17420: FYI FQ Beach BS.

Adweek reported The Female Quotient will expand its presence at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, adding FQ Beach and Camp to the regular FQ Lounge setup.

 

Despite the anti-DEIBA+ vibe in Adland, it appears White women groups are not as adversely affected—in terms of indifference, disinterest, and disrespect—as racial and ethnic groups at Cannes.

 

Plus, White women at Cannes probably face waaaaay fewer perverted predatory perils than women of color. Or maybe not.

 

Expect extra Safe Zone precautions at FQ Beach and Camp.

 

Maybe they should change the name to FQ Beach and Bunker.

 

The Female Quotient Adds Beach Presence at Cannes Lions 

 

A larger beachside venue at Hôtel Martinez will host the organization’s content, while the penthouse shifts to private gatherings

 

By Richard Lowe

 

The Female Quotient is heading to the beach for Cannes Lions 2026.

 

The media and advisory company announced the launch of FQ Beach and Camp on Wednesday (March 25), an expansion of its FQ Lounge set-up on the rooftop of the Hôtel Martinez. 

 

The space, situated on the Croisette across from Hôtel Martinez, will host an outdoor stage with daily programming, brand activations, and gatherings that forward The FQ’s mission.

 

Meanwhile, the rooftop space will host private gatherings with industry leaders alongside a dedicated content studio for social-first storytelling.

 

“For over ten years, the FQ Lounge at Cannes Lions has been the destination for the conversations and connections that move business forward,” said Shelley Zalis, founder and CEO of The Female Quotient, in a statement. “Expanding to the beach allows us to build on that foundation, creating more space, more access, and more opportunity for our growing community to show up and have the conversations that drive what’s next.”

 

A growing community

 

Founded in 2015 by Zalis, The FQ has grown to a worldwide community of 7 million members across 30 industries in 100 countries. The company hosts events across the globe, including an AI summit, that draw over 50,000 attendees annually.

 

At Cannes Lions, FQ Beach is a natural expansion for the company. For more than ten years, the FQ Lounge has hosted business leaders on the penthouse rooftop of the Hôtel Martinez. This year, that content will move to the larger stage at FQ Beach.

 

“[FQ’s] expansion allows us to scale that experience, creating more opportunities for the connection, visibility, and storytelling that our community of leaders has come to expect from The FQ,” said Talia Bender Small, President of The Female Quotient, in a statement.

 

The FQ’s growth comes at a time when McKinsey & Company released their Women in the Workplace report that shows women receive less career support and fewer advancement opportunities in the workplace.

 

Cannes for kids

 

The FQ also announced Camp @ Cannes, in association with home improvement retailer Lowe’s, to provide programming for children with supervision from credentialed childcare providers. 

 

“You can do it all, but not all at once, and definitely not alone,” Zalis said in a statement. “Camp @ Cannes is an experience that reflects real life, where work and family can coexist, and therefore more leaders can participate.”

 

Camp @ Cannes was inspired by Lowe’s revamp of MyLowe’s Rewards Kids Club, which inspires families to go on adventures together as they learn how to build via hands-on workshops and experiences. In-store workshops include building terrariums and garden baskets, while the club also offers projects that kids can do at home.

 

This partnership comes after Lowe’s rolled back DEI policies, but vowed to be a bigger part of its local communities by rebuilding parks, gardens, and even food pantries through a five-year, $100 million program.

 

“At Lowe’s, we’re always innovating to create new ways to connect with younger audiences and the next generation of homeowners,” said Jen Wilson, Lowe’s senior vice president and chief marketing officer, in a statement. “Bringing that spirit to Camp @ Cannes allows us to support today’s leaders in a more holistic way, by creating space for their families, too, and showing that building a career and building memories don’t have to be separate pursuits.”

17419: Sorrell Subscribes To Payment Scheme.

 

Digiday reported S4 Capital CEO Sir Martin Sorrell is seeking to move clients from billable hours to subscriptions.

 

In recent years, White holding companies and White advertising agencies have been generating the most creative work in accounting departments, finding innovative ways to cook the books.

 

So, it’s no surprise Sorrell—who has always been a financial schemer—would pioneer in payment ploys.

 

Being a pioneer, however, has not yet made Sorrell a profiteer. He might soon concede to work for peanuts.

 

“It’s about change management”: Sir Martin Sorrell says the billable hour is dying, but getting clients to move in is proving harder

 

By Seb Joseph

 

Yes, outcome-based pay is en vogue. But none of it matters if agencies aren’t using AI at the scale the economics require. And that only happens if clients are willing to pay for it. Most aren’t.

 

S4 Capital CEO Sir Martin Sorrell said as much on his marketing group’s latest earnings call yesterday — a cold dose of realism about the hype that comes after the billable hour. For S4, the answer is subscriptions: fixed annual fees bundling senior talent with agentic workflows, brand-specific knowledge bases and quarterly software-style upgrades. 

 

Sceptics call it the agency retainer rebranded. Believers see it as an on-ramp to a world beyond the billable hour. The truth is probably somewhere in between — at least for now. The reasons are outlined [elsewhere], but Sorrell’s own framing cuts to it. 

“The far more important thing is, what is going to be the pace of AI adoption?,” he told analysts on the call. “Because the simple fact is, consumers have adopted AI faster than companies, and companies aren’t doing it because it’s not just about technology or workflow — it’s about change management. And companies find it difficult to do that.”

 

The ones that do are buying into subscriptions. One enterprise client signed up last year and restructured its entire agency relationship around the model. Three more are in discussions with more expected to follow since subscriptions are now baked into every new business pitch S4 runs. By year-end, it wants a quarter of its revenue running that way.

 

Getting there is another matter. For subscriptions to work at scale, a lot has to align: existing clients have to be willing to reopen contracts; procurement teams have to get comfortable pricing outputs rather than hours; rising inference costs have to stay absorbable within a fixed fee; and the pace of AI adoption across the broader market has to quicken. None of those things are moving as fast as S4 would like.

 

“I don’t think anybody in marketing procurement teams is against a change,” said Wes ter Haar, co-founder of Media.Monks and executive director at S4Capital on the call. “Everybody understands that the traditional model really isn’t sustainable in any meaningful way, but doing this at scale in a running business is not the easiest thing to do.”

 

There are, however, pockets of momentum. Chiefly, in automotive and financial services — sectors pushed by existential threat rather than enthusiasm. Chinese EV competition in one case, fintech disruption in the other. FMCG, arguably the most valuable category for marketing groups, is starting to stir too. And counterintuitively, the conflict in the Middle East could accelerate things further: if its reverberations push inflation higher and keep rates elevated, that macro pressure may yet do what enthusiasm alone hasn’t: force the kind of AI adoption at scale that makes the new model viable.

 

“It may be that that acts as a catalyst,” Sorrell said on the call. “If global growth slows, inflation rises and interest rates are stickier — which seems to be the scenario already being built in by some of the analysts and the investment banking firms — that might be the engine for increased tech adoption and AI adoption.”

 

Should that happen, it might finally give the agency model’s critics pause. So far, nothing has — not the workforce automation, the M&A, nor the push into agentic services.

 

Or as as Gartner vp analyst Jay Wilson, put it: “More advanced client-side organizations are starting to pivot to enterprise-wide platforms from the hyperscalers — and the agency AI platforms, which are basically just connectors of Salesforce and Adobe and Workfront, we don’t believe are going to be as relevant going forward.”

 

Which is why the subscription model’s internal economics matter as much as its commercial logic. The pitch to clients is simple: as AI improves, they get more for the same price. Fifty assets a month becomes seventy, no fee increase. But that only works if S4 can keep absorbing rising compute costs inside the fixed fee. With video models and always-on usage expanding fast, pass-through costs may eventually be unavoidable. That would mean variable pricing — the one thing procurement teams are least equipped to sign off on.

 

“On personalization at scale, I would say there’s more opportunity,” said Sorrell. “But on visualization and copywriting, we’re seeing compression — if you charge on time, that is compressed.”

 

As it stands, it’s the latter two where most AI work done at scale is happening. CMOs, despite what they say, see AI more as an efficiency play than an effectiveness one — technology to get things done faster and cheaper, not necessarily better. AI only compounds for a marketing services company like S4 if it can do all three. Without the effectiveness part — the bit where real outcomes can be pegged to results — the agency model becomes an even slipperier slope to commoditization.

 

How S4 got to this point is a sobering illustration. The group reported revenue of £754.8m for 2025, down 11% on a year earlier, with net revenue falling 10.8% to £673m. Nearly half that revenue historically came from big tech — but marketing spend at Amazon, Meta and Alphabet has been essentially flat since 2022, while their AI infrastructure spending has grown over 133%.

 

Tech clients spending more on AI and less on agencies: that’s the burning platform behind S4’s model shift, and the reason subscriptions are no longer just a commercial experiment.

17418: On The New Dentsu Mantra.

MediaPost reported newly appointed Dentsu Global CEO Takeshi Sano declared, “Client-centricity is our new mantra.”

 

WTF was the old mantra? Egocentricity is our mantra…? Eccentricity is our mantra…?

 

Dentsu’s Sano: ‘Client-Centricity Is Our New Mantra’

 

By Steve McClellan

 

Over the past year, Tokyo-based ad group Dentsu had seriously considered selling its international holdings, given its inability to drive significant growth outside of its home market for several years. 

 

But after months of discussions with potential suitors, no deals emerged.  

 

And according to newly installed Global CEO Takeshi Sano, a top priority now is to get the foreign operations back on track “aiming for an early recovery of competitiveness and profitability.” 

 

Sano issued his statement today, his first day on job after being appointed to the global CEO post in February. He retains his responsibilities as CEO of Dentsu Japan. 

 

With the renewed focus on shoring up international operations, Sano also asserted that the Japan business would continue to grow “while expanding its strengths more broadly across the global organization.” 

 

He said the company has reduced layers of management and has placed “much of our global leadership directly under the Global CEO. This allows us to gain greater clarity and faster responsiveness to the pace of business and our industry.” 

 

“Client-centricity is our new mantra,” Sano stated. 

 

“In particular, we will further advance two key strengths. First is agility—anticipating client needs and leading with speed and flexibility. Second is deep and advanced collaboration across capabilities—bringing together and orchestrating Dentsu’s diverse expertise to ensure true integration is a differentiating multiplier and delivering fully integrated solutions.” 

 

Driving transformation across its businesses and culture is part of the strategy, Sano added. “In turn this will strengthen our global network in which diverse Dentsu talent can thrive across borders and areas of expertise.” 

 

In 2025, Japan was the company’s only growth market, posting a full-year gain of 6.2%. All other regions were down including the Americas, which posted a 6.2% organic revenue decline for the year.   

 

When it posted full-year results for last year in February, the company said the outlook for 2026 was flat to 1% growth. That includes a forecasted gain of 2% to 3% for the home market, a 2% decline in the Americas and 1% decline in both Europe-Middle East-Africa and Asia Pacific.

17417: Martin = Unretired + Retired + Tired.

 

Advertising Age reported Kristen Cavallo unretired to retake the CEO role at Martin, succeeding her successor—Danny Robinson—who’s retiring and undertaking an art residency at La Maison de Beaumont in France.

 

That’s quite a dizzying game of retirement musical chairs.

 

Although given the current anti-DEIBA+ vibe in Adland, Cavallo won’t have to repeat her performative puffery: “We’re not diverse enough. We see it. We’re on it.”

 

Wonder if Joe Alexander was considered as a retiree-returnship candidate.

 

Kristen Cavallo returns as CEO of Martin; Danny Robinson to retire

 

By Brian Bonilla

 

In a surprise move, Kristen Cavallo is returning to Martin, recently rebranded from Martin Agency, as CEO.

 

She will succeed Danny Robinson in April. Robinson was appointed by Cavallo in 2024 before she retired from the ad industry. Robinson is retiring to undertake an art residency at La Maison de Beaumont in France.

 

Cavallo, who previously spent 20 years at Martin, had been working as the executive director at the Branch Museum of Design. She admitted she “wasn’t pining to get back in the ad industry,” but she said the decision to return was less about career ambition and more about commitment to the agency, its people and the broader creative ecosystem. Robinson framed Cavallo’s decision to return as both strategic and deeply personal. “It felt like a very selfless act,” he said. “She knew how passionate I am about this next thing … and she said yes with very little hesitation.”

 

“If Martin ever needs something … the answer is yes. There is no other answer, but yes,” said Cavallo.

 

The move comes at a pivotal time for the agency, which has had a mixed few years as it seeks to find its stride under a new holding company following Omnicom’s acquisition of IPG.

 

Last year, the agency lost Papa Johns and CarMax, and its Oreo and Ritz accounts are currently in review. The agency last year laid off roughly 5% of its staff and just this week it laid off another 7% of its employees, the agency confirmed.

 

“While decisions like these can be part of the natural cycle of the business and are not a reflection of individual value, losing colleagues is never procedural—it’s personal, and that’s what makes moments like this so difficult,” Robinson wrote in a statement regarding the layoffs.

 

While Robinson downplayed the idea of a sustained downturn, he acknowledged the volatility. “We lost some business last year,” Robinson said, framing it as part of the normal cycle of agency life rather than a structural issue.

 

“I don’t know that I can say any year in the history of any ad agency, somebody hadn’t lost business ... but momentum is fickle,” Robinson said. “I wouldn’t say we lost momentum. In fact, I would point to us coming out of the acquisition as a whole as Martin, a significant nod to our momentum.”

 

Robinson pointed to some recent key wins, including Hershey and Stihl. Last week, Geico’s new chief marketing officer also reaffirmed that the insurer won’t be making any agency changes, which was a question last year. “The pipeline is more full than it’s been, maybe ever at any single time,” Robinson said.

 

The agency also faced internal scrutiny last year when an open letter posted on Fishbowl criticized leadership following layoffs. Robinson said his initial reaction was emotional—“the first is hurt, because it hurts,” he said—but he ultimately viewed it as a sign that employees care deeply about the agency. Rather than dismiss it, he said leadership worked to understand the underlying concerns, asking, “What are the people asking for?”

 

Cavallo said her first 90 days will be focused less on immediate structural changes and more on listening to both employees and clients. “I’m excited to get back in and listen … to clients as well … about what we need to do, where we need to go, what we need to build,” she said, noting that she plans to prioritize business development, morale and recruiting as she re-acclimates to the agency.

 

The leadership shift was the result of an unexpected opportunity, said Robinson. “This wasn’t a planned thing,” he said. “This was an opportunity that happened because I got an opportunity.”

 

Robinson, who has spent more than four decades in advertising—including 22 years at Martin—said the decision was driven by his lifelong passion for painting. He said that he hadn’t been prepared to be accepted for the French residency as quickly as he was.

 

That led to conversations with Omnicom leadership and ultimately Cavallo, who Robinson described as a “long shot” but “the best option at this very time.”

 

She also said her return comes at an opportune time. “I feel like the ... last few years, consolidations aside, just this idea of giving away creative for free or at really low margins ... the pendulum is absolutely switching back towards craft and creativity.”

 

Her return to advertising comes after a period of personal and professional exploration that began with a pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago—a journey that ultimately reshaped how she thought about her next chapter.

 

Before setting out, she briefly considered a move into politics, even attending the Democratic National Convention on her own. “The night before I had gone to walk the Camino [ a multi-week long route in Spain], I had gone on my own dime to the DNC to see what that moment was like,” she said, describing an environment filled with “solidarity” and “excitement” and noting that “civic duty is important to me.”

 

But the clarity she was searching for didn’t come from Washington—it came on the road. “I knew within a week or two of walking that I did not want that as a vocation,” Cavallo said.

 

Cavallo is staying on at the Branch Museum in a lesser role as artistic director, but has aspirations to revisit the museum space in the future. “I found my next chapter, even if I delay it for a bit or just keep my toe in the water,” she said. “I found it. I am not going to let go of it, because it has fed my soul in ways I did not anticipate.”

 

So don’t expect Cavallo to use this as a stepping stone to another agency gig; she called her second return to Martin her “final chapter” in advertising.

17416: ICYMI US Army RFI BS.

 

Advertising Age reported the US Army launched an RFI, moving in advance of an official account review process projected to start in spring 2027.

 

Given the anti-DEIBA+ positions of the White House and White advertising agencies, will multicrumbtual shops be denied the opportunity to participate and experience Prime Redlining?

 

US Army launches RFI for its $4 billion account, which is currently with Omnicom

 

By Brian Bonilla

 

The U.S. Army has begun laying the groundwork for a review of its multibillion-dollar marketing and advertising business, signaling a potential shake-up for one of the industry’s largest government accounts.

 

The government launched a “sources sought” and RFI on March 12, which is the first step leading up to an official review process slated to begin in late spring 2027.

 

The account was originally with DDB Chicago since 2018, before the agency was folded into TBWA after Omnicom’s acquisition of IPG.

 

The current contract is valued at up to $4 billion, which would seem to make the Army one of the agency’s largest accounts. The current contract is worth about $40 million annually in agency revenue for Omnicom, according to a person familiar with the contract, which is similar to what was reported when DDB initially won the business.

 

DDB’s contract included a five-year base period and “two award-term option periods,” for a total potential 10-year ordering period. It’s not known whether Omnicom is planning to defend the account. The contract is expected to conclude in 2028.

 

TBWA and the U.S. Army weren’t immediately available for comment.

 

The winning agency or agencies will be tasked with driving enlistment and retention across a broad set of audiences at a time when military recruitment has faced sustained challenges.

 

However, there have been recent signs of a turnaround. In January 2025, the U.S. Army had its best recruiting numbers in 15 years, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated last year. After missing its recruitment goals in 2022 and 2023 by 15,000 troops a year, the government entity revised downward its goals and has since reached or exceeded them. In 2025, the U.S. Army surpassed its 60,000 recruit target by more than 1,000 recruits.

 

The RFI details wanting help to target high school and college students, working professionals under 35, specialized talent such as medical and legal professionals, as well as “influencers” such as parents, family members, high school counselors and coaches. It also includes a need for messaging aimed at veterans and recruits to fill civilian workforce positions.

 

The RFI implies that the U.S. Army is open to a one-agency solution or multiple agency partners, which is significant, according to Mike Kapetanovic, a business development consultant at GrowthLab, that is focused on supporting advertising and marketing agencies that work in the public sector.

 

Kapetanovic said there have been growing conversations around government entities pushing for a multiple-agency approach, which could be beneficial for mid-size and independent agencies and less so for holding companies such as Omnicom.

 

“Just the notion that the Army has gone on public record through this RFI exercise, it is contemplating a decentralization of this contract, has massive implications for both the incumbent as well as the future competitive set,” he said. “[If that’s done] there’s a very good chance that that $4 billion contract quickly becomes $50 million to $1 billion contracts in which Omnicom will not retain all of it. Right there, Omnicom gets an immediate hit.”

 

The selected partner or partners will be expected to handle a full suite of services, including creative development, media planning and buying, production, CRM, digital and website management, public relations, events, sponsorships and advanced analytics.

 

The value in winning a contract like this is not only its massive size, but its stability in an increasingly project-based and roster-first industry.

 

MullenLowe, which has been folded into TBWA as well, continues to do work for the government’s Joint Advertising, Market Research & Studies program (JAMRS), which is focused on recruiting volunteers for all branches of the military. MullenLowe retained the account in 2023 and launched a campaign last year called “You Have a Calling, We have an Answer.”

 

In 2024, WPP retained its Marine Corps account, which was previously with Wunderman Thompson before it was merged into VML.

 

Contributing: Ewan Larkin

17415: BTW Bolloré, Bribes, Brothers, BS.

 

MediaPost reported Vincent Bolloré will finally stand trial on political corruption charges related to allegedly bribing politicians in Africa over 15 years ago.

 

Bolloré is accused of delivering discounted services via Havas to two presidential contenders in Togo and Guinea—helping them win elections—in exchange for shipping port contracts.

 

Oddly enough, the scenario could represent a rare and unique DEIBA+ initiative for the White holding company.

 

No word yet if Bolloré will appoint one of his sons to make court appearances in his place.

 

Vincent Bolloré To Stand Trial On Political Corruption Charges

 

By Steve McClellan

 

Bolloré Group controlling shareholder Vincent Bolloré will stand trial on corruption charges related to election campaigns in Togo and Guinea from 2009 to 2011, according to Reuters which cited a statement from the French financial prosecutor’s office on Thursday.

 

Bolloré was formally arrested in 2018 when authorities were looking into allegations that Bolloré provided discounted communications services via Havas to two African country presidential contenders (both won) in exchange for contracts to run shipping port concessions.

 

While Vincent Bolloré stepped down as Chairman and CEO at Bolloré Group in 2022, he is said to remain a major influence at the firm through his control of an entity called Financière de l’Odet, the largest shareholder of the group.

 

His son Cyrille succeeded him as Chairman and CEO at Bolloré Group. Entertainment firm Vivendi and ad holding company Havas, which Bolloré Group has controlling stakes in, are both headed by another son, Yannick Bolloré.

 

Reuters reported that two other persons are co-defendants in the case, including Gilles Alix, a former board member of Vivendi, and Jean-Philippe Dorent, who is currently head of Havas International Consulting, which provides reputation management and related services.

 

The trial is scheduled to start in December, according to reports.

 

Representatives from Havas and Bolloré had not responded to requests for comment by deadline.

17414: Discerning The True Lesson On Culture From This Year’s Oscars.

Advertising Age published a perspective titled, “What marketers can learn about culture from this year’s Oscars.”

 

The author opined, “The most compelling moments [at the Academy Awards] all came from collision—across cultures, art forms, generations, and ways of seeing the world.”

 

Can’t help but think the op-ed presented an optimistic notion bordering on pollyannaish delusion.

 

For starters, marketers—and their partnering White advertising agencies—were likely more interested in the commercials that aired during the 98th Academy Awards versus the actual Oscar victories.

 

The advertisements did not represent a collision across cultures; but rather, a domination of White culture—from content to creators.

 

In short, what everyone can learn about Adland’s culture from this year’s Oscars—based on viewing commercials that aired during the broadcast—is the industry runs on privilege, exclusivity, and cultural cluelessness.

 

Adland deserves an Oscar for outstanding performance of systemic racism.

 

What marketers can learn about culture from this year’s Oscars

 

By Aaron Walton

 

If you watched closely, a pattern kept showing up at this year’s Oscars. The most compelling moments all came from collision—across cultures, art forms, generations, and ways of seeing the world.

 

And that matters, because we’re living in a moment that rewards division. Social feeds sort us. Algorithms separate us. Even storytelling is often reduced to sides. But the work that breaks through doesn’t avoid difference. It brings it together.

 

One of the most talked-about films of the night, “Sinners,” takes this idea to new heights. The film brings together creative perspectives that don’t typically sit in the same room—a Swedish composer scoring a deeply American story, a Filipina-Black cinematographer shaping its visual language, and a narrative that draws echoes between Irish and Black histories, to name a few.

 

The Best Original Song category told a similar story. “Golden,” from “KPop Demon Hunters,” became the first K-pop song to win an Oscar. K-pop is, by design, a hybrid—Korean music shaped by hip-hop, R&B, electronic production and global internet culture. It was built for audiences who don’t live inside a single cultural lane.

 

On its best day, Hollywood isn’t just exporting culture anymore. It’s collaborating with it.

Another striking moment came with the presence of legendary artists Misty Copeland and Buddy Guy. At first glance, ballet and Chicago blues don’t exactly share a playlist. One comes from centuries-old European tradition. The other from African American musical innovation rooted in lived experience. And yet, there they were—part of the same cultural moment.

 

At the request of filmmaker Ryan Coogler, Copeland wore a Firebird costume created by Geoffrey Holder, on loan from the Dance Theatre of Harlem’s landmark 1982 production. Embedded in the design was a Sankofa symbol, a West African concept meaning “go back and get it,” a way of saying: draw from the past to move forward.

 

It’s hard to imagine a more precise metaphor for what was happening across the night. Film borrowing from dance. Music shaping narrative. History informing the present. That’s what cultural collision looks like at its best. Intentional. Layered. Forward-moving.

 

And let’s not underestimate the recognition of Amy Madigan. In an industry that often equates relevance with youth, her win felt like an awakening. Because experience brings something different to storytelling. Some things that can’t be rushed.

 

And yet, age remains one of the least talked-about dimensions of inclusion. Brands chase what’s next and often overlook what endures. Longevity isn’t the opposite of innovation. It’s often what makes it possible. Persistence and resilience don’t describe anything that happens overnight.

 

This year also introduced Casting as a new Oscar category. It’s also easy to overlook, but I agree with those who say it’s one of the most important additions in years. Because casting is where culture ignites the story.

 

Who gets placed at the center determines who gets seen, who gets heard, and who feels invited in. Great casting is about more than identifying great talent. It’s about cultural insight, understanding nuance, recognizing authenticity, and seeing what a story can become when the right person steps into it.

 

In many ways, casting is strategy. It shapes the story before the first scene is ever shot.

 

Even the tone of the Oscar ceremony reflected collision. Conan O’Brien approached the night with satire as he tested the audience’s appetite for political humor, and acknowledged tension without losing the room. Jimmy Kimmel, in contrast, took a more direct route, leaning into political commentary.

 

Both approaches worked. And together, they pointed to something brands are still figuring out. Do you meet people where they are, or do you push them somewhere new? There’s no single answer. But taking a position, however you do it, is part of staying relevant.

 

The Oscars are easy to dismiss as entertainment. But they’re also a real-time read on what resonates. And this year, the signal was clear.

 

The work that breaks through doesn’t come from a single perspective. It comes from intersection, which requires different voices in the same room, different histories in the same story, and people who don’t see the world the same way—and aren’t supposed to.

 

Because that’s where something new happens. For years, the conversation around diversity has focused on fairness. And we shouldn’t forget how much that matters. But we also need to focus on something more active.

 

Not just inclusion. Integration.

 

Not just representation. Collaboration.

 

Because division may be louder. But collision is more powerful.

 

Division narrows the story. Collision expands it.

 

And the most interesting work right now, the work that moves people, is doing something even more ambitious. It’s reaching back. Pulling forward. Holding multiple influences at once. Not smoothing them out but letting them shape something new.

 

Because if this year’s Oscars showed us anything, it’s that the future doesn’t come from choosing sides. It comes from what we’re willing to bring together.

 

Aaron Walton is CEO at Walton Isaacson

17413: IBM Dumps BM On WPP.

 

Campaign reported Ogilvy is no longer the White advertising agency of record for IBM, ending a 32-year alliance.

 

That surely adversely affects WPP CEO Cindy Rose’s chances of collecting the full $19.1 million payout spotlighted in a previous post.

 

Looks like Rose couldn’t leverage any relationship connections from the IBM and Microsoft partnership.

 

It’s not a good sign for the White holding company—er, White single operating company—aspiring to be a trusted growth partner for clients in the era of AI.

 

IBM and Ogilvy end 32-year creative partnership

 

The WPP-owned agency has been the technology brand’s creative AOR since 1994.

 

By Luz Corona

 

Campaign has learned that WPP’s Ogilvy is no longer IBM’s creative agency of record after 32 years of partnership.

 

The partnership began in 1994 following IBM’s decision to consolidate its US $500 million advertising account with Ogilvy. Past campaigns include Solutions for a Small Planet, E-Business, Smarter Planet, Watson, Think and Let’s Create. IBM’s Smart Ideas for Smarter Cities campaign, created by Ogilvy France, won the Outdoor Grand Prix in 2013 at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. IBM also became the first B2B brand to be inducted as the corporate honoree into the Advertising Hall of Fame in 2022. The brand and agency commemorated the 30-year milestone in August 2024 with a celebration at the agency’s global headquarters at 3 World Trade Center.

 

“Ogilvy has made the decision not to participate in the upcoming creative RFP for IBM. We are immensely proud of our 32-year partnership, a tenure nearly unrivaled in this industry,” an Ogilvy spokesperson told Campaign in a statement. “Together, we have built one of the world’s most iconic brands through campaigns that defined eras of technological progress. While we have chosen not to move forward in this process, we celebrate our shared history and wish the IBM team continued success.”

 

According to a source with knowledge of the relationship, this was a business decision made because of longstanding balance-of-trade friction between WPP and IBM, rather than a reflection of the creative partnership. IBM previously held a media account review in December 2025. Incumbent WPP Media decided not to participate in the review.

 

The news follows WPP CEO Cindy Rose’s recent announcement to divide the holding company into four operating units — WPP Media, WPP Creative, WPP Production and WPP Enterprise Solutions. They will be led across four regions: North America, Latin America, EMEA and APAC. “We don’t want to be a holding company anymore,” Rose told Campaign in an interview after announcing the new three-year strategy, “Elevate28,” in a bid to stem its worsening revenue decline.

 

Campaign has reached out to IBM for comment.