Griffin Museum Of Science + Industry in Chicago presents its annual Black Creativity.
Per the hype, “This ongoing program celebrates the history of Black innovation while championing opportunities for today’s youth to explore STE(A)M in service of a more equitable future rooted in community, creativity and discovery.”
USA TODAY reported on an unintended Black History Month promotion from President Donald J. Trump, who continues to angle for a repeat White Man Of The Year honor.
‘I didn’t make a mistake’ Trump says of post depicting Obamas as apes
“I look at a lot of, thousands, of things,” Trump said of the video. “And I looked at the beginning of it, it was fine.”
By Zac Anderson, USA TODAY
President Donald Trump declined to apologize for sharing a video depicting former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama as apes, telling reporters “I didn’t make a mistake.”
Trump told reporters while traveling on Air Force One to Florida on Feb. 6 that he only looked at the beginning of the roughly one-minute long video, which starts off talking about unsubstantiated voter fraud claims regarding the 2020 election, and didn’t see the portion with the Obamas that has been widely condemned as racist.
“I just looked at the first part... I didn’t see the whole thing,” Trump said, indicating he gave it to someone else to post and “somebody slipped and missed a very small part.”
“I guess probably nobody reviewed the end of it,” Trump said.
Asked about calls from GOP lawmakers for him to apologize, Trump said he didn’t plan to. He later said “of course I do” when asked if he condemned the racist part of the video.
The brief portion of the video with the Obamas appears to have been created by artificial intelligence. It depicts the bodies of two apes with the faces of the former president and first lady. Apes are flying around in the background of what appears to be a jungle.
The video was among dozens of posts on Trump’s Truth Social account in the late hours of Feb. 5 and early hours of Feb. 6. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt initially defended the Obama post, saying it was “from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from the Lion King.”
“Please stop the fake outrage,” Leavitt added.
The White House later distanced the president from the video amid growing criticism, including from many top Republicans. A White House official said the video had been shared erroneously by an unnamed member of Trump’s staff. It was removed from Trump’s Truth Social account after being up for about 12 hours.
The video drew a strong response from Republican lawmakers, who often are reluctant to criticize the leader of their party.
Sen. Tim Scott, a close Trump ally and prominent Black Republican from South Carolina who is leading the Senate’s campaign efforts this year, wrote he was “praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House.”
Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, called the post “blatantly racist and inexcusable.” Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Nebraska, said a “reasonable person” would deem the video “racist” and called for Trump to apologize. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi, called the video “totally unacceptable” and also said an apology is in order.
Trump said he is the “least racist president you’ve had in a long time” and that “I’ve been great” for Black voters, pointing to criminal justice reform and other policies.
The president earlier this year was accused of racism by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries for sharing a controversial deepfake video of the lawmaker wearing a sombrero hat with mariachi music playing.
Jeffries again slammed Trump as a racist after the video post depicting the Obamas as apes.
“This guy is an unhinged bottom feeder,” Jeffries said in a video posted on social media
Contributing: Joey Garrison, Melina Khan
Digiday reported on how holding companies, White advertising agencies, and White media firms are conspiring to become content creators, churning out marketing messages across diverse media outlets.
This points to another devolution of Adland, whereby practitioners are mindless production drones.
On any given day, writers type manuscripts without a sense for how the copy will be visualized. Designers craft layouts without having a clue about its meaning or tactical objectives. Media wonks draft placement plans without understanding the assets being run. And individuals with the word “strategy” in their titles act like they’re contributing to the process.
Adland is turning into a field of factories featuring production lines where workers only focus on their specific task—all of which can be easily replaced by AI.
The result makes DEIBA+ irrelevant, unnecessary, and obsolete.
Dentsu is the latest holdco to reunite media and creative production
By Sam Bradley
Super Bowl spots and Cannes Lion-winning campaigns hog the spotlight in agency sizzle reels, but the work that runs on Instagram, Walmart or Instacart is what keeps the lights on. And demand among advertisers for combined performance media and creative production briefs is rising.
In response, agencies are reorganizing their production offerings to sync more closely with media briefs. Dentsu, for example, is set to launch a production solution it’s calling “Content Engine”, pulling media planning and activation from its media teams, and creative delivery from production house Tag into the same process.
“Clients are seeking a more analytical, systematic and outcome-based approach to production,” said Mark Knowles, global solutions officer, Dentsu and Tag. “We are seeing this being requested during the RFP process more and more, especially where we have media incumbency, but we are also proactively pitching this approach to the clients given the impact it’s able to have on performance, outcomes and commercials,” he said.
With many bread and butter holding company clients leaning further into paid social, online video and retail media, there’s a need for a higher volume of creative assets – films, images, copy and audio messaging – to make those media investments worthwhile, while close monitoring of campaign effectiveness metrics means creative assets can be optimised against media benchmarks.
“It is designed to address the challenges we see most often: complex production networks, increased demand for content and the need for visibility from local to global,” said Toby Codrington, global brand president at Tag.
Generative AI used in creative and admin processes (think brief-writing applications, or tagging and review systems) help agencies scale to meet that demand, but they’ll need formerly separate disciplines like media and production to work closer together to realise the business advantage, said Knowles.
Ryan Kangisser, chief strategy officer at consultancy Mediasense, said integrated pitches were creeping up. “It’s a logical move for companies who you know are conscious of the change that consolidation can create,” he said.
Such requests suit the large holding companies, which can call upon tens of thousands of creatives and media practitioners. “The holding companies – [or] operating companies – are pushing this agenda very, very hard,” said Ruben Schreurs, CEO of Ebiquity.
While some very large advertisers, such as Unilever, have built similar setups in the last year, Dentsu’s is a white label edition. Eight brands spanning the beverage, CPG and banking sector, are currently using the system (a Dentsu spokesperson declined to name the clients). Knowles said Content Engine would be available to the entire Dentsu roster in second quarter. The company also recently launched a synthetic persona solution, called “Generative Audiences”, enabling its planners to target media based upon simulated audience behavior.
It’s not the only agency holding company overhauling its production offering. Last month, WPP reorganized its production capabilities, reshuffling Hogarth and teams from VML and Ogilvy into a single business, WPP Production. And last year, Publicis Groupe and Omnicom both unveiled consolidated production efforts.
“We’re absolutely seeing clients asking for much more integrated approaches,” said Richard Glasson, global CEO of WPP Production. “With a huge amount of the media that’s being bought now being addressable, the value unlock or the performance unlock there is making sure that the right content is getting to the right channel at the right time.”
Gleeson pointed to WPP’s recent successful pitch for Jaguar Land Rover’s integrated business as an example. Publicis’ Mars and Santander wins in 2025, as well as IPG’s September Bayer win, also stand out.
For Forrester analyst Jay Pattisall, such moves show big agency groups are working to close decades-old gaps between their media, production and creative businesses. “These shifts are the most substantial moves in the holding companies to reunite creative and media,” he said.
Indie agency execs also say they’re picking up on higher demand for combined media and production expertise, too. NP Digital, for example, is expanding its creative unit, Rebl House, via a strategic partnership with production company Ultralight Creative following its 2024 acquisition of the business.
Brittany Richter, COO at NP Digital, told Digiday the agency saw a 50% rise in RFIs combining creative and media elements. “We are seeing creative being included in more conversations – with both current and prospective clients,” said Richter. “We know that having the right creative to use in media is the differentiator when it comes to performance and maximizing media dollars.”
Ebiquity’s Schreurs said it indicated the industry had entered the “rebundling era … The unbundling of advertising agencies started in 1990-ish. We’re now seeing an acceleration in re-bundling, or reintegration.”
For all your Black
History Month royalty-free image needs, visit Shutterstock.
MediaPost reported on Publicis Groupe’s philanthropical propaganda Working With Cancer launching a new $100 million global campaign.
The initiative is a pet project of Publicis Groupe CEO and Cancer Survivor Arthur Sadoun, who has enlisted major brands and rival White holding companies to provide backing.
Granted, Working With Cancer is a laudable endeavor. Yet it also symbolizes the reigning exclusivity and dominating hierarchy in Adland, whereby leaders dictate which projects gain priority status.
Working With Cancer receives a lion’s share of support. DEIBA+ gets a shrug.
It’s the difference between Working With Cancer vs Working With Crumbs.
‘Working With Cancer’ Breaks $100 Million Global Campaign
By Steve McClellan
Publicis today announced the launch of a new global “Working With Cancer” campaign that’s backed by $100 million in media donated by media companies across the industry.
The campaign urges companies worldwide to commit to supporting cancer patients in their organizations.
The Working With Cancer initiative was launched three years ago after Publicis chairman and CEO Arthur Sadoun’s own cancer diagnosis and treatment in 2022.
The latest campaign follows a research review done in collaboration with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, underscoring evidence that many employed cancer survivors report better quality of life compared to unemployed survivors. The research found that employed survivors tend to function better physically and are less prone to depression.
Working with Cancer has also unveiled a new AI Coach designed to help employers better tailor support to individual employed survivors. The large language model-based system draws from curated, vetted resources to deliver responses that avoid potential privacy violations and other risks associated with open internet health queries.
The anchor film of the new campaign was created by Publicis Conseil and features survivors from all walks of life sharing how working helped them maintain normalcy during treatment. Participants include Sadoun and other survivors, from companies like Walmart, L’Oreal, Pfizer, Barclays and others. It was directed by award-winning filmmaker Kailee McGee, a stage IV cancer survivor.
“The most important thing to do when you get sick is listen to yourself,” Sadoun says in the film. “Some will consider that they need to stay home and others like me would consider that going to the office and being supported can make a big difference. It’s a very lonely experience, anyway.”
The campaign includes a Times Square NYC out-of-home takeover today (Feb. 4) in recognition of World Cancer Day.
To date, more than 5,000 companies covering 40 million-plus employees have signed the Working With Cancer pledge to support workers battling the disease.
Media donors to the new campaign include Disney, Google, Zeta Global, TikTok, NBCUniversal, Paramount, iHeartMedia, Westwood One, Clear Channel Outdoor, Captivate, Screenvision and NCM.
4As Look Ahead 2026 is a 93-page document presenting the wondrously innovative ideas, insights, and resources offered by the trade organization.
DEIBA+ doesn’t appear until page 43 in the People, Talent & Upskilling section, featuring opening gibberish by the 4As EVP of People, Talent and Upskilling and the 4As CEO, both of whom were newly appointed last year.
Absent are any clear and decisive DEIBA+ commitments, making minimal use of the word “inclusive”—and only in the bullet point dedicated to MAIP AI Offerings.
Hell, maybe MAIP should be revised to stand for Mendacious Artificial Inclusivity Propaganda.
For DEIBA+ in Adland, the look ahead looks like a view of the past.
Advertising Age reported on the new business cycle—as well as old business losses—at Omnicom after its acquisition of IPG.
Seems the only people benefiting from the mess are analysts, Monday morning merger quarterbacks providing clueless color commentary.
The progressing post-merger postmortem will likely expose increased casualties and collateral damages. It’s death by 4,000+ cuts.
How Omnicom’s new business is faring post-merger
By Brian Bonilla
The newly formed Omnicom has had a mixed new business cycle to start the year—the type of performance analysts believe was to be expected as the industry adjusts to the realities of its acquisition of Interpublic Group of Cos.
While the new No. 1 agency company may well prevail in any number of major pitches it’s currently going after—including IBM, Dyson and Delta—it’s also faced existing accounts going into review or moving.
The latest is Smirnoff, which launched a global creative review, parent company Diageo confirmed with Ad Age. The vodka brand’s account has been with McCann, which declined to defend the business, since 2022.
“We’re incredibly proud of the partnership and the globally recognized work we developed with Smirnoff over the past 3 years,” McCann shared in a statement. “While we’ve chosen not to participate in the pitch, we wish them every success moving forward.”
The news of the Smirnoff review comes on the heels of The Home Depot departing from BBDO. Plus, SC Johnson is moving its U.S. media account from Omnicom to WPP, according to multiple sources close to the situation, though WPP and the client declined to comment. (Omnicom did retain SC Johnson’s international business.)
Delta launched a media agency review in October, after most recently working with Omnicom’s PHD. In December, Kenvue picked WPP and Publicis to handle its creative and media; Omnicom was unsuccessful in defending the business, which had been at IPG. Then, in January, MondelÄ“z International launched a creative agency review spanning its U.S. business, including Ritz, as well as global duties for Oreo. Those accounts were housed at Omnicom’s The Martin Agency, which is handling Ritz’s upcoming Super Bowl spot.
On the flip side, Omnicom has notched some important wins and retentions. Since last year, it added American Express on the creative side, NatWest and Clarins in terms of media, and BBVA and BNY for integrated remits. Mercedes-Benz has also extended its contract with Omnicom without a review until 2029, Omnicom confirmed.
This jumbled scorecard isn’t a surprise, said analysts, as clients take stock of the late November mega-merger.
Dan Jeffries, founder of Jeffries Consulting, predicts that Omnicom will be in “defense mode” throughout the year due to clients being unsure of the merger and how it might affect talent disruption within the holding company.
Brian Wieser, principal of Madison and Wall, said the changes underway at Omnicom could “absolutely be a catalyst for a client to look on someone else with more favor … or to be disgruntled or to expect that you’re just not going to get what you signed up for when you picked the agency during the last review.”
He added that the merger might also give clients an excuse to push for a better deal. “There is always an effort, especially with media, to reduce costs on the fees that are being paid and there’s also always an openness to a new offering.”
The most significant loss for Omnicom from a perception standpoint was Kenvue, Wieser said, noting that the account carried added weight given IPG’s historical ties to Johnson & Johnson. J&J’s media business had been with IPG in some capacity since 1973.
Omnicom did not respond to comments about its new business strategy, review performance or relationship with Kenvue.
“For anyone who remembers the role that J&J had within Interpublic over the years, it was somewhat foundational,” Wieser said. While he acknowledged “Kenvue itself changed and separated from J&J,” he described it as the type of marketer “where you kind of built your offering around them.”
Simon & Schuster celebrates Black History Month by promoting Hope through Black History 2026 Calendar by Danielle Coke Balfour—so everyone can salute Black History beyond February.
Google—like the average White advertising agency—loves hip hop, celebrating Black History Month with The Art of Hip-Hop Beat Making.
MediaPost reported Stagwell flushed two White advertising agencies—Doner and Colle McVoy—in a single toilet to create DonerColle Partners.
The corporate hype claims the maneuver is a strategic alliance versus a merger, and no layoffs resulted from combining the firms. Plus, the newly formed White advertising agency is “poised to more effectively and authentically relate to and embrace the sensibilities of everyday Americans who are often overlooked or disregarded by coastal agencies.”
That should be revised and expanded to declare the newly formed White advertising agency is “poised to more effectively and authentically relate to and embrace the sensibilities of everyday White Americans who are often overlooked or disregarded by coastal agencies. Non-White Americans will continue to be overlooked and disregarded by coast-to-coast White advertising agencies.”
Stagwell Unites Two Agencies To Create DonerColle Partners
By Steve McClellan
In a move designed to better serve national brands between the coasts, Stagwell has unified two of its midwest agencies—Doner and Colle McVoy—to form DonerColle Partners.
The move combines operations across more than 500 employees in Detroit, Minnesota and Chicago.
The company said the effort is “poised to more effectively and authentically relate to and embrace the sensibilities of everyday Americans who are often overlooked or disregarded by coastal agencies.”
The two agencies will maintain their existing identities and client relationships under DonerColle Partners. Structured as a strategic alliance rather than a merger, the arrangement is intended to preserve the specialized expertise and culture of each agency while enabling “deeper collaboration, broadened creative capabilities, scaled media offerings and state-of-the-art production studios.”
The new entity will be led by Jessica Henrichs as CEO and David DeMuth as executive chairman. Henrichs has been CEO of Colle McVoy and DeMuth has led Doner.
Stagwell CEO Mark Penn noted the success that each agency has had on its own and that the combination creates an offering that “honors that legacy while embracing the future, leveraging AI, modern marketing and an informed perspective of the communities and consumers that shape America.”
Stagwell said Doner’s strengths include strategy, creative, and integrated production studios across retail, CPG, automotive, consumer services, technology and health care brands. Colle McVoy, in turn, adds strength in media, design, PR and integrated campaign execution across CPG, QSR, home, lifestyle, retail and agriculture categories.
Henrichs said, “We’re rethinking how agencies can come together to better deliver for America’s most iconic brands. We’re creating a partnership that’s agile, ambitious and deeply rooted in the values that matter most to clients today.”
Clients include Stellantis, The UPS Store, Dairy Queen, La-Z-Boy, The Coca-Cola Company, 3M, Hackensack Meridian Health, Perdue Farms and McCormick & Company, among other major brands.
The integration will begin immediately, with a phased rollout of combined operations, teams and branding throughout 2026.
