17563: On S4 Capital H1 P&L OMG WTF BS.

 

MediaPost spotlighted the S4 Capital H1 2026 report, indicating the White holding company continued to experience net revenue declines. Dramatic cost cutting, however, helped to ignite a profit boost.

Gee, Sir Martin Sorrell might earn the distinction of being unable to orchestrate a financial turnaround for the biggest White holding company (WPP) and his current peanut factory.

That’s quite a range of abject failure.

S4 Shares Soar 26% On First-Half Profit Boost

By Steve McClellan

Martin Sorrell-led S4 Capital continued to shrink in the first half of the year with declines in reported and organic net revenue while sharp cost cutting led to a profit boost. The firm also declared a dividend and reduced debt during the period. Shareholders applauded, giving S4 shares a 26% bump up in Wednesday trading after the release of the firm’s first-half results.  

Reported net revenue for the first half was 308 million GBP (approximately $415 million), down 6.2% with a 4.7% organic net revenue shortfall.  

S4 sited continuing macroeconomic uncertainty exacerbated by the Middle East conflict as part of the reason for the revenue falloff. Also, some clients spent less with the firm while boosting capital expenditures in artificial intelligence infrastructure. “Clients continue to be cautious leading to longer sales cycles,” S4 stated. 

But pre-tax profits were up 82.7% to a record 38 million GPB ($51 million). Cost reductions included back-office efficiencies and staff cuts. Total staff at the company was down 10.5% as of June 2026 versus a year ago to 6,150.  

The firm downgraded its organic revenue outlook for the full year, forecasting a decline in the mid-single digits versus the previous “slight dip” the company guided to at the end of the first quarter. But pre-tax profits should reach the analyst consensus of 85 million GBP ($115 million) with a profit margin increase of 1.4%.  

“We anticipate that clients will remain cautious in the near term reflecting heightened macroeconomic uncertainty, including the continuing conflict in the Middle East,” stated Sorrell. “While the macroeconomic environment remains uncertain, we see growing opportunities as clients become more selective about growth geographically and increasingly focused on implementing technologies such as AI, Blockchain and Quantum to drive efficiency.”  

The Americas, the firm’s largest region by revenue, was down slightly (0.8%), while Europe and Asia Pacific were both down double-digits.   

The company’s marketing services unit posted net revenues of 281.9 GBP ($380 million), down 4.4% organically while technology services totaled 26.1 million GBP ($35 million), down 7.4%.

17562: On The Highest Standards Of Hospitality In Adland.

 

The previous post featuring a perspective opining Adland could enhance its appeal to clients by embracing restaurant-style hospitality inspired additional commentary.

To execute the notion, White advertising agencies should emulate iconic, renowned hospitality leaders:

 

 

Aunt Jemima

      

Rastus

    

Uncle Ben

Annie the Chicken Queen

17561: Shifting Geer At VML & WPP.

   

Advertising Age reported VML North America Chief Creative Officer of Innovation Walter Geer III is shifting gear, leaving the White advertising agency and single White operating company after six years of service.

Geer claimed his resignation is not a result of the redundancies, restructurings, and RIFs at WPP.

Yet given VML boasts dynamic DEIBA+ dedication and WPP hypes alleged technological advantages, Geer’s exit is bad optics.

Walter Geer III exits VML after six years

By Brian Bonilla

Walter T. Geer III is leaving VML after six years at the agency, departing his role as chief creative officer of innovation for North America as he considers a next chapter spanning creativity, technology, culture and business.

Geer joined WPP’s VML in 2020 as executive creative director of experience design and later held senior leadership positions across health, consumer marketing, experience design and innovation. Most recently, he led a team of nearly 20 people spanning New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles and San Francisco, he said.

Geer said his decision to leave was not connected to WPP’s ongoing restructuring or recent layoffs and had been under consideration for some time. The move is effective immediately.

VML wasn’t immediately available for comment.

During his tenure, Geer worked with brands including Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Advil, Covered California, Progressive and Pfizer. Some of his most notable work at VML includes Advil’s “Believe My Pain,” which addressed racial disparities in how pain is recognized and treated and won a Gold Effie in 2025, as well as Covered California’s “For the Love of Californians” brand platform.

“I had an incredible six years at VML,” Geer said. “At the same time, I think I reached a point where I wanted to give myself the space to really kind of think bigger about what my next chapter could be.”

He said that he is not committed to a particular kind of company or role.

“I made the decision to leave because I wanted to be really thoughtful about what happens next … that could mean transforming an existing organization, creating a new model, absolutely joining an independent company or agency, working directly with a brand or building something entrepreneurial.”

Geer has been outspoken on industry issues either through social media or films such as Black Madison Ave, an open discussion among the few black creative leaders at the holding company level that was released in 2022. He is also a co-founder of Blackweek. VML will remain a strategic partner and primary sponsor of the conference moving forward, Geer confirmed.

Geer said the industry’s wave of holding company consolidation is understandable, describing it as “a necessary evil” as agencies look to combine resources and capabilities.

Discussing the broader agency market, Geer praised the scale, talent and client relationships that large networks offer; he argued the biggest opportunity lies in marrying those advantages with the speed and entrepreneurial mindset of independents.

“That combination could be incredibly powerful if organizations are truly willing and able to make that type of change,” he said.

Geer said that he plans to continue growing Blackweek while advising organizations and exploring opportunities across creativity, technology, entrepreneurship and business transformation.

“There is so much more to build, so much more to challenge and so much more impact to make,” he said. “I’m proud of what we accomplished at VML, grateful for the people who were part of that journey and genuinely excited about what comes next.”

17560: On Novo Nordisk US Media—From Rumor To Reality.

 

MediaPost confirmed rumors the trade publication spread yesterday, reporting Novo Nordisk awarded its US media account to Omnicom.

The news happened so quickly, MediaPost didn’t even bother changing the image depicted above of Novo Nordisk flags.

Expect single White operating company WPP—which had handled the media duties since 2020—to rose, er, raise a White flag.

Novo Nordisk Awards U.S. Media Account to Omnicom

By Steve McClellan

Pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk has awarded its U.S. media assignment to Omnicom following a review, the company has confirmed.  

The firm spends upwards of $600 million annually on media, according to agency research firm COMvergence. 

The firm previously worked with WPP on the account. WPP’s Wavemaker was awarded U.S. duties in 2020 after a review.  

There were rumors circulating earlier this week that NN had completed the review and that Omnicom came out on top. However, at the time a spokesman for the pharma company said that no award had been announced to the contenders. That was late Tuesday afternoon. 

But now the appointment is official. Here’s the company’s statement:  

“Novo Nordisk has selected Omnicom as our agency-of-record to manage media buying in the U.S. beginning in Q4 2026.  

“We look forward to working with the Omnicom team as we continue to scale consumer-focused strategies and connect with patients through emerging channels and technologies, helping bring even greater awareness of our medicines to people living with chronic conditions such as obesity and diabetes.”

Last month Novo Nordisk filed a lawsuit against rival pharma company Eli Lilly for allegedly false GLP-1 advertising. The two companies are fierce competitors in the GLP-1 weight loss drug category. NN founded the category with the launch of Wegovy and Lilly followed with Zepbound.

17559: Weighing In On Novo Nordisk Media Review.

 

Mediapsssst reported Big Pharma company Novo Nordisk is launching a review of its $600+ million media account. The US portion is currently being handled by WPP.

According to Mediapsssst, rumors indicate Omnicom has already won the business.

Novo Nordisk founded the lucrative GLP-1 category—so, WPP is gonna feel very sick if it loses another ton of revenue.

Novo Nordisk Reviewing Media Account

By Richard Whitman

Pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk is conducting a review of its media account, according to multiple sources.  

The firm spends upwards of $600 million annually on media, according to agency research firm COMvergence.  

The company’s last big media review was in 2020 when WPP’s Wavemaker was awarded the U.S. portion of the account where the company spends most of its ad budget.   

There were rumors circulating this week that NN had completed the review and that Omnicom came out on top. However, a spokesman for the pharma company said that no award had been announced to the contenders as of late Tuesday.   

“We received your note and wanted to confirm that Novo Nordisk has not communicated any decision related to an AOR,” the spokesman replied to an email query. 

The company has been in the news recently—for a lawsuit it filed earlier this month against rival pharma company Eli Lilly for allegedly false GLP-1 advertising. The two companies are fierce competitors in the GLP-1 weight loss drug category. NN founded the category with the launch of Wegovy and Lilly followed with Zepbound.

17558: Bye-Bye, AI…?

 

More About Advertising published an Op-Ed titled, “Why don’t we just forget about AI?”

Um, because most White holding companies and White advertising agencies would have nothing to hype if everyone forgot about AI, creating a chorus of crickets.

The acronym should be revised to pose this question: “Why don’t we just forget about Advertising Industry?”

Why don’t we just forget about AI?

By Stephen Foster

Later this week Cindy Rose, a former Microsoft executive, will doubtless tie herself in knots trying to explain how “agentic” deals with the likes of Google and Meta (would you join them for dinner without the benefit of a Roman-style taster?) will help realise WPP’s ‘Elevate28’ transformation.

WPP has certainly gone all-out for Artificial Intelligence, firstly under former boss Mark Read and now under Rose although it’s far from clear how it can help an agency group apart from cheaper production. Brandtech’s David Jones hit the nail squarely on the head the other week when he told the FT: “We like to believe that every person who creates is brilliant, but if you watch the basketball [on television] this week, most of the ads are terrible…95 per cent of people don’t produce much that’s creative or original. So why not do that with fast, efficient machines and let the geniuses handle the other 5 per cent?”

So why don’t agencies concentrate on the clients who do care about impactful communications (Adidas being a case in point as it bunged money into the World Cup only to frighten Wall Street’s algo-driven horses) and leave the AI wizards to squander billions on yet more ways to get bots to talk to bots? Even the IAB acknowledges that such ads gain only the most fleeting attention.

Agencies through their history have gone careering away after the latest fashion (AI now obviously but also influencers or creators as they like to be known) with no real evidence that it delivers better results than ads created by people and placed by people in media that people actually consume?

AI has become a vast circular industry where the chip makers fund the companies who buy their products. Sooner or later the musical chairs will stop and there’ll be a financial crash that makes 2008 look like a practice run. That’s if these fiendish AI inventions don’t keep escaping and bring the whole world crashing down anyway.

Agencies and sensible advertisers should steer clear.

17557: Glassdoor + Indeed = Fireworks + Firings.

 

Adland isn’t the only industry staging questionable M&A deals.

Better together: Glassdoor is part of Indeed…?

Glassdoor has been hyping its Glassdoor Recruiter services, designed to help job seekers by mimicking Indeed offerings.

Ironically, the acquisition will likely lead to redundancies, restructurings, and RIFs, resulting in Glassdoor and Indeed ex-employees needing Glassdoor and Indeed to find new livelihoods.