Ads of the World added a Diwali Campaigns to its collections—which include performative presentations for multiple White women categories, LGBTQIA+, Chinese/Lunar New Year, Mental Health Awareness, COVID-19, sustainability, and more.
Yet still nothing for DEIBA+ or multicultural marketing.
It’s reflecting a very exclusive world.
Associated Press reported Wendy’s nixed a buyout offer and activated a “poison pill” plan to defend against a hostile takeover.
According to the content, Wendy’s has shuttered outdated restaurants across the US to focus on more profitable properties. In 2024, the chain closed 240 restaurants, and 2026 plans include erasing up to 358 locations.
Wendy’s CEO—who joined the fast feeder in May—declared, “We’re confident that we have the right strategy, execution, and resources to restore Wendy’s to its full potential and drive meaningful shareholder value.”
Wendy’s CMO—who joined the fast feeder in August—stated, “My focus will be on reigniting that passionate connection with our brand to show up more powerfully in every experience, everywhere our fans meet us.”
Can’t help but wonder when Wendy’s honchos will view its longtime White advertising agency VML as outdated.
Wendy’s rejects buyout bid from activist investor and adopts ‘poison pill’ plan
By Dee-Ann Durbin
Wendy’s rejected a $1.4 billion buyout offer from an activist investor, saying Thursday that the bid was too low, and it adopted a “poison pill” plan that would make it more difficult to engineer a hostile takeover of the company.
Noted investor Nelson Peltz made an offer last week to buy the chain, which has been struggling with high beef prices and aging stores. Peltz said the fast-food landscape had become increasingly challenging, with consumers under pressure, intensifying competition and persistent inflation, and his offer was the best path forward for shareholders.
But in a conference call with investors Thursday, Wendy’s CEO Bob Wright, who joined the company in May from Potbelly, said Wendy’s has a turnaround plan in place that is already producing good results.
“We’re confident that we have the right strategy, execution and resources to restore Wendy’s to its full potential and drive meaningful shareholder value,” Wright said.
Shares rose more than 2% Thursday as the company reported a better than expected performance during the third quarter.
Wendy’s said in a statement that a committee of independent directors unanimously rejected the offer because it “substantially undervalues” the company.
Wendy’s also announced that it has adopted a shareholders’ rights plan, a so-called “poison pill,” intended to avert a hostile takeover of the company. The plan, which grants all shareholders except the hostile bidder the right to purchase discounted shares, automatically triggers if a person or group owns 15% or more of Wendy’s shares.
Peltz’s Trian Fund Management and other partners in the investor group that made the offer to Wendy’s hold 16.3% of the company’s shares. The plan would stay in place for one year, Wendy’s said. Trian didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Wendy’s has been closing outdated U.S. restaurants so it can focus on its more profitable locations. The company closed 240 restaurants in 2024 and said earlier this year that it planned to shutter up to 358 locations in 2026.
Then, in September, one of the largest U.S. franchisees for Wendy’s filed for bankruptcy protection after the chain tried to terminate its franchise agreement. Michigan-based Meritage Hospitality Group operates 314 Wendy’s restaurants in 15 states.
Wendy’s, which is based in Dublin, Ohio, had 5,969 restaurants in the U.S. and 1,428 outlets in 38 countries at the end of 2025.
Founded in 1969 by Dave Thomas and named after his daughter, Wendy’s is known for its square burgers and Frosty desserts. The fast-growing chain introduced the drive-thru window in 1970 and went public in 1976. In the 1980s, as it jockeyed for sales with McDonald’s and Burger King, Wendy’s launched salad bars and ran its iconic “Where’s the beef?” ad campaign.
But as the fast-food market grew even more competitive and rival burger-focused chains like In-N-Out and Five Guys expanded, Wendy’s fell behind. Wendy’s share of U.S. burger chain sales fell from 11.5% in 2019 to 10.4% last year, according to Technomic, a market research company.
Advertising Age spotlighted the spat between Publicis Groupe and WPP, whereby the France-based White holding company called out Cindy Rose, CEO of the UK-based single White operating company, for her commentary on major brands assigning global business to White holding companies sans traditional pitches.
The Publicis Groupe rebuttal felt like admansplaining—although former Publicis Groupe Chairman and CEO Maurice Lévy would undoubtedly deny it.
The volleying vomit displays hypocrisy and hubris.
After all, holding companies were arguably designed to secure business in unconventional—accent on con—style. The model allows for cronyism, Corporate Cultural Collusion, and constructing companies for exclusive client catering.
Publicis Groupe and WPP—as well as all holding companies—have engaged in account acquisition schemes leveraging privileged power plays. And there’s no sign of anyone returning to traditional pitching.
The back-and-forth bickering is bona fide bullshit.
Let the White holding company without Prime Redlining practices cast the first stone.
Publicis fires back at WPP CEO Cindy Rose over comments on agencies winning business without traditional pitches
By Brian Bonilla
Publicis Groupe is firing back at WPP CEO Cindy Rose over comments she made about agencies winning business without traditional pitches with an unusually pointed Instagram post that accuses its rival of insulting clients. It also takes a swipe at WPP’s decision not to defend Coca-Cola’s North American media account.
In the “Dear Cindy” post, addressed directly to Rose, Publicis challenges her suggestion during WPP’s third-quarter earnings call last week that agencies winning business without competitive pitches could be encouraging clients to bypass proper due diligence. The French holding company, which has secured several major accounts this year without formal reviews, argued in the post that clients are subjecting agencies to extensive evaluations even when they forgo traditional pitches.
“Although it might make for a good headline, claiming we win on a ‘CEO handshake’ is an insult to clients’ intelligence,” Publicis wrote. “We all know global companies don’t hand over their data, media, and tech keys over a friendly espresso. It takes months of hard testing by marketers, engineers, data architects, and procurement teams.”
Rose made the comments in question during WPP’s earnings call, after an analyst asked about the company’s decision not to participate in Coca-Cola’s North American media review and whether WPP was seeing competitors win assignments without pitching. Rose described the trend as the “pitchless CEO handshake thing” and acknowledged the growing costs associated with agency reviews, but warned against dispensing with formal pitches.
“Nobody loves pitching,” she said on the call. “The cost and burden of the process seems to be increasing. But I think what’s really important, to me is that my clients fully understand the implications of the decisions they’re making. These are really high-stakes decisions with material business consequences, and they deserve careful consideration. I don’t think we do ourselves any favor as an industry of professionals by encouraging clients to bypass proper due diligence.”
Earlier last month, Publicis Chairman and CEO Arthur Sadoun spoke about the growing trend of marketers handing over accounts without a formal pitch process. Publicis won PepsiCo and Microsoft business this year without a pitch.
In the post, Publicis Groupe also took a shot at WPP for declining to defend Coca-Cola’s North American media business—which Omnicom eventually secured—while focusing on pitching its global media business. In the WPP earnings call, Rose explained: “We made a tough call between spending yet another six weeks pitching for North America versus delivering against what we had already won.”
“You can’t be a passionate defender of pitch culture and plead exhaustion in the same breath,” Publicis wrote in response. “If an extra six-week run was enough to sideline your teams, it’s not an endurance problem; it’s a capability one.”
WPP was not immediately available to comment on the Publicis post.
Read Publicis’s full letter below:
Dear Cindy,
We’ve had a busy few days, as you may have seen, but of course we didn’t miss your earnings call last week.
We’ve always enjoyed a bit of industry back and forth, à la Maurice and Martin, so we couldn’t let your theory on how we win new business slide without a word.
Although it might make for a good headline, claiming we win on a “CEO handshake” is an insult to clients’ intelligence.
We all know global companies don’t hand over their data, media, and tech keys over a friendly espresso. It takes months of hard testing by marketers, engineers, data architects, and procurement teams. So let’s be really clear here: skipping an old-school pitch circus isn’t skipping due diligence. It’s clients knowing what they need and testing us to the limit.
Having worked at one of the companies that chose us this year, you know its leaders really well, and your comments sell them remarkably short. They would never have entrusted us with a task of this magnitude on a wink and a handshake.
It’s as believable as saying your troops were too tired to try and win back your biggest client’s biggest market. You can’t be a passionate defender of pitch culture and plead exhaustion in the same breath. If an extra six-week run was enough to sideline your teams, it’s not an endurance problem; it’s a capability one.
Take it from us, investing in tech and talent really helps on that front.
Because in the real world, enterprise partners aren’t chosen after a cosy tête-à-tête or legacy slide decks. They are chosen on connected identity and media solutions, intelligent creativity, and AI engines that drive business.
Don’t get us wrong. We didn’t expect a basket of muffins or a thank-you note for clearing the path to your global renewal. We understand the pressure of building a narrative for the financial markets and the urge to celebrate a win – a victory lap is fun even when you’re the only one who ran. But it shouldn’t require denigrating our clients, our people, and all of our efforts.
Our industry does extraordinary work. Let’s give it the credit it deserves.
Very best,
Your friends at Publicis
Jersey Mike’s introduces Mike’s Hot Italian sub—via this commercial from White advertising agency Highdive—with a stereotypical Italian American voiceover hollering, “Fuggedaboudit!”
Not sure what the Order of Sons and Daughters of Italy in America would think of the spot—but the concept is lazy, potentially offensive, and thoroughly fuggedable.
DIKO—a White advertising agency in Austin, Texas—is responsible for the Liquid Death and Rumpl promotion featuring M.O.B. Shopping Network, a campaign rife with stereotypes historically deemed offensive to Italian Americans.
Somebody should’ve whacked it at the concept stage.
DIKO LAUNCHES “M.O.B. SHOPPING NETWORK” FOR LIQUID DEATH & RUMPL COLLABORATION
Two mobsters turn outdoor product benefits into suspicious selling points for the Body Bag sleeping bag and Dirt Nap puffy blanket.
Independent creative agency DIKO has created “M.O.B. Shopping Network,” a campaign introducing Rumpl’s collaboration with Liquid Death through a home-shopping operation run by two men with unusual qualifications.
The 75-second hero film stars two mobsters in a wood-paneled studio pitching the Body Bag sleeping bag and Dirt Nap puffy blanket from the Liquid Death edition by Rumpl collection. Their sales presentation highlights the products’ outdoor performance features through suspiciously specific examples. The sales pitch deteriorates quickly as the thrashing, not-quite-dead occupant of the Body Bag is wrestled back into frame by two associates in plastic cleanup uniforms.
A natural fit with an unexpected twist
The collaboration brings together Liquid Death, the beverage brand known for its irreverent marketing, and Rumpl, the brand known for its technical blankets made with post-consumer recycled materials. Rumpl’s use of recycled plastic also connects with Liquid Death’s “Death to Plastic” mission. Both brands show that making quality products doesn’t mean taking yourself too seriously.
For DIKO, the creative challenge was to turn Liquid Death and Rumpl’s partnership into a product story. The product names supplied the starting point. Body Bag and Dirt Nap suggested the perfect spokespeople: two mobsters who would regard both products as everyday essentials. The gear’s actual features gave those characters a reason to keep talking.
“Who better to sell products called the Dirt Nap and Body Bag than two highly experienced experts?” said Diko Daghlian, founder and chief creative officer of DIKO, who also directed the film. “We looked at the features through our mobsters’ eyes. As luck would have it, both products were already occupied, making for a couple of convenient live demonstrations.”
Real features. Questionable applications.
The campaign uses the familiar conventions of late-night home shopping to connect product information with the mobsters’ line of work. Water repellency becomes insurance against “spills, stains… whatevah.” A sleeping bag’s warmth comes in handy when someone unexpectedly ends up in the Nevada desert in the middle of the night.
A free gold watch adds another classic infomercial incentive, even if it’s displayed on its former owner’s wrist.
“The creative is unhinged, but it makes strategic sense because the humor comes directly from the products,” said James Atkin, VP of global brand at Rumpl. “The names establish the mafia connection, and the features make it convincing. These characters just have very different reasons for needing them. That lets us show what the gear does in a way that feels right for both brands.”
“When two brands are practically obligated to be irreverent, things go off the rails fast. DIKO kept the rules simple: one-sentence ideas, instantly understood, funny without being mean. Then commit fully to the bit. It’s the only way to sell a body bag on a home shopping network,” said Justin Lucero, design director at Rumpl.
The campaign includes the hero film, two product videos, and four 10-second vignettes. It runs across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Rumpl’s owned channels, including Rumpl.com, email, and SMS, supported by paid social.
Adweek spotlighted WPP CEO Cindy Rose on why she’s “Not Claiming Victory Yet” with the Roserrection.
Accessing the content requires a subscription; hence, the following commentary is a response to the viewable free text.
Rose can’t claim victory because Eviscerate28 is still closer to failure than success. The best she can declare is slowing WPP’s death spiral—and just barely.
Doesn’t help that she’s restructuring while purported leaders are abandoning the global flaming dumpster. A revolving and revolting roster at the C-Suite level hardly inspires trust—for clients and drones alike—counteracting Rose’s repetitive use of the term.
WPP Media cannot proclaim revitalization. As Publicis Groupe CEO Arthur Sadoun stated, 91% of account assignments are won by WPP, Omnicom, and Publicis. WPP Media nabbed new business by simply being among exclusively limited options.
Rose believes her strategy is on track. Herein lies an issue perhaps exposing her Adland inexperience.
There’s a basic advertising tenet: Breakthroughs happen when strategy and execution harmonize.
Rose might think her undisclosed strategy works. However, the execution sucks.
The delusional stabilization phase is stymied by companywide instability.
The recruitment of outsiders displays a lack of faith with insiders’ capabilities.
Ogilvy aside, WPP Creative lacks creativity.
Thanks to industry commoditization fueled by the single White operating company, WPP AI offerings are not extraordinary, but rather, extra ordinary. Ditto all WPP services.
Rose shouldn’t bear complete blame. She inherited a Titanic post-collision with an iceberg. Yet it will take way more than a strategy to save the sinking ship.
Finally, in 2021 when DEIBA+ was a performative imperative, former WPP CEO Mark Read admitted, “While our U.S. data shows progress between 2018 and 2020, it also underlines the work we have to do to ensure greater representation of Black, Asian and other under-represented communities within WPP—especially at the more senior levels.”
If the situation was bad five years ago, how much worse is it today?
Cindy Rose on Why She’s ‘Not Claiming Victory Yet’ and How AI Agents Could Boost Margins
One year in, the CEO says her strategy is on track. Here’s what has changed and what still needs to be done
By Alison Weissbrot
When Cindy Rose became CEO of WPP a little over a year ago, the company was in its worst decline since the pandemic, with revenue down 5.4% and margins eroding fast.
Today, WPP reported that Q3 revenue, less pass-through costs, fell 2.1% to $3.2 billion (£2.41 billion), narrowing from Q2’s 2.8% decline. Reported revenue was up 0.5% year-over-year to $4.4 billion. Meanwhile, WPP Media returned to 0.3% growth for the first time in six quarters.
Rose said it’s a sign her strategy to return WPP to organic growth by 2027 is taking shape. Nearly a year into that plan, the business is starting to show signs of health, following two quarters of narrowing declines.
(Read the full story here—Adweek subscription required)
MediaPost reported Landor—the branding and design consultancy within WPP Creative—hired and/or boosted a bunch of White executives for leadership roles.
Not sure what to make of the moves.
After all, the recent 3Q earnings call indicated WPP Creative recorded a 5.1% decline. Additionally, WPP CEO Cindy Rose heralded the progression of Eviscerate28, a scheme calling for more layoffs.
So, if WPP Creative is struggling and targeted with deeper RIFs, why add high-level forces?
Plus, how do these hires relate to the earlier creation of WPP Brand & Design and its newly minted leaders?
Were the latest appointments orchestrated and approved by the outgoing WPP Creative CEO or the incoming successor?
Seems like someone needs to clarify the branding and designing of the single White operating company.
The global flaming dumpster is a never-ending shitshow.
WPP’s Landor Bolsters Senior Leadership With 4 Key Hires
By Fern Siegel
Landor has added to its senior leadership team. The four hires enhance the agency's expertise in key sectors: strategy, healthcare and AI. Landor is WPP’s brand/design consultancy.
Andrew Miller and Oliver Maltby join Landor as global executive strategy director and global executive creative director.
Previously, Miller was Chief Growth Officer at BeenThereDoneThat, and earlier at Interbrand. He reports to James Withey, global EVP strategy.
Maltby had been executive creative director at Interbrand New York. He will report to Teemu Suviala, Global CCO. Both Miller and Maltby are based in New York.
Carolyn Griffin joins from JKR as executive strategy director, to strengthen Landor’s healthcare practice, while Marc Lamothe, a six-year agency vet, takes up a new role as global executive director, applied AI and brand intelligence. Prior to Landor, he worked at Fitch.
Nicky Bell, president, Americas and global healthcare practice leader, said: “Our clients are facing immense complexity. They need trusted partners who understand how differentiated brand strategies can unlock growth — even in volatile markets. We are thrilled to welcome Andrew, Oliver, Carolyn and Marc to our talented Landor team.”
