Illinois Department of Public Health goes straight to the heart of the matter, calling out the disparities and inequities Blacks have historically experienced with healthcare.
Maybe the headline should read: When It Comes to US Healthcare, Black History is Unhealthy History.
This actual job listing for a Change Communications Manager at WPP (click on the image to enlarge) underscores how the White holding company is taking Adland from commoditization to commode.
The full job description includes:
The ideal candidate is a strong operator and storyteller—someone comfortable working in ambiguity, setting structure where none exists, and influencing without relying on formal authority.
Wow. A more succinct statement could read: Bullshit Artists Apply Now.
Candidates should also be able to mix and serve Kool-Aid for all WPP teammates across the globe.
Expect thousands of applicants—although the position will probably go to a White man or White woman.
Wonder if the job listing was generated by AI—which, in this case, stands for Asshole Identifier.
For Black History Month, Advertising Age is publishing content from Blacks in Adland, covering a variety of topics.
The content below features Black agency leaders discussing how DEIBA+ initiatives have diminished in Adland.
The opening question reads, “Why did DEI conversations go quiet?”
Um, because President Donald J. Trump made like Don Draper and obliterated the conversation.
Black agency leaders on DEI’s quiet phase—and why courage still matters
By Brian Bonilla
It’s no secret that the conversation around diversity, equity and inclusion in the industry has diminished from where it was only a few years ago. Investments in DEI initiatives have declined and representation in Super Bowl advertising, both in front of and behind the camera, continues to be an issue.
To understand what this shift means for the industry’s future, I convened five prominent Black agency leaders for a candid discussion about why the push on DEI went quiet—and what brands risk by staying silent. The following is a lightly edited and condensed version of my talk with Asmirh Davis, co-founder and president of Majority; Walter T. Geer III, chief creative officer of innovation, North America at VML; Keith Cartwright, founder and chief creative officer of Cartwright; Taj Reid, global chief creative officer of Burson; and Kaleeta McDade, global chief experience design officer at VML.
Why did DEI conversations go quiet?
Keith: You could even tell last year in Cannes: those conversations aren’t apparent in the work.
It’s a great conversation to have because the first question you ask is why. Is it fear? Is it burnout? Is it both? Is there no desire because there wasn’t a financial impact attached to it?
Kaleeta: I think it’s fear of retribution … When you’re looking at brands, there’s an immense fear of retribution from the government that is financial.
You have to look at the fact that people who are in power are also billionaires. So I think people have a healthy fear of litigation, a healthy fear of just anything that the government might do regarding that. But at the same time, I think there’s a groundswell of citizens and Americans who want to see who’s brave.
I’ll say Costco has really stepped up, and those who have stepped up have felt the dividends of that. You’ve seen their stock go up, you’ve seen more people sign up. So people have to balance their fear with progress, because right now, if you’re not choosing a side—because there’s no in between—I think you’re going to be stuck in the messy middle.
Consumers are watching which brands step up
Walter: I understand why brands have backed off and ripped everything apart, because it’s a massive financial risk to them. Yet we are in a moment where people are waiting and watching to see what brands do.
And we’re also in a moment where people are using their platforms, their voices on social media and their dollars to represent and stand behind the brands that are doing things that benefit them and other communities. There is a line being drawn.
I guarantee you, three or four years from now, when this starts to turn around—because the pendulum always swings the other direction—you are going to have a multitude of brands coming back out. Because again, we are seeing the browning of America, and by 2040 the “minority” will be the majority, and brands are going to be going after them. Multicultural is mainstream media. They’re going to want to hop back on that other side, and I think people are going to remember.
Keith: As an industry though, we’re stuck, right? Because we’re at the power of these brands making a decision on how they want to move and operate. We can try to convince them, but at the end of the day … they’re saying, “We took that risk four years ago, we took that risk eight years ago, and look where it got us.”
That’s fair. But at the same time, we have to have a conversation about what progress looks like in this moment and how we, as an advertising industry, can quantify that progress and demonstrate how it can create commerce if you stay with it, and Costco is a great example.
Walter: Costco also has the money to stand up and say it. There are a lot of smaller brands that wish they could do that but can’t play in that space. It would cripple the entire company. So again, to some degree, I get it.
Overcoming a fear of backlash
Asmirh: But do you have an example of where a smaller brand has done that and it’s been detrimental to them?
Walter: I don’t. That’s the thing.
Asmirh: Right. That’s what I was just thinking about. Where is this imaginary monster that we’re all—
Kaleeta: I think Bud Light. That was the one time—it wasn’t a small brand—where I remember a transgender woman was featured and they lost billions of dollars. I remember that stream was the moment when I started hearing the fear of being diverse, the fear of showing up differently.
When in actuality, what we know that what that was, is you didn’t understand your base … you’re sitting in this very bright spot and going way over here. What is your base? I feel like that’s when it started.
Taj: The lazy performative is now really, really in jeopardy. But with the work that we do every day—all of us, just in this conversation—I’m super inspired by the work that we’re designing that speaks to marginalized communities in a way that makes the commerce or the business grow.
I feel like it’s more important than ever to have diverse lived experiences in the room, to develop those experiences that lead to conversion in a way that’s long-lasting. Because, like you said, people will remember.
Asmirh: Last year was hard for everybody. For us, it was even more of an anomaly because, since the inception of our agency, we were on such a rocket trajectory. So it was more stabilizing for us—a stabilizing year—than anything in terms of serious headwinds.
But it was good because it helped us double down on what we were about and what we were building.
I’ve seen the impact more so in the industry initiatives that we are a part of … I’m on the board of BLAC [an internship program focused on getting diverse talent onto the industry], and it was a really hard year for us and continues to be as we go into 2026, because our model relied so heavily on brands and agencies getting behind the cause of Black talent and underrepresented talent.
No one wants to invest and put their money and resources behind bringing in diverse experiences into their doors and nurturing it. That is where we’re feeling it.
Keith: The economy froze because there was instability. Obviously, advertising and marketing get hit first.
The common way of thinking is when you don’t know what to do, you just stand still. I think now they’ve sort of figured out how they can grow from this administration and what’s going on in the economy, and they’re starting to open back up.
I don’t know if it’s going to be as good as it was five years ago, but I think it’s going to get better.
Our pipeline’s healthy, but the thing that’s interesting is: healthy pipeline, lower margins. And I think that’s industrywide. There are tons of opportunities. Businesses are up for pitch. But when you look at what the fee is, you start to scratch your head and say, “Wow, it’s starting to become less and less worth it if you can’t figure out a way to make margin on it.”
Do we change the conversation, or keep pushing it?
Taj: I don’t know if it’s changing the conversation as much as keeping that conversation going.
It is incredibly fatiguing and frustrating. But at the same time, I think that persistence—and not letting it be muffled out—is so important. Maybe more important than ever now. Because I actually do see people retreating from the conversation and saying, “It’s not safe to even talk about it, so why are we even going there?” I think we need to, if anything, lean into it more, but also start building onto that in ways that can really be impactful.
Asmirh: It’s not changing the conversation, but it is changing the narrative of how we enter the conversation. Appealing to people’s morality and their empathy and their hearts to do the right thing—in history has shown that has never worked.
Walter: Every brand wants to hit mainstream media, right? Well mainstream media is multicultural. It’s Black and brown people, so if you want to make money you have to think about that.
Asmirh: But we traditionally, industrywide, have not led with that piece of it. And that’s why I believe that our business has not been hugely impactful.
What needs to change this year
Walter: I’m sick of this exhausting shift. It’s really tiring, feeling like you have to come in and beat your head against the same wall every single day. Ideas that are brilliant, that could make a massive impact, are just pushed aside due to fear.
I think brands need to be a little bold and step out and do the work. And again, it’s not DEI work; it’s going after your market, going after your audience, expanding on it to some degree.
Kaleeta: The only thing different I would tell my Black leaders who are running these businesses is: survive the encounter. Whatever you need to do to keep your doors open, survive the encounter. I know it’s an onslaught of things that are happening. The reason they’re not doing extra things is that there’s probably not enough time to do it, because you’re still trying to survive the encounter. Thriving will happen later.
I don’t think every year will be a win, but I think this year is about surviving. And I know that’s not as sexy as us saying it’s a year of Black joy or a post-George Floyd glow-up. But it is a year of reconciliation and us understanding who we are. So that’s what I would say to my Black leaders.
Adweek reported Omnicom clarified a WARN notice filed with New York State in December—indicating 100 layoffs for IPG’s former NYC headquarters—is just part of the 4,000 pink slips to be issued in the months ahead.
Still no clarification, however, on how restructurings, redundancies, and RIFs impact DEIBA+ Human Heat Shields.
Omnicom Clarifies WARN Notice Detailing 100 Job Cuts
Holdco confirms redundancies were part of the 4,000 announced in December following its IPG acquisition
By Rebecca Stewart
UPDATE: IPG has confirmed that a newly-published WARN notice filed with New York State pertains to redundancies that already occurred as part of its $13 billion November acquisition of Interpublic Group (IPG).
Based on the WARN data, which Omnicom filed in December but WARN did not make public until Feb 23, ADWEEK previously reported that Omnicom planned to cut an additional 94 jobs in the U.S. starting March 1.
However, an Omnicom spokesperson has since clarified: “This is nothing new as the filing is a compliance requirement for actions we made back on December 1, 2025.”
The notice detailed how 92 of 251 employees at IPG’s former NYC headquarters at 909 Third Avenue were laid off as part of its sweeping restructuring, along with two of 84 staff at the former holdco’s 100 West 33rd Street office.
‘New Omnicom’ Doubles Cost-Cutting
In December 2025, the new Omnicom announced 4,000 redundancies as part of a business reset, which saw it retire major creative agency brands including FCB, DDB, and MullenLowe.
The job cuts came in addition to the 3,200 roles IPG shed earlier last year, ahead of the acquisition, and the 3,000 staffers Omnicom let go after announcing the deal last fall.
At the time, Omnicom chief executive (CEO) John Wren estimated the total number of eliminated positions to around 10,000, or roughly 8% of the combined companies’ 2024 headcount.
During Omnicom’s first post-acquisition quarterly earnings update in February, Wren revealed that he had doubled the company’s cost-cutting target to $1.5 billion by 2028. This includes saving $900 million in 2026.
Wren told investors that $1 billion of Omnicom’s savings would come from “reductions in labor costs,” achieved by cutting corporate, network, and operational roles.
He also said that a simplified regional, country, and brand structure, and a more “unified” business model, along with outsourcing and offshoring to lower-cost markets, would help Omnicom reach its goal in the next 30 months.
CORRECTION 10:43 AM ET: A previous version of this story stated that Omnicom planned to cut an additional 94 roles. The article has been updated to clarify that the WARN notice reflected previously announced, public redundancies.
The Drum reported on the Harlem Globetrotters scoring its 100th anniversary, coinciding with the Black History Month centennial.
How Harlem Globetrotters are tipping off centennial with global licensing push
By Margo Waldrop
As the exhibition basketball team approach 100, president Keith Dawkins, along with IMG Licensing vice-president Brett Weiss, shares with The Drum how partnerships, retail expansion and new platforms are repositioning the team as a multi-platform global entertainment brand.
For decades, the Harlem Globetrotters were shorthand for trick shots, packed arenas and a theme song you could hum on command. As the team heads toward its 100th anniversary this year, leadership is asking a tougher question: what does a century-old brand look like on TikTok, in streetwear drops and in the collectibles aisle?
The answer, at least so far, is scale and reach. Since IMG Licensing became the Globetrotters’ global licensing agent in 2024, the focus has moved from memory to momentum. Apparel, headwear, collectibles, toys and lifestyle products are rolling out through collaborations with New Era, Ovo, Actively Black, NBA Lab and Shoe Palace. The centennial campaign began on December 14 with an anniversary game at Madison Square Garden, kicking off a yearlong run of more than 400 events across 25 countries, alongside new content initiatives and expanded retail.
The bigger ambition is repositioning the Globetrotters from a touring attraction to a multi-platform global entertainment brand.
Letting go of the scrapbook without losing the soul
Keith Dawkins, president of the Harlem Globetrotters, says the centennial has not been about discarding the past but broadening the frame.
“It hasn’t been about letting go, but about unleashing new thinking,” he says. At their peak in the 70s and 80s, fans knew the stars, saw them on TV, attended live tours and bought the merchandise. Revitalizing the brand meant building “a new ecosystem” for where audiences live now.
If the Globetrotters want another 100 years, they cannot rely on the road alone. Dawkins talks about meeting fans across linear and streaming platforms, social and digital channels, gaming, consumer products and live events. “New platforms and new strategic partners, along with a clear vision and great execution, will ignite a bright new future,” he says.
Some elements remain untouched. Dawkins calls the team’s identity as “ambassadors of goodwill” non-negotiable. Joy, hope and possibility are the filters every collaboration must pass through. Modern fashion, music and sports partners understand those values and build around them.
Success in the centennial year, he adds, will not be measured only in attendance or merchandise sales. It is about showing up “where the audience resides in ways that are fresh and meaningful.” If that works, relevance and audience growth follow.
Anchoring the celebration at Madison Square Garden puts the brand exactly where it wants to be. The arena bills itself as the world’s most famous and pairing it with a 100-year milestone amplifies both history and ambition. The Garden hosts artists and athletes who shape what people pay attention to and the Globetrotters want to be in that mix.
Modernizing a legacy brand
For Brett Weiss, vice-president at IMG Licensing, the first hurdle was perception. “One of the biggest misconceptions was that the Harlem Globetrotters were purely a legacy touring sports property rooted in nostalgia,” he says. “In reality, the brand is a unique platform that sits at the intersection of sport, entertainment, fashion and social impact, with deep multigenerational and global equity.”
Weiss describes the 100th anniversary as “the perfect catalyst” to rethink how the brand is perceived. “It allowed us to honor heritage while signaling the future,” he says, pointing to new ownership under Herschend and IMG’s role in steering a global licensing strategy designed to prove the brand’s relevance heading into its next century.
In his view, modernization did not mean starting from scratch. “The key was not reinvention, it was reinterpretation,” Weiss says. Rather than dilute that 100-year legacy, IMG spotlighted archival assets, storytelling and iconography while inviting contemporary partners to reinterpret them for today. Product placements in fast-fashion and mall channels, streetwear labels like Ovo and headwear specialists such as New Era helped validate relevance with younger consumers.
The test for any collaboration, Weiss adds, is whether it delivers more than a logo hit. “For us, a collaboration must deliver three things: credibility, audience expansion and long-term brand equity. Our best partners tap into 100 years of assets and reinterpret them in ways that feel thoughtful and premium.”
Licensing as discovery engine
The most significant evolution may be how licensing functions inside the business. Under Herschend’s ownership, the Globetrotters have adopted an always-on entertainment model, expanding far beyond the traditional tour calendar.
“Licensing now plays a central role in fan engagement and storytelling, not just revenue generation,” Weiss says. Consumer products sit alongside live events, content, social media and experiential activations as part of one connected ecosystem.
He adds that the strategy isn’t limited to venue retail. “We’ve moved beyond arena-only distribution into a coordinated global approach, placing product in thousands of retail doors while integrating licensing into content moments and tour experiences.”
For younger audiences, discovery may start with a hoodie, a gaming tie-in or a trading card rather than a ticket. Weiss believes that moving to the entry point is critical. “Discovery will increasingly happen through commerce and collectibles, not just live events,” he says. “Products become discovery moments that extend beyond the core audience.”
The centennial may celebrate the past, but the strategy is built for shelf space, screen time and sustained visibility. For the Globetrotters, licensing is the new growth plan.
In the 2026 State of the Union Address, President Donald J. Trump declared, “We ended DEI in America!”
For over 75 years, White advertising agencies have declared, “We ended DEI in Adland!”
Advertising Age reported Tombras axed Opinionated Founder Mark Fitzloff, mere weeks after acquiring the White advertising agency.
According to Ad Age, the dismissal decision followed an HR grievance submitted by an Opinionated employee charging allegations of a sexual nature against Fitzloff.
Expect things to devolve into a His Opinion/Her Opinion scenario.
Opinionated founder Mark Fitzloff fired after selling his agency to Tombras
By Brian Bonilla
Tombras has fired Mark Fitzloff, Opinionated’s founder and executive creative director, just a few weeks after acquiring the agency.
“Tombras has parted ways with Mark Fitzloff. This is a confidential personnel matter, and we are not at liberty to comment further,” a Tombras spokesman wrote in a statement.
The decision follows an HR complaint lodged by an Opinionated employee that contained allegations of a sexual nature against Fitzloff, according to multiple people close to the situation. The allegation has to do with events or an event that occurred before the deal to acquire the agency, now called Opinionated, a Tombras company.
Fitzloff’s final day was Feb. 11, according to sources. He did not return multiple requests for comment. Tombras declined to comment beyond the statement.
Portland, Oregon-based Opinionated made a name for itself in the industry with work for brands such as Panda Express, Shake Shack and Hinge. The agency reported its strongest annual growth in 2024, when revenue jumped 44% to more than $23 million. Opinionated hit $30 million in revenue in 2025.
Before launching Opinionated in 2017, Fitzloff had spent around 17 years at Wieden+Kennedy, where he rose through the ranks from copywriter to executive creative director.
Adweek reported on DEIBA+ representation in Super Bowl LX advertising, presenting questionable data with obscure criteria from a market research firm.
For example, campaign diversity was measured as follows:
“The firm tallied ads that showed two or more clearly distinct racial or ethnic groups onscreen—not in the background—for a total of at least three seconds.”
Additionally, “multicultural narratives” were measured as follows:
“The firm measured how many of the ads depicted a character from a historically underrepresented group who was speaking, driving the story action, or visually centered for at least a quarter of the ad.”
BTW, the market research firm’s leadership team is not very diverse.
2026’s Super Bowl Ads Are More Diverse, but Celebs Still Skew White
LGBTQ+ representation dropped for the second year in a row
By Kathryn Lundstrom
2026 Super Bowl ads reflected more racial diversity than last year, but celebrity talent in the ads was still primarily white. LGBTQ representation also dropped in this year’s crop of Big Game ads.
A majority of national Super Bowl spots (68%) visibly represented multiple racial or ethnic groups, according to an analysis from market research firm Zappi. The firm tallied ads that showed two or more clearly distinct racial or ethnic groups onscreen—not in the background—for a total of at least three seconds.
That percentage was up from last year, when just 57% of the ads represented multiple racial or ethnic groups. In 2024, 70% of ads represented multiple racial or ethnic groups.
More ads built multicultural representation into the story
Multicultural narratives were also better represented in Super Bowl 60 ads compared to the last two years, according to Zappi. The firm measured how many of the ads depicted a character from a historically underrepresented group who was speaking, driving the story action, or visually centered for at least a quarter of the ad.
Twenty-six percent of Super Bowl spots depicted multicultural representation as central to the narrative this year, up from 6% in 2025.
Zappi’s analysis found better diversity boosts ad effectiveness. Ads that focused on representation—like Dove, Rocket, NFL, Volkswagen, Toyota, and Novo Nordisk—scored 8% above average in terms of sales impact, the firm said.
But when it comes to celebrity talent, most brands are still casting white celebrities. Of the 103 celebrities who appeared in Super Bowl ads this year, at least 60 of them were white, according to ADWEEK’s count.
LGBTQ+ representation falls, again
On a separate diversity metric, GLAAD published a list of ads starring LGBTQ talent, which dropped for the second year in a row. Just five spots in the Big Game explicitly featured LGBTQ people, the advocacy group reported, all of whom are out celebrities.
Those ads were Levi’s, Nerds, Pokémon, Ritz, and State Farm. GLAAD noted 2026 was the third straight year without transgender representation in a national Super Bowl ad.
For Black History Month, Advertising Age is publishing content from Blacks in Adland, covering a variety of topics.
The content below is titled, “Why instinct and diversity are essential in brand social media success.”
Okay, except White advertising agencies don’t view diversity as essential. Need proof? Look for BHM social media posts presented by any White advertising agency in February.
In Adland, systemic racism is instinctive—and it’s gone viral for decades.
Why instinct and diversity are essential in brand social media success
By Ryan Bauman
I have and will always be a little obsessed with pop culture and social media. It started from a young age. When I got my first iPod Touch, it felt like a whole new world was here just for me. Being able to see what was happening in real life, in the palm of my hand, could never be something I’d forget. Honestly, I still can’t. Growing up, culture always had an impact on how I see the world, especially within social media.
I never knew that social media could be something that I could have a career in. Everything, by the grace of God, flowed so easily within the world of social media for me. Seeing what trends were popular and how they made a change in culture, especially Black culture, was something that just clicked. I knew that I wanted to be able to be a representative of my culture, yet also be able to tie to the very captivating world of social media.
So, I took a leap of faith. Applying to the BLAC advertising internship program was something I instinctively knew I needed to do at the time. It opened the world of advertising for me, and I didn’t even know it. You can learn so much when taking a look back and seeing how things just work out.
I never would have thought that BLAC would have led me to work on one of the most beloved brands in social, Wendy’s. Joining a powerhouse in social media felt daunting at first, but overall exciting. Taking one trend, one post at a time, was my way of seeing a new opportunity with and for the team, every day. Then, it happened.
An immense instinct came when the quarter zips trend was just starting to get traction on social media. My art direction partner, Nyah Evans, and I acted fast by putting Wendy’s in a quarter zip. It went viral. From coverage on Complex to even getting a deal made with the creator of the trend, Jason Gyamfi, it blossomed into something more than just a social post.
Virality is so important, especially since social media is so saturated with content. It’s even harder now to stand out. We were able to act fast and cater a message to our culture, and let the world take notice. This idea worked because of the natural connection we made to the trend with our authentic representation of what’s trending in Black culture. The fact that it came from a major brand such as Wendy’s speaks volumes to the caliber of diverse voices on the team.
Hiring talent that may look, think, or have different upbringings from you leads to diverse, effective, and collaborative work. It stems from that gut feeling, that instinct that will keep informing you one trend, one post, one hire at a time. It leads to creating work that reflects my culture and resonates with many.
And that’s the funny thing about instinct. Without it, I wouldn’t have taken a leap of faith. Instinct is not only what makes culture and social media thrive, but it sometimes leads us to places, jobs, and opportunities that we could have never dreamed of, but undoubtedly deserve.
Oh, if little Ryan could only see how far she’s come now.
Digiday reported the latest news involving a $100 million whistleblower lawsuit filed against WPP last year.
The accusations target WPP and GroupM, the latter which was rebranded under the WPP Media banner in 2025.
If the lawsuit ultimately impacts WPP Media, will the former GroupM shoulder the bulk of financial burdens or will all media firms in the network equally share the troubles?
Expect a crumby reduction of performative promises made to Black-owned media too.
In fighting a whistleblower suit, WPP put its own account of media agency trading on the public record
By Seb Joseph
The $100 million whistleblower lawsuit Richard Foster filed against WPP last November is back in focus. New court filings — including WPP’s motion to dismiss and exhibits that place Foster’s own internal documents into the public record for the first time — have added significant texture to both sides of a case that initial headlines only scratched the surface of.
Most notably among the exhibits is Foster’s own internal report to GroupM CEO Brian Lesser, which contains internal data on client opt-in rates, platform spend, and income targets that haven’t been public until now. The materials were first reported by The Times.
Before unpacking those materials, here’s a recap of how the case reached this point.
Who’s suing whom
Foster spent 17 years at GroupM, ending as global CEO of Motion Content Group — the division that co-produced Love Island, managed roughly $500 million in annual entertainment investment, and by his own filed data was posting 140% US revenue growth in his final year. He was fired on July 10, 2025, the day after WPP’s stock dropped 18% on a trading update disclosing serious deterioration at WPP Media. He filed suit in November 2025 against WPP and GroupM (since rebranded WPP Media), seeking at least $100 million, Business Insider reported.
What Foster alleges
Foster claims GroupM, which according to the complaint controlled roughly $60 billion in annual client ad spend at its peak, ran a hidden profit center by systematically retaining rebates that should have gone back to advertisers. Allegedly, GroupM’s media trading arm would aggregate client budgets to hit volume thresholds with vendors, triggering rebates in the form of free or discounted inventory. Rather than returning those benefits to clients, GroupM allegedly reclassified the inventory as “proprietary media,” sold it back through opt-in agreements, and booked the spread as “non-product related income.” Foster estimates GroupM generated $3 to $4 billion in rebate-driven deals over five years and improperly retained $1.5 to $2 billion of it.
The executives Foster implicates include Mark Patterson, now global president of WPP Media, whom he identifies as the primary architect of the rebate strategy and who publicly called rebates “not a dirty word” in 2016; Andrew Meaden, global chief investment officer, who allegedly institutionalized the practice and in one meeting proposed diverting client spend away from Meta because Meta refused a proprietary deal; and WPP general counsel Nicola McCormick, who Foster alleges privately described the rebate situation as “existential” while declining to formally investigate.
The document at the center of everything
In December 2024, at incoming GroupM CEO Brian Lesser’s request, Foster submitted a 36-page internal report, dubbed “Project Claridges”, laying out both a critique of GroupM’s trading’s practices and a proposal for a new consolidated entertainment division with projected net sales of over $2 billion by 2029. The report contains internal data that is now in the public court record, including a breakdown showing that among GroupM’s top 30 U.S. billing clients, representing $13.5 billion in total billings, only 5% of eligible spend was actually used through the proprietary inventory deals.
Breaking it down further: among the top 10 clients alone, representing $8.5 billion in billings, 62% of their spend went through non-proprietary channels entirely, and 91.9% of the proprietary inventory generated went unused. Google, GroupM’s single largest US client at $2.3 billion in annual billings, utilized just 0.51% of the proprietary inventory its budget was helping to generate, meaning 99.5% went unused. These were the clients whose collective spending was being used to hit the volume thresholds that triggered the rebates in the first place.
Lesser acknowledged the report’s concerns and said he’d investigate further. He then asked Foster to send Patterson a “sanitized” version excluding criticism of GroupM’s trading arm. Before Foster could do so, Lesser forwarded the unedited original to Patterson. Patterson, having read a detailed critique of his own practices, told Foster he had “all he needed.” Within hours, Foster’s division was placed under Patterson’s oversight. Six months later he was fired.
Where the money was being spent
The internal documents also show the scale of GroupM’s platform relationships in 2023, establishing the leverage at the center of the alleged scheme. Globally: Google accounted for $9.4 billion in spend, Meta $3.7 billion, TikTok $1.1 billion, Amazon $1.1 billion, and The Trade Desk $1.1 billion. In the US: Google represented $4.9 billion, Meta $1.4 billion, Disney $835 million, NBCU $700 million, Paramount $540 million, and Warner Bros. Discovery $417 million. Total tracked global platform spend: $18.5 billion. U.S. network and platform spend: $9.8 billion.
With that volume to direct, GroupM had considerable power to pressure vendors into proprietary arrangements — and, the complaint alleges, to penalize those who refused.
WPP’s defense
WPP’s motion to dismiss makes three arguments worth taking seriously.
First and most damaging to Foster: according to a sworn affirmation from Lesser, Foster’s counsel sent WPP a draft complaint on October 10, 2025 — more than two months before filing — and threatened to go public unless GroupM agreed to a large severance payment within 30 days. WPP refused, and the lawsuit followed. WPP argues that offering to stay silent for a payout is fundamentally incompatible with being a whistleblower.
Second, WPP contends that the Project Claridges report — Foster’s supposed evidence of protected disclosure — contains no mention of illegal activity. Its position is that it’s a business proposal for Foster’s own promotion, not a whistleblower document, and that Foster is retroactively reframing an ambitious pitch.
Third, Foster was among hundreds of U.S. GroupM employees and thousands globally let go in a documented restructuring. His entire division was eliminated. Six months elapsed between his last alleged report and his termination.
Why it matters beyond the lawsuit
The China backdrop lends the allegations weight. In October 2023, Chinese authorities raided GroupM’s offices and detained more than 30 employees for systematically retaining client rebates — precisely what Foster claims was happening globally. WPP hit a 27-year stock low in October 2025 when new CEO Cindy Rose publicly conceded WPP Media had “lost its way”.
Where it likely ends up
A settlement would not be surprising. WPP cannot afford the discovery process, with internal communications about rebate practices potentially feeding both the shareholder litigation and client contract reviews. But the extortion allegation gives WPP real leverage to limit the payout.
The bigger question the case raises has nothing to do with Foster specifically: if GroupM’s own internal data shows its largest clients were almost entirely not benefiting from the proprietary inventory deals that generated nearly $1 billion in annual agency income, what exactly was the business model? That’s a question advertisers, regulators, and shareholders are now all asking — with or without this lawsuit.
WPP declined to comment.
