17573: Gilead US Media Goes To France-Based Conglomerate…?

 

Advertising Age reported Gilead Sciences awarded its US media account to White holding company Publicis Groupe following a review that featured incumbent White holding company Omnicom—which had acquired the business along with now erased White holding company IPG.

The Big Pharma deal should include disclaimers about serious side effects—as dedicated-yet-dispensable drones at multiple White holding companies, White advertising agencies, and White media firms likely lost their livelihoods.

Publicis wins Gilead Sciences US media account

By Brian Bonilla

Pharma giant Gilead Sciences has awarded Publicis its U.S. media account following a review that began earlier this year, according to multiple people close to the situation. The account had been with Interpublic Group of Cos. before Omnicom acquired the holding company.

Publicis and Omnicom declined to comment.

“We regularly review and evolve our external agency partnerships as part of our regular business practices,” a Gilead spokesperson wrote in a statement to Ad Age.

Gilead’s worldwide advertising and promotional costs totaled $1 billion in 2025, up from $869 million in 2024 and $826 million in 2023, according to its most recent annual filing. The company does not break out U.S. spending. Gilead’s U.S. media spending increased to $344 million in 2025 from $285 million in 2024, according to COMvergence.

Gilead Sciences’ second-quarter revenue rose 10% to $7.8 billion, the company reported earlier this month, driven largely by continued growth in its HIV portfolio. One of its fastest-growing products is its twice-yearly HIV-prevention injection called Yeztugo. Launched last year, its sales grew 40% in the second quarter versus the first quarter; Gilead expects the drug to reach $1 billion in full-year sales by the end of 2026.

The Gilead Sciences win concludes one of several large pharmaceutical media reviews undertaken this year. Novo Nordisk recently appointed Omnicom to its U.S. media business, while Bristol Myers Squibb is still in review.