between Honda and Nissan in February 2025.

 

Instead, Omnicom proposed placing the account under IPG creative agency Deutsch, which has experience in the automotive sector from its time on the Volkswagen U.S. creative account, according to people close to the situation.

 

American Honda confirmed it had moved the Acura creative account to RPA, but pushed back on the idea that the shift stemmed from Omnicom’s acquisition of IPG.

 

“American Honda made a strategic decision to consolidate creative work for both the Honda and Acura brands within a single agency to better align with business objectives,” American Honda said in a statement to Ad Age. “Effective April 1, 2026, creative work will be led by our longstanding agency partner, RPA—which is already managing media buying for both brands.”

 

Asked about potential conflicts with Nissan and Omnicom’s plan to place the business with Deutsch, American Honda stated: “We would ask that you talk to Omnicom about its internal strategies.”

 

The auto company also thanked MullenLowe for its tenure: “We extend our sincere appreciation to the entire team at MullenLowe for 12 years of creative partnership and valuable contributions to the success of the Acura brand.”

 

The shift means Omnicom will move forward without an account MullenLowe had held since 2013, when Honda split its agency roster, keeping RPA on Honda creative but moving Acura creative to MullenLowe and media for both brands to MediaVest (now Spark Foundry). RPA took back media duties for both brands in 2017.

 

Omnicom, Nissan and RPA declined to comment on the account move. Deutsch deferred calls to comment to Honda.

 

Acura spent $128 million on U.S. measured media in 2025, down from $152 million in 2024, according to MediaRadar. The brand recently reported its best first-quarter performance in four years, with deliveries rising 5.2%.

 

Omnicom’s acquisition of IPG, which closed in November, has necessitated some reshuffling of accounts. For instance, McCann, not FCB (which has been folded into BBDO), is now leading the Kimberly-Clark Co. business.

 

Marketers don’t seem to be as concerned about conflicts these days—Omnicom itself works with a spate of automotive brands—but the Acura account move serves as a reminder that sensitivities still exist.

 

“Conflict is an ongoing challenge for clients and agencies,” said Greg Paull, president of global growth for consultancy Mediasense, adding that as holding companies have leaned harder into integrated services, managing those conflicts has only gotten harder.

 

When Omnicom announced its plan to acquire IPG, Chairman and CEO John Wren downplayed conflict concerns. “I’m not aware or threatened by any conflict as a result of us announcing that we’re joining forces,” he said on a December 2024 call with investors. He went on to acknowledge that some clients may ultimately move their business elsewhere because of the deal, which created the world’s largest agency company by revenue when it closed last year.

 

“Could it happen? Yes. Will it happen? Yes,” Wren previously said. “But I think people will be short-sighted in doing that.”

16899: Honda + Nissan + Omnicom + IPG = OMFG FUBAR.

 

Advertising Age spotlighted the planned merger starring Honda and Nissan, with the former to lead on the road ahead.

 

For Adland, the Japanese automakers’ union could create a horrendous car wreck.

 

The Honda US advertising account is driven by RPA, a White advertising agency founded in 1986 during the creation of Omnicom. When Doyle Dane Bernbach (DDB) and Needham Harper Worldwide became DDB Needham in that merger, a conflict arose because the former serviced Volkswagen while the latter handled Honda. Leaders at Needham Harper Worldwide’s Los Angeles office went rogue, quickly forming RPA and taking the Honda business as its foundational account.

 

The Nissan US advertising account is with Omnicom, which constructed a coalition of shops called Nissan United in 2013.

 

So, the Honda-Nissan merger could impact the Omnicom-IPG merger.

 

Will Omnicom ultimately regain Honda, growing the revenue collected from Nissan? Or will RPA pick up Nissan billings, adding to the Honda pot of gold? Which White enterprise will lose a showcase client? And where does IPG—already affected by the General Motors and Stellantis maneuvers—fit in the impending collision?

 

One thing is certain: Lots of adpeople will lose their livelihoods—with zero say in the matter and/or no blame for the inevitable chaos.

 

Oh, and non-White advertising agencies will be powerless pawns, pulverized patsies, and pitiful peons in the political pileup.

 

Honda, Nissan To Merge By Summer 2026

 

Japan’s second- and third-largest auto players to join forces with Honda in the driver’s seat

 

By Hans Greimel

 

Honda and Nissan plan to merge under a holding company with the top executives chosen by Honda in a historic reshuffling of Japan’s auto industry meant to keep the country’s second- and third-largest players competitive amid a global onslaught of new competitors and technologies.

 

Mitsubishi Motors, partly owned by Nissan, will decide by the end of January whether to join the new partnership.

 

The CEOs of all three companies announced the new framework at an afternoon news conference on Dec. 23 in Tokyo, with Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe in the center, flanked by his counterparts. The companies said they will now negotiate details.

 

“We have the potential to be a world-class, leading company in new mobility,” Mibe said. “By 2030, we need the artillery to compete on the battlefield. So, we are starting today.”

 

Honda, Japan’s No. 2 automaker, and Nissan aim to finalize an agreement by next June and establish the holding company by August 2026. They plan to take the new entity public around that time, pending investor approval at extraordinary shareholder meetings planned for around April 2026.

 

Both Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. will be delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange and will become subsidiaries of the new holding company.

 

Honda is expected to nominate the majority of directors and the president of the new company. The final share transfer ratio will be decided later and be based upon share prices, among other factors. Still undecided is the name and headquarters of the new holding company.

 

In the U.S., Nissan has long used Omnicom for creative and media under a multi-agency set-up called Nissan United. Nissan-owned Infiniti uses Publicis Groupe for global creative. RPA handles Honda’s advertising in the U.S.

 

Nissan is the world’s 60th-largest global ad spender, while Honda ranks 63rd, [according] to the Ad Age Datacenter.

 

Nissan is undergoing marketing leadership changes, with Allyson Witherspoon in November taking on the U.S. chief marketing officer role. Witherspoon, who held the position less than two years ago, retained her current role as corporate VP of global marketing, brand and merchandising for Nissan Motor Co.

 

Mibe pitched the agreement as a way to sharpen the companies’ competitive edge on everything from production and vehicle R&D to sales financing, electrification and software development.

 

The combined operations won’t be a quick fix, Mibe cautioned. The first outcomes will start to manifest only before the end of the decade, with the big payoffs coming after 2030.

 

A combined Honda and Nissan will be able to generate annual revenue exceeding ¥30 trillion ($181.84 billion) and operating profit exceeding ¥3 trillion ($19.18 billion), the companies predicted.

 

Mibe said the new combination was not a bailout of Nissan. Rather, he said, Nissan and Honda will be expected to stabilize their own businesses before joining hands.

 

Embattled Nissan, fighting long-term sales decline, massive debt and crumbling profits, launched a revival plan in November that slashes global capacity and cuts 9,000 jobs worldwide.

 

Any finalized deal will hinge on Nissan getting its house in order first, Mibe said.

In the meantime, Honda is initiating large buybacks of its own stock to bolster its share price, Mibe said. Honda wants to buy back up to 20% of its outstanding. Honda is acting now before regulatory restrictions on buybacks take effect during merger talks.

 

“It’s not going to stay like [it] is today forever,” Mibe said.

 

The long-term goal is not downsizing and rationalizing operations but rather growth and bigger scale, he added. As an example of a potential impact on the U.S. market, Mibe dangled the possibility of delivering a hybrid pickup truck, leveraging Honda’s strength in gasoline-electric powertrains and Nissan’s experience in body-on-frame trucks.

 

“We aren’t thinking about just carving out, carving out, carving out and leaving only the good parts,” Mibe said. “We want to think about options that lead us to bigger scale.”

 

Mibe and his Nissan counterpart Makoto Uchida said Honda will take the lead in setting up the holding company because its market capital is bigger than Nissan’s. Before news of the talks broke this month, Nissan’s share price had tumbled 35% this year, as the company struggled with a litany of financial problems including a net loss in the latest quarter.

 

“We will definitely be able to address all the challenges ahead and deliver significant new value that we have never seen in the past,” Uchida said. “We will be among the top class.”

 

The Dec. 23 agreement builds upon a looser technology and purchasing partnership the companies began exploring in March. At that time, Honda and Nissan said they would explore teaming up on electric vehicles, automotive software, batteries, procurement and more. Mitsubishi joined those talks in August.

 

“Without the courage to transform, we will be unable to continue,” Uchida said. “If we can enter discussions with speed, even against the many emerging players, we can become a winner.”

 

Combining would give the automakers bigger scale to drive down costs and share the R&D burden for new technologies in an industry under siege by change.

 

But it also would create a complicated overlap in Japanese production facilities, key markets, management and product segments. Moreover, cross-holdings could entangle the companies in a knotty shareholder web with existing Nissan partners Renault and Mitsubishi.

 

Even after the tie-up, Honda is expected to continue its project-based cooperation with General Motors on the side, and Nissan will be able to continue its own with Renault, Mibe said.

 

Last year, Nissan emerged from two decades as the junior partner in its alliance with Renault, after both companies agreed to rebalance their cross-holdings. Each will have a 15% stake in the other after Renault sells down the balance of its 43% stake that is held in a trust.

 

As part of its own restructuring and revival plans, Nissan is meanwhile selling down its controlling 34% stake in Mitsubishi Motors Corp. that it acquired in 2016.

 

Mitsubishi CEO Takao Kato said his company would examine the holding company and possibly join. Mitsubishi brings strengths in Southeast Asia, plug-in hybrids and pickup truck platforms.

 

“We see it as a positive move,” Kato said. “It is extremely difficult to afford all the investment and engineering resources alone.”

 

The biggest potential positive of integrating Honda and Nissan would be huge scale. Though both companies have dialed down forecasts, Nissan plans to sell 3.4 million vehicles in the fiscal year ending March 31. Honda plans to sell 3.8 million vehicles.

 

Synergies could be spread across the companies’ combined sales of about 7.2 million vehicles. Mitsubishi would chip in another 895,000 deliveries, bringing total sales to more than 8 million.

 

Toyota Motor Corp., by contrast, sold a record 11.09 million vehicles in the fiscal year ended March 31, solidifying its place as the world’s No. 1. And that total doesn’t count volume from its constellation of capital cross-holding partners, including Subaru, Mazda, Suzuki and Isuzu.

 

While scale and joint savings hold plenty of potential, execution will be the real test.

“On paper, many proposed mergers look great,” S&P Global Associate Director Stephanie Brinley wrote in an analysis. But there are many unanswered questions, she added.

 

Among them is how to support Nissan’s restructuring so it does not weigh down the team. Another issue would be how to handle their overlapping premium brands—Acura and Infiniti. How they jumpstart their imploding businesses in China will also be a critical challenge.

 

Both companies have already begun developing their next-generation EV platforms and technologies for the latter 2020s. Integrating them could force more difficult choices.

Then, there is the thorny issue of meshing corporate cultures.

 

“Merging Nissan and Honda creates scale, but accessing cost benefits from that scale is also a long-range process which can be costly in the short term,” Brinley wrote. “Finding meaningful and sustainable synergies in the product portfolio, in product development and in manufacturing is where many mergers stumble and fail to live up to the potential.”

 

Hans Greimel is a reporter for Automotive News

 

Ad Age News Editor E.J. Schultz contributed to this story

12171: Clippers Vanilla TV Spot.

The new White advertising agency for the Los Angeles Clippers—RPA—unveiled its first TV commercial sporting the tagline, “Be Relentless.” Okey-doke. It’s the standard sports anthem message, featuring standard sports filmmaking. Why is advertising for local professional sports teams so tired and predictable? Seems like the Clippers have more uniqueness to offer than this, especially given the kind of spots Chris Paul and Blake Griffin have delivered for other advertisers. The suggestion to hire a minority AOR was ignored, yet what does RPA really bring to the table? The place isn’t even headquartered in Los Angeles. While the commercial is professionally executed, it presents a vanilla and white-bread concept. And in the end, being relentless is pointless if the squad can’t beat the Oklahoma City Thunder or San Antonio Spurs.

12039: RPA LAC AOR.

Advertising Age reported the Los Angeles Clippers named RPA as its AOR, allegedly after a review involving unidentified agencies. Ad Age noted the review took place after the Donald Sterling debacle, which might have inspired the team to seek a new branding direction to distance itself from the racist happenings. Apparently, no one considered MultiCultClassics’ suggestion to select a minority agency to handle the account.

So what is known about the inclusiveness and cultural competence at the winning White advertising agency? Hard to say. The RPA website proclaims, “We champion Whitespace.” Yikes. Maybe Donald Sterling got a vote in the final hiring decision…? Additionally, there’s a section on diversity; however, it mostly features content that doesn’t specifically show the actual diversity at RPA. Instead, there’s a lot of blah-blah-blah including the contention that “diversity and inclusion are our top priorities,” the sponsorship of minority internship programs in the community and partnering with the AAF’s Mosaic Center, the 4As and ADCOLOR®. The photo accompanying RPA internships seems pretty Asian-friendly. Oh, and RPA has a Diversity and Inclusion Task Force. But overall, there’s no strong evidence of a bona fide progressive culture. In fact, the culture section looks rather vanilla.

Los Angeles Clippers Name RPA New Agency After Review

Team Sought Help for Brand After Sterling Scandal

By Maureen Morrison

The Los Angeles Clippers have named RPA the team’s new agency after a review that came on the heels of the scandal around racist comments from now-former owner Donald Sterling.

RPA will be responsible for strategy, creative, media planning and buying, digital and social marketing, as well as branded entertainment. Ultimately, the agency will be responsible for producing work that helps reposition the team’s brand after the Sterling fiasco this spring.

The review began this summer and was conducted by Pile & Co. HeilBrice, an independent agency in Irvine, Calif., had been working with the Clippers since 1999.

“The Los Angeles Clippers will start the 2014–2015 season with a new creative platform that will be promoted across media channels,” the team said in a statement. “ Exact timing is still being established, but a campaign will most likely start in late September or early October.

RPA will help the franchise become “a first-class sports and entertainment brand,” said Kirt Danner, senior VP-group account director at RPA, in a statement. “The soon-to-launch campaign will help the franchise stand out and seize this unique opportunity to gain a competitive edge and increase its fan base.” A spokesman for the Clippers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

When the request for proposals was sent out to agencies, it did not contain much detail in terms of why the team is looking for a new agency, but it seemed that the team was seeking to distance itself from the Sterling scandal and refresh its brand. According to the RFP, the team sought agencies with relevant experience in “rebuilding an established, well-known brand” and able to expand a client’s target audience and create sales-driving retail work.

The NBA banned Mr. Sterling for life and fined him $2.5 million after recordings of the owner spouting racist epithets became public just as the team was trying to mount a playoff run. Mr. Sterling’s estranged wife, Shelley Sterling, struck a deal in May to sell the team to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer for a whopping $2 billion after she conferred with a team of doctors who determined that Mr. Sterling was mentally unfit. Mr. Ballmer was confirmed as the new owner in August.

RPA recently was named the agency for oil company Arco, and began a campaign in July. In August, the agency lost the digital Honda account to a Publicis-Razorfish team after a review that began in January. RPA, whose relationship with Honda is approaching the three-decade mark, still handles Honda creative, and kept that account after a review that wrapped up in March 2013.

The Clippers, according to Kantar Media, are not hefty measured-media spenders. The team spent $433,500 in 2013, down from $615,100 in 2012.