Advertising Age reported that WPP is mixing up a mega-merger, combining VMLY&R with Wunderman Thompson to create VML. The name change is reminiscent of the former DraftFCB, which also chose to lead with the masthead of its shittiest mergee.
The new White advertising agency network will employ over 30,000 people in 64 markets—and the freshly appointed global CEO declared there are no plans for layoffs stemming from the merger. That statement would constitute a White lie—ie, blatant bullshit—by Adland standards. After all, it’s highly likely that an enterprise boasting “deep expertise in data” has already drafted spreadsheets plotting the probable corporate casualties.
The move extends WPP’s commoditization of the industry, whereby agencies, services, and people are rendered generic, interchangeable, and disposable.
For now, VML stands for Vomit Mediocre Lunacy.
WPP Merges VMLY&R With Wunderman Thompson To Form VML
The agency network will have over 30,000 employees
By Brian Bonilla and Judann Pollack
WPP is merging two of its largest creative networks into one. VMLY&R is merging with Wunderman Thompson to form a new entity called VML. The new agency network will now have over 30,000 employees in 64 markets.
VML will be led by Jon Cook as global CEO and Mel Edwards as global president. Cook previously served as CEO of VMLY&R and Edwards was global CEO of Wunderman Thompson.
Cook told Ad Age that the combination of the two agencies will create a stronger offering in commerce, loyalty and technology with creativity at the forefront to better compete with consultancies and other agencies. He said the merger made sense given that the shops share 80% of their respective clients, including Ford, Microsoft, Dell, Colgate-Palmolive, Nestlé and Coca-Cola Co.
Some other key clients for Wunderman Thompson include Shell, Unilever, the U.S. Marine Corps and Lenovo. Also among VMLY&R’s major clients are Wendy’s and the U.S. Navy.
There are no plans for layoffs as a result of the merger, Cook said, but that the new entity will be “doubling down” in some areas and “doing less” in some areas.
Debbi Vandeven, previously the global chief creative officer of VMLY&R, will take on the role of global chief creative officer of VML. VMLY&R’s Global President, Eric Campbell will now serve as global chief client officer of VML.
Juan Pablo Jurado, formerly the Latin America CEO of Wunderman Thompson, will become Latin America CEO of VML; Ewen Sturgeon, previously CEO of Europe, the Middle East and Africa for Wunderman Thompson, will become the EMEA CEO of VML. Yi-Chung Tay, who is the Asia CEO for VMLY&R, and Wunderman Thompson’s Asia Pacific CEO Audrey Kuah will serve as co-CEOS of VML’s Asia Pacific region.
The new entity will be operational on Jan. 1, 2024.
The mergers of WPP agencies began five years ago as a push by the holding company to combine creative agencies with more digitally focused shops. In 2018, Young & Rubicam merged with VML to form VMLY&R. In the same year, J. Walter Thompson merged with digital agency Wunderman.
“Scale matters in today’s world as AI and technology transform marketing and global clients look to simplify their relationships,” WPP CEO Mark Read said in a statement. “VML will combine world-class creativity with deep expertise in data, marketing technology and platforms to deliver competitive advantage for ambitious brands. It’s another important step forward for WPP as we continue to reshape our offer for the future, simplify our business and unlock further benefits of scale.”
“We come to market as one,” said Cook. “It’s a simpler proposition for clients.”
VMLY&R was the smaller of the two networks, having roughly 13,000 employees while Wunderman Thompson has roughly 17,000 employees, according to Cook.
With the merger, two of the oldest and most historic ad agencies in the industry, Y&R and J. Walter Thompson, will effectively no longer have their names on the door of an ad firm.
Instead it is VML, a relative newcomer formed 30 years ago, that carries the name. Cook, who has been with the Kansas City, Missouri-born agency for 27 of those years, was named CEO of VML in 2010.
When asked why the VML name was chosen to lead the new entity, Cook said there was a responsibility to “carry a lot of the heritage and be respectful” of Wunderman Thompson, but it was also the chance “to be something new.” He called it “an open pathway to the future and the creative and technology heritage carried with it.”
Cook acknowledged that the VMLY&R acronym has long been the butt of jokes due to its mouthful of initials, and said, “We have a sense of humor, but can take only so many jokes. This is much easier to say.”
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