17637: On The Trend For Pitching Pitches.

 

Advertising Age reported Publicis Groupe CEO Arthur Sadoun opined on the “trend” of White holding companies being awarded global brand assignments sans traditional pitches.

As previously noted, account reviews for major chunks of business have become closed affairs, exclusive privileges available only to a handful of White holding companies.

Because M&A reduced the number of big players, clients are left with even fewer choices.

The commoditization of Adland makes the limited options indistinguishable too—all White conglomerates look alike.

So, it’s not surprising matters progressed to the next level—that is, shootouts are deemed pointless exercises.

During the Omnicom acquisition of IPG last year, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)—a UK regulatory organization—launched an investigation to determine if the deal would impact industry competition.

The acquisition was ultimately approved, yet competition has clearly been impacted.

Corporate Cultural Collusion is increasingly the norm—standard operating procedure now openly recognized and executed by conspiring participants.

Non-White advertising agencies—as well as most independent White advertising agencies—are effectively eliminated from consideration. Or relegated to consultants of color and/or Prime Redlining victims.

What’s happening today is not a trend; rather, it’s an evolution of underhanded practices and fortification of systemic racism.

Publicis CEO Arthur Sadoun on why more clients are choosing holding company solutions without pitches

By Brian Bonilla

Publicis Groupe is seeing major marketers move away from formal account reviews, instead opting for in-depth conversations with agencies they already consider the right fit. Arthur Sadoun, its chairman and CEO, attributed this trend to the consolidation of rival holding companies Omnicom and Interpublic Group of Cos., along with shifting technology needs from marketers.

“What I find remarkable—in terms of trend—is that you have more and more clients that know what they want to do,” Sadoun said in an interview, declining to comment on specific clients.

His comments come after Publicis won Microsoft and PepsiCo, two of this year’s major account moves, without traditional review processes.

Clients are now realizing “it’s way more efficient to spend their time and their money digging deeper and ‘kicking the tires,’ as they like to do, on the partner they are interested in, rather than this kind of tap-dancing beauty contest that we all know, that lasts for months, that is a distraction, and that at the end of the day normally gets you to the partner you were preferring at the beginning anyway,” he said.

The three largest global agency holding companies—Omnicom Group, Publicis Groupe and WPP—accounted for 91% of holding company media wins in the first half of 2026, up from 74% a year earlier, according to COMvergence data cited by Publicis. (Accenture Song, the industry’s No. 2 player behind Omnicom according to Ad Age Datacenter’s latest Agency Report, sits within consulting giant Accenture and therefore isn’t considered a traditional agency holding company.)

“I think we should all be very thankful to Omnicom for this move, because it is the entire industry that is benefiting from it today,” he said. The benefit of fewer players, he said, is that “there is a very clear differentiation in terms of positioning among the three,” which results in “an increasing number of clients who know exactly what they want for their business. And that means that they truly understand the difference between the different models.”

This clarity, he said, is boosting Publicis’ growth outlook. Publicis generated more than €400 million (over $446 million) in net new business during the first nine months of the year, the company reported today. It anticipates these wins to account for 2 percentage points of organic revenue growth in 2027.

Publicis reported organic net revenue growth of 5% in the third quarter and reaffirmed its full-year 2026 guidance of 4.5% to 5% organic net revenue growth.

Publicis also reported a client retention rate close to 100% for the first nine months of the year, which Sadoun said is more meaningful than individual account win announcements, which can create a misleading impression of an agency’s overall business performance. “This race for new-business press releases is a kiss of death,” he said. “Because it gives a false impression of dynamics, meaning what matters is not what you win; it’s the net between what you win and what you keep.”

He said new business contributes slightly more than a third of Publicis’ growth, with the remainder coming from existing client relationships. That dynamic is particularly evident in creative services. Publicis’ Intelligent Creativity business, which accounts for 25% of group net revenue, recorded low-single-digit organic revenue growth in the third quarter.

Sapient’s growing role in new business

Publicis is integrating its technology consulting business, Sapient, more closely with its media and creative operations to meet the rising demand for AI-driven marketing transformation. This approach is helping the company secure new assignments, often without the need for formal pitches, Sadoun said.

“We don’t have a brief where the AI transformation question is not raised,” he said. “And one of the reasons why we’re winning—and sometimes without pitches—is because not only do we have the data, but we have the engineers and the technology to make it work.”

In production, Sapient is developing technology that allows clients to customize content at scale using data. On the media side, it is helping clients modernize technology infrastructure to enable more personalized advertising. “Production is not about studios anymore,” Sadoun said. “We all have great studios. The question is: do you have the right tech platform to deliver at-scale customization connected with the data?”

The strategy is beginning to translate into improved performance for Sapient. Publicis’ technology business, which represents 13% of the holding company’s net revenue, returned to growth in the U.S. during the third quarter. Globally, the practice remained slightly negative as clients continued to delay more expensive enterprise transformation projects, but Publicis expects the business to resume growth in the fourth quarter.

17636: On Buying Back Freedom From Omnicom.

Advertising Age reported Jordan Zimmerman bought his White advertising agency back from Omnicom.

Zimmerman probably steered his luxury yacht and flew his private jet to Omnicom headquarters and handed a briefcase full of loot to Omnicom Chairman-CEO-Pioneer of Divestiture John Wren.

Inside Zimmerman’s decision to leave Omnicom

Jordan Zimmerman has bought Zimmerman Advertising back from Omnicom 26 years after selling the agency to the holding company, he confirmed to Ad Age.

Zimmerman said he started the conversations because he wanted more freedom to steer the shop, which he founded in 1984, into its next phase. The agency works with clients including McDonald’s, Planet Fitness, Office Depot, Blue Compass RV, Six Flags and Unleashed Brands.

The buyback will let Zimmerman invest further in the agency’s ID Graph, which he said reaches more than 90% of U.S. adults, as well as hyperlocal targeting and measurement and AI-enabled creative and production. It also gives the shop “more control over the talent we bring in and how we structure client relationships.”

Omnicom declined to comment on Zimmerman. The agency group has been pruning parts of its portfolio since acquiring Interpublic Group of Cos. late last year; in January, experiential shop Jack Morton separated from Omnicom in a private equity-backed transaction.

17635: On Changing C-Suites In Adland.

 

More About Advertising wondered about the adverse effects of C-suite revolving doors, musical chairs, and restructuring redundancy RIFs.

Management expert Peter F. Drucker recognized the leadership challenge of striking a balance between change and continuity.

White holding companies are striking out in that area.

Is the spate of senior hires having the right effect?

By Emma Hall

WPP has very recently promoted media boss Adam Gerhart to global chief client officer and appointed Veriça Djurdjevic (ex-Channel 4 and PHD) as UK Media’s chief client officer, while Tyler Turnbull is the new head of WPP Creative. Over at MSQ, Stagwell EMEA CEO Peter Reid has joined as group CEO.

Much is made of these senior hires, always positioned as being an important step for clients, helping to deliver growth, and being part of a grand plan á la WPP CEO Cindy Rose’s “Elevate 28”. But word from inside the agencies is that clients are getting mightily fed up with losing the people they trust and work with every day as redundancies deplete teams and drain morale.

When agencies are facing so much change, it makes sense to make big changes around structure and staffing – and sometimes there are clear gaps to fill. But it’s less logical to lose sight of the employees who are the glue of agency life.

17634: Monks Seeks Monkeys…?

This actual job listing for Monks is labeled “Future Position: Creative Director.”

The description also explains:

This posting is not tied to a current open role, but is an opportunity to join our talent pool for future positions. By applying, you’ll be considered as opportunities that align with your experience that become available.

First, the person who drafted the job listing could benefit from tapping a Creative Director with copy experience. Or they could’ve used AI, no?

Second, given the shaky financial state of parent company S4 Capital, a future opportunity with Monks is far, far away—and may never materialize.

Finally, any potential position probably pays peanuts.

 

17633: Top Ten BS @ VML.

Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity ranked VML New York the top White advertising agency in the US. VML Chief Creative Officers nabbed Top Ten honors too.

WTF.

The awards say a lot about Cannes Lions and VML—as well as the sorry state of Adland.

Sorry, but many lauded leaders at VML inherited success via mergers, acquisitions, and restructurings versus talent, performance, and integrity.

It all begs the question: Why is VML Global CEO-WPP Creative CEO Jon Cook bailing out?

He’s clearly in the running for top bullshit artist.

17632: Got Multicultural? LERMA/ Wins Real California Milk.

MediaPost published unintentional Hispanic Heritage Month content by reporting LERMA/ gained AOR status for Real California Milk, the consumer-facing brand of the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB).

LERMA/ once served as a Latino-focused advertising agency alongside The Richards Group, eventually breaking away on its own around the time Stan Richards left the building.

Here’s hoping Real California Milk comes with more than real California crumbs.

LERMA/ Named AOR For Real California Milk

By Steve McClellan

Dallas-based full-service agency, LERMA/ has been named agency of record for Real California Milk, the consumer-facing brand of the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB), following a competitive review led by Mercer Island Group.  

The organization had previously worked with Deutsch LA for many years although it wasn’t immediately clear if that agency was still the incumbent when the review was called or if it participated in the review. 

The account encompasses creative, strategy, social, media, data and analytics, multicultural marketing and website responsibilities.  

LERMA/ is tasked with building greater meaning and relevance around the Real California Milk seal, with the goal of increasing consumer preference and purchase of seal-stamped dairy products at retail.  

“LERMA/ stood out from the beginning for the passion they brought to our business and their understanding of the opportunity ahead,” said Adrienne Daniels, Executive Vice President, Marketing at the CMAB. “Beyond the strength of the creative thinking, we felt an immediate cultural fit with the team.”  

The first work from the partnership is expected to launch in January 2027.  

The CMAB represents California dairy farmers, and its mission is to promote demand for milk and other dairy products made in the state. That’s a separate organization from the California Milk Processor Board (CMPB) which represents the companies that pasteurize, bottle, and distribute liquid milk. Their iconic “Got Milk?” campaign was created by Goodby Silverstein & Partners in the 1990’s. CMPB and Goodby parted ways in 2017 after 25 years.

17631: On Complaints, Crisis Management, And Conversations.

 

Advertising Age published a thoughtful perspective on cultural cluelessness, unintentionally underscoring how bias can come from the offenders and offended alike.

A complaint about your ad is information—it is not a verdict

By Stephen E. Terrell

In the fall of 1994, I put a naked man on a billboard in Fort Lauderdale. He lasted six days.

In fairness, he had already lasted 158 years. He was the young man seated by the sea in a Hippolyte Flandrin painting from 1836 that hangs in the Louvre, where to my knowledge nobody has ever called 3M about it.

The board was for Page & Associates, a Cleveland company that bought life insurance policies from people who were dying, so they could have the money while they were still alive to spend it. In 1994, that mostly meant gay men with AIDS. The copy ran five words: “Terminally ill ... there are options.” Then a phone number. No logo the size of a Buick. No starburst.

I chose the painting because my audience already knew it. For years, a print of it on a gay man’s wall was a signal flag hidden in plain sight. Any other gay man who walked into that home knew exactly what it meant. Everyone else saw a nice museum reproduction. I took the flag off the living room wall and ran it up a billboard. A man driving past did not need a headline to tell him who the board was for. The same ad had been running in gay magazines. Companies like mine were buying so much space there that Ad Age covered it that May. The billboard was that magazine ad with the volume turned up. The University of Miami Business Law Review later recorded it as the first billboard for a company in that business.

The location was not an accident, either. I put my boards in the gayest neighborhoods I could find. This one was aimed across four lanes of highway at the Copa, the biggest gay disco in South Florida. You find out where your audience dances, and you face the board that way.

It also happened to stand directly above a sports bar.

The owner complained. He told the local paper that the message was one thing but the naked man was tasteless. 3M, which owned the board, took it down six days into a 60-day contract.

Today, that is where the story ends. The brand posts a statement. The creative disappears. Somebody junior gets blamed, and everyone is at lunch by noon.

Here is what happened in 1994. The board went back up the next day. Nobody apologized. Nobody painted on a fig leaf. The company’s attorney made a call, and then a 3M representative did something radical. He sat down with the bar owner and explained what the ad was for. According to 3M’s spokesperson at the time, the owner had not fully understood it. Once he did, he agreed to have it back.

One conversation, 24 hours, same naked man.

That bar owner taught me three questions I still ask before anybody touches a campaign.

Who is complaining? The man downstairs was not my audience. My audience was across the highway, in line at the Copa.

Do they understand it? He saw a nude. He did not see men in his own city who were out of money and out of time. Somebody told him, and he changed his mind. People do that more often than a crisis plan assumes.

Is the audience you built it for complaining? Because when they are, you pull it, and you say thank you. I have done that, too. Years later I tested a Betty White radio spot on “The Rush Limbaugh Show.” It delivered 20-30 solid leads every time it aired. Then her fans started calling with one question: “Does Betty know?” I pulled it. The numbers said stay. The audience said go. The audience outranks the numbers.

Treat those two complaints the same way and you will kill your best work and keep running your worst.

Brands spend years and millions asking people to trust them. Then one stranger raises his voice and the brand drops its own work like a hot casserole. The audience notices. If you will not stand behind your ad for 24 hours, why would anyone stand behind your brand for 24 years?

The painting, for the record, is still in the Louvre. Still naked. Still up.