17523: On Life—And Lifetime Achievement—In Adland.

MediaPost spotlighted Susan Credle, who the trade publication identified as Interpublic Global Creative Advisor—despite IPG’s erasure after being acquired by Omnicom.

 

Oddly enough, Credle’s LinkedIn profile displays her present experience as Interpublic Global Creative Advisor and Omnicom Creative Advisor.

 

Perhaps Credle is a fractional Planetary Creative Advisor. Or maybe she’s also in limbo, waiting for Omnicom to sort through restructurings, redundancies, and RIFs resulting from the acquisition.

 

Credle came to Cannes to collect the Lion of St. Mark lifetime achievement award.

 

Yet now Credle admits being uncertain about her next work-life stage.

 

That’s life in Adland today.

 

Credle At Cannes: ‘Fast And Cheap’ Equals Ad Pollution

 

By Steve McClellan

 

Ad agency veteran and current Interpublic global creative advisor Susan Credle told a Cannes Lions audience Monday morning that while there’s been much talk lately that consumers care less about brands these days, maybe it’s the industry that needs to care more about them. 

 

Credle, this year’s recipient of the Lion of St. Mark lifetime achievement award, said, “We’re in a slightly weird place right now,” where all the focus on AI and technology has led the industry to focus a bit less on brand building.  

 

“Fast and cheap,” she said, amounts to so much “ad pollution.” Refocusing on brand building, she added, is perhaps the best way to regain consumer trust. 

 

On stage with Paul Kemp, Cannes Lions Chief Content Officer, Credle talked about her formative years and passion for cheerleading and acting in high school. She was declared “biggest flirt” during her high school years, which she interpreted as “enjoying being around people.” Cheerleading, she added, may have been her first copywriting job because it involved writing cheers promoting a team and urging them to win.  

 

In college she learned quickly that journalism—at least the stick-to-facts kind—wasn't a passion of hers. She was steered to the advertising department where she could focus on a blend of “creativity and outcomes.” 

 

In 1985 she headed to New York City “with a suitcase and a dream.” She landed an entry level job at BBDO (filling in for receptionists who were on bathroom breaks), and ended up staying for more than two decades. 

 

At BBDO she landed on the Mars account where she had the audacious idea of killing off the M&M characters because she believed they were boring. That idea didn’t fly and she (and her art director partner Steve Rutter) then proposed developing the characters into a comedic ensemble with distinct and funny personalities. The problem there—no budget to do that for TV, at least at first. Instead the characters were merchandised and their personalities began to blossom via quips on T shirts.  

 

The characters’ popularity took off, and they were developed and integrated into TV campaigns led by Credle and Rutter. At one point NBC wanted to have the characters introduce its Thursday night lineup. It was at that point, Credle realized that the characters had entered the cultural zeitgeist. “Hollywood came calling us,” she noted, not the other way around.  

 

Later this year Credle will be leaving Interpublic for a new chapter. For now, Credle said she’s not sure what’s next. Stay tuned.  

17510: Yum! Brands Says Yuck! To Pizza Hut.

 

Advertising Age reported Yum! Brands is slicing Pizza Hut from the corporate portfolio.

 

The sale scenario posed an opportunity for WPP, which could’ve acquired the restaurant chain and created a new unit—WPPizza—delivering pies to clients and White advertising agencies in the network.

 

Such an enterprise also could’ve offered employment possibilities for the thousands laid off by the single White operating company.

Pizza Hut is being sold for $2.7 billion

 

Yum Brands Inc. is selling its struggling Pizza Hut division for $2.7 billion, allowing the restaurant operator to focus on its better-performing KFC and Taco Bell chains.

 

Private equity firm LongRange Capital will acquire Pizza Hut excluding China for $1.5 billion, Yum stated Tuesday. Yum China Holdings Inc. will buy the rest of the business for $1.2 billion. The transactions are expected to close in the third quarter.

 

Yum’s shares rose as much as 3.6%. The stock had gained 2.2% this year through Monday’s close, trailing the S&P 500’s 10% advance.

 

Investors had been expecting Yum to offload Pizza Hut, which it has owned since the restaurant company spun off from PepsiCo Inc. in 1997. The sale should help Yum sharpen its focus, Bloomberg Intelligence’s Michael Halen said.

 

“This enables them to divert their resources, their people, their energy and their capital toward one very high-growth chain and one very solid-growth chain,” he said.

 

Bloomberg reported in May that LongRange had entered exclusive talks with Yum to buy Pizza Hut. The company said last year that it was conducting a strategic review after years of trying to revive stagnant sales at the chain known for its pan pizzas with thick, buttery crust.

 

Domino’s pressure

 

Domino’s has trumped Pizza Hut in areas including menu innovation, marketing, ordering technology and delivery infrastructure, said Neil Saunders, managing director at GlobalData. Pizza Hut also is a less popular option for casual diners who are eating in, as they look for larger menus and more contemporary environments, he said.

 

Pizza Hut’s U.S. business has underperformed peers in recent years, according to data from restaurant research firm Technomic Inc. The category got a lift as Americans ordered in during the pandemic, but sales have petered out since. Chains have launched a bevy of deals to boost traffic. Pizza Hut has struggled to compete.

 

“This is as promotional an environment as I’ve seen,” Halen said. At Pizza Hut, “the quality of the product wasn’t good, and the real estate here in the U.S. was a problem. You have these big stores and nobody is coming to your stores to sit down and eat.”

 

Pizza Hut’s share of Yum’s revenue has declined every year since 2019, shrinking to about 12% in 2025 from more than 18% six years earlier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. During that period, Pizza Hut’s revenue has hovered around $1 billion, while Yum’s revenue grew by about 47% to $8.2 billion last year.

 

The deal will leave Yum with KFC, its largest brand at $3.5 billion in annual sales, Taco Bell ($3 billion) and Habit Burger & Grill ($570 million).

 

“Pizza Hut has dragged on the otherwise solid results from the group,” Saunders said in his note. “In essence, the good numbers from KFC and Taco Bell have been clouded by the ongoing sales slides and profit slips at Pizza Hut.”

 

For Yum China, acquiring Pizza Hut in China will give it control of what it describes as the largest casual dining brand in the country, with segment revenue of $2.3 billion last year. It plans to boost locations to more than 6,000 by 2028 from roughly 4,400 at the end of March.

 

LongRange, based in Stamford, Connecticut, owns companies including 24 Hour Fitness.

17509: Reducing Redundancies At Omnicom Media US Operations.

MediaPost reported Omnicom Media has apparently worked through the C-suite restructurings, redundancies, and RIFs in US operations resulting from the Omnicom acquisition of IPG.

 

And the survivors-winners are—drumroll, please—White people!

 

Omnicom Media Reboots U.S. Management, Blends Former IPG Leadership

 

By Joe Mandese

 

Seven months after its acquisition of Interpublic, Omnicom this morning unveiled a reorganization of Omnicom Media’s U.S. operations, blending the senior talent of both organizations.

 

Former IPG Mediabrands exec Stacy DeRiso becomes general manager-U.S. of Omnicom Media, a new position created after she held the dual role of global brand president and U.S. CEO of Initiative.

 

Long-time Omnicom exec Susanne Grundmann becomes global brand president of Initiative, while former IPG Mediabrands’ Rob DiGiovanni becomes U.S. CEO of Initiative.

 

Grundmann previously served as CEO of the EMEA operations of Omnicom’s PHD unit and prior to that served as CEO of OMD Germany.

 

DiGiovanni steps into the U.S CEO role following four years as president-global business lead at Initiative, overseeing several of the agency’s biggest accounts.

17508: Sir Martin Sorrell Surveys His Failures.

Adweek interviewed Sir Martin Sorrell, who vomited vitriol in standard Sorrellian style.

 

The trade journal stated, “Sir Martin Sorrell has been an expert on M&A for almost half a century.”

 

Has he? It could be argued Sorrell’s expertise seriously eroded over the past decade at least.

 

His S4 Capital venture seems closer to breakdown than breakthrough.

 

Meanwhile, Sorrell’s notorious achievement—WPP—is a flaming dumpster. Indeed, the White holding company was death-spiraling toward a catastrophic crash landing long before Sir Peanut pulled the ripcord of his golden parachute.

 

Sir Martin Sorrell has been an expert…? At this point, he’s an expert has-been.

Sir Martin Sorrell Sees No Easy Exit for Holding Companies

 

Accenture should buy WPP and more insights from the S4 Capital executive chairman.

 

By Ryan Joe and Alison Weissbrot

 

Sir Martin Sorrell has been an expert on M&A for almost half a century. He founded WPP through reverse acquisition in 1985, and built it up into a towering ad giant that snapped up major agency brands like J. Walter Thompson, Ogilvy & Mather, and Young & Rubicam. 

 

Following an ignominious departure in 2018—WPP accused him of misusing company assets—Sorrell plotted a comeback, founding S4 Capital just weeks later. 

 

S4 built itself up through acquisition, notably production agency MediaMonks and performance agency MightyHive, positioning itself as a digital-first holdco. Lately, that thesis has been severely tested as many tech clients, where S4 has heavy exposure, pulled back on marketing spend to invest in AI. 

 

Revenue contracted, and shares fell about 38% over the course of last year, though its early 2026 results have indicated improvement. S4 currently views itself as being in a period of stabilizing its business before revisiting growth-by-acquisition. 

 

ADWEEK sat down with Sorrell to get his read on the market, who should buy whom, his competitors (whom he’s never been shy to criticize), and S4’s next steps.

 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. It was conducted before Publicis said it would buy LiveRamp, and Accenture said it would buy Whalar.

 

ADWEEK: The ad agency holdcos have gone from the biggest industry acquirers to acquisition targets. What’s the outlook?

 

SIR MARTIN SORRELL: There are very few, if any, exits. No activists have stepped in.

 

There are no takers. Most of the big deals would involve syndicates. One PE firm couldn’t write the check for WPP or Dentsu. Maybe Bain Capital could have done it on their own.

 

Besides Publicis, is any big holdco a buyer at this point?

 

Omnicom probably isn’t. Dentsu is not going to be in buying mode. Stagwell will try. The irony may be, this is the time to take the risk because valuations are so battered. But I don’t think people would take a risk.

 

If anyone was going to take a risk, who do you think it would be? 

 

Well, Havas. Maybe not of scale. But [Havas CEO Yannick] Bolloré always sends you in the wrong direction. Always. Keeps you guessing.

 

And I think Accenture. If I was [Accenture CEO] Julia [Sweet], I would go for WPP. With them, they could get significantly better. I think the media piece in their hands would be very valuable. But whether they’ve got the balls though… It would be messy. But you’ve got David Droga there.

 

Publicis has been on a successful run. Is it sustainable?

 

What Publicis does—everybody says it’s all proprietary trading, which is why I think The Trade Desk thing is dangerous territory for them, they’re going to turn the microscope on themselves—is they look at the client as a whole.

 

Omnicom and WPP are falling into the trap of the matrix being driven by capability. The reorganization of WPP and the reorganization of Omnicom is capability-first, client second, geography third. Publicis and, indeed, ourselves is geography first, client second, capability third.

 

What’s wrong with organizing around capability?

 

You have warring factions. If you do it by country, you have inter-country rivalry, inter-region rivalry, that’s true, but you get people to integrate what they do. Publicis got it right. Can they maintain it? Well, the industry wisdom is these things go in cycles. 

 

Actually, John Wren, if you look at Omnicom Advertising Group before they acquired IPG, had a better strategy. He was trying to push them together. Publicis didn’t nudge. They were quite forceful. And it was painful for them. They were more violent than probably I would have been. But directionally, it was the same thing.

 

What do the holdcos look like in three years?

 

I don’t know what [WPP CEO] Cindy [Rose] is going to do. She has huge balance sheet problems. But I would guess Omnicom will still be here. Publicis will still be here. Dentsu will be in a different form. Havas will be in a different form. WPP will be in a different form.

 

Let’s talk about S4. You guys had a tech winter. Where are you in all of this?

 

It’s tough. We rely on wholesale AI adoption. We really depend on more car verticals, more financial services verticals, more packaged goods. If we can get a little bit more traction, it will be fine. But we need more traction. And we’re not organized enough. Our integration has not been perfect by any means. Liquidity is much better.

 

What does that traction look like and how do you get it?

 

Traction looks like building relationships. If you look at our biggest relationships—Google, Amazon, T-Mobile, Disney, GM, Meta—there’s good stuff there, but the problem is that 45% of it is tech. And they’re all spending money on capex.

17504: Omnicom Renders Restructurings, Redundancies, And RIFs With Precision.

Mediapsssst reported Omnicom continues its radical restructuring since acquiring IPG.

 

The latest scheme involves the launch of Omnicom Precision Marketing, which includes folding White precision marketing agency RAPP into White digital experience agency Critical Mass.

 

It’s obvious, but Critical Mass + RAPP = CRAPP.

 

Omnicom Precision Marketing Folds Agency Rapp Into Critical Mass

 

By Richard Whitman

 

The new Omnicom continues to finetune its operations.  

 

The latest restructuring occurred within the company’s precision marketing division, led by Luke Taylor, where Rapp has been folded into Critical Mass.

 

Rapp is a precision marketing and consumer experience agency. And Critical Mass is a marketing agency with a focus on digital experience design. 

 

Combined the agencies have about 3,000 staff and over a dozen offices globally. 

 

Jeannine Falcone who has led Rapp as Global CEO since 2024 will be departing the company. Chris Gokiert remains Global CEO at Critical Mass. 

 

Omnicom issued statement:  

 

“The new Omnicom Precision Marketing is focused on strengthening Omnicom’s transformation consultancy and activation offerings. Credera will lead the transformation consultancy practice, with Critical Mass leading activation. 

 

Critical Mass, Omnicom’s premier digital experience and AI innovation agency, now leads the activation practice, retaining and maintaining the RAPP, MRM, and Targetbase brands as distinct operating brands under its leadership.”  

17461: OmnicoMusical Chairs.

MediaPost reported on more musical chairs at Omnicom, with a CEO departure activating a dominoes effect of succession for White executives.

 

So, now Omnicom is reeling with restructuring, redundancies, RIFs, resignations, and reassignments—creating an R-rated experience for worker drones.

 

Rising Omnicom Star Painter Out: Gambino, McCord Succeed Omni, Commerce Respectively

 

By Joe Mandese

 

Omnicom this morning announced long-time Flywheel Digital executive Christine Gambino has been named CEO of its homegrown artificial intelligence (AI) platform Omni, succeeding Duncan Painter, who is leaving Omnicom.

 

In a related move, Omnicom said long-time Flywheel CEO Alex McCord will now lead Omnicom Commerce, a unit that previously reported to Painter. 

 

Gambino, who joined Omnicom when it acquired Flywheel from Ascential PLC for $825 million in January 2024, has been serving as COO of Omni since October 2025.

McCord had been with Flywheel since 2016, when he joined from related company Compass Marketing Inc.

 

Painter, who had been a rising star inside Omnicom since he joined after serving as CEO of Ascential and negotiating the sale of Flywheel to Omnicom, has focused on integrating Omnicom’s commerce, retail media, and proprietary data companies -- including Flywheel and more recently, Acxiom (acquired as part of Omnicom’s purchase of Interpublic) had been seen by some as being a potential successor to Omnicom CEO John Wren.

 

In recent months, Omnicom executives have touted the company’s proprietary data companies as contributing to Omni’s competitive advantage vs. competing holding companies.

 

“I’m proud of how swiftly we launched the next generation of Omni following the Interpublic acquisition, establishing it as a unified asset for the combined group,” Painter said in a statement adding, that he has “complete confidence” in Gambino and McCord “as I move into my next chapter in the U.K., where I’ll be closer to my family.”

 

Omni and Flywheel will continue to operate as a core part of Omnicom’s Integrated Media capabilities. 

17457: On The Fabrication Of Lola USA.

 

MediaPost reported Omnicom executed another erasure-mashup involving two White advertising agencies—180 US and adam&eveDDB NY—to launch Lola USA.

 

The Lola agency brand was already established globally, with Lola Madrid and Lola\TBWA in Brazil.

 

The Lola name derived from combining the Lo from Frank Lowe of Lowe & Partners and the La in Latino. Lowe & Partners was a White advertising agency that IPG merged with Mullen Advertising in 2015 to create MullenLowe—which was ultimately erased and absorbed by TBWA after Omnicom acquired IPG last year. Oh, and IPG is gone too.

 

Pity the drones who shuffle through constant merging, erasing, restructuring, redundancies, and RIFs—including endless revisions to org charts, business cards, email footers, and LinkedIn profiles.

 

An executive at the new Lola USA declared, “We’re unashamedly ambitious. From top to bottom, there’s something beautifully irrational about how driven this team is to solve hard problems for our clients. We’re hungry. We’re obsessed. And we won’t rest until our friends jealously text us about what we’ve created.”

 

But first, the team must figure out who, what, when, where, why, and how they are.

 

Lola USA Debuts, Combines 180 US And Adam&EveDDB New York

 

By Fern Siegel

 

Lola USA has debuted, combining 180 US and adam&eveDDB New York into a micro-network within Omnicom. Lola Madrid and Lola\TBWA in Brazil are also part of the company.

 

The new agency is led by CEO Agathe Guerrier and CCO JD Jurentkuff. Lola USA reports 50% of the agency is dedicated to creative roles.

 

“Many marketers are feeling the squeeze, with shrinking ambition driven by tighter budgets and uncertainty,” said Guerrier, the former 180 US CEO. “We’re here to position a new type of agency. One that combines the artisanal culture of an independent, with the depth of technology and connected capabilities only Omnicom can provide. An agency reimagined for the future, with consultative acumen and cultural edge.”

 

Clients include Porsche, adidas, Molson Coors, JetBlue and Disney. First work is expected in the coming months.

 

The agency specializes in brand and marketing strategy, creative campaigns, brand design, and social and editorial storytelling, supported by Omnicom’s AI capabilities.

 

“We’re unashamedly ambitious,” added Jurentkuff, a former 180 US TBWA\Worldwide and Apple agency executive. “From top to bottom, there’s something beautifully irrational about how driven this team is to solve hard problems for our clients. We’re hungry. We’re obsessed. And we won’t rest until our friends jealously text us about what we’ve created.”

 

Additional staff includes Kimmy Harvey as head of creative operations, with Mike Bokman and Jason Ashlock as ECDs. Mitch Horton leads as head of design. On the business side, Elliott Bastien is head of strategy, Laura Cona is Chief Growth Officer, Devon Hay is managing director, Caroline Jackson is Chief Client Officer and Margaret Coleman is head of account management.

17444: FCB Health Transformed To Olixir.

 

Omnicom published a press release announcing the White healthcare agency formerly known as FCB Health New York is being renamed Olixer New York, partly because the FCB masthead was erased when Omnicom acquired the White holding company formerly known as IPG.

 

The name combines the Omnicom ‘O’ with ‘elixir’ to underscore the mediocre creativity prevalent in pharmaceutical marketing.

 

The move also underscores the shuffling shitshow resulting from the acquisition.

 

Most of the White advertising agencies were blended into legacy mastheads including TBWA, BBDO, and McCann—all under the umbrella of Omnicom Advertising.

 

Olixir likely launched to appease clients and address conflicts—also underscoring Omnicom’s commitment to the health and wellness of its shareholders.

 

BTW, the name isn’t original, as evidenced by the logos below.

 

FCB Health New York Becomes Olixir New York, Launching a New Global Brand for Omnicom Health

 

Rebrand marks the evolution of one of healthcare marketing’s most awarded agencies, with plans to expand the new brand beyond the US

 

NEW YORK, April 15, 2026 – Omnicom Health today announced that FCB Health New York, one of the most awarded agencies in healthcare marketing, is rebranding to become Olixir New York – the first chapter of a new global brand that’s launching in the US and will soon expand to additional markets. The move marks the next evolution of Omnicom Health’s healthcare professional and consumer advertising offering, pairing the agency’s legacy of creative excellence with the scale, connectivity and AI‑enabled capabilities of the broader network. Proven network veterans Linda Bennett and Kathleen Nanda will continue to lead as President and Chief Creative Officer, respectively.

 

“FCB Health NY has never stood still, and Olixir NY reflects that same drive to keep evolving for clients and relentlessly seeking what’s next,” said Bennett. “We’re building on a powerful legacy with a brand designed for what modern healthcare marketing demands – bold thinking, deeper connectivity and access to the full strength of Omnicon Health’s talent, capabilities and intelligence.”

 

Olixir takes inspiration from the word ‘elixir’ and marries it with the Omnicom ‘O’ to demonstrate the magic that happens when its storied success, creative and strategic prowess and commitment to innovation are paired with the breadth and depth of the interconnected network’s vast resources and AI‑enabled capabilities.

 

“Our evolution to Olixir NY reflects exactly who we are – fearless creators and thinkers who stop at nothing to improve lives,” said Nanda. “Our clients trust us to spark understanding, shift mindsets and show people there is a better way. That drive comes from one question we ask ourselves every day: Where else? Where else will you find a bench this deep that leads with grit, passion and ingenuity? The answer has pushed us into our next era.”

 

This transformation comes on the heels of a momentous 2025 for the agency, with wins including “Agency of the Year – Category I” at the Manny Awards and multiple prestigious creative award wins across shows including The One Show, D&AD, London International Awards, MM+M Awards, Creative Floor Awards and more. Its renowned and award‑winning Snowball, The Trial for #ClinicalEquality and Disappearing Doctors campaigns are in their second, fifth and seventh year, respectively, demonstrating the agency’s longstanding commitment to important causes and using their creative firepower for good.

 

About Olixir New York

 

Olixir NY is a full‑service healthcare marketing agency built on the legacy of FCB Health New York, one of the industry’s most awarded agencies. Combining creative excellence and strategic depth with the scale, connectivity and AI‑enabled capabilities of Omnicom Health, Olixir NY helps health and life sciences brands spark understanding, shift mindsets and drive meaningful impact. Powered by Omni and Acxiom’s unparalleled life sciences data, Olixir delivers faster, smarter, more human solutions for clients across the healthcare landscape. Olixir NY is part of Omnicom Health, the world’s leading healthcare marketing communications network. Visit OlixirNY.com to learn more.

 

About Omnicom Health

 

Omnicom Health is the world’s leading and most awarded healthcare marketing communications network designed to accelerate intelligent growth for health and life sciences brands. Uniting best‑in‑class healthcare professional and consumer advertising agencies and specialized capabilities including patient engagement and support, medical communications, market access and more – we deliver connected solutions that drive measurable impact across the full healthcare landscape. Powered by Omni and Acxiom’s unparalleled life sciences data, we drive faster, smarter, human solutions for clients including Fortune 500 pharma and life sciences companies and countless startups, biotech and biopharma companies. We are part of Omnicom (NYSE: OMC). Learn more at omnicomhealth.com.

17431: How Omnicom Lost Its Car Keys To Acura.

 

Advertising Age spotlighted the latest escapade at Omnicom involving collateral damage from the acquisition of IPG, whereby the Acura creative account drove away from Omnicom and parked at independent White advertising agency RPA.

 

MullenLowe, formerly within the former IPG, had serviced Acura since 2013. The conflict pileup began when MullenLowe was absorbed by TBWA, the latter being a longtime partner of Nissan.

 

Omnicom sought to remedy matters via Corporate Cultural Collusion, offering other White advertising agencies like Deutsch. Acura wound up accelerating toward RPA, which has worked on parent brand Honda since 1987, and had already been handling Acura media duties since 2017.

 

Ad Age made no mention of the Omnicom drones who suddenly find themselves without a ride and may be forced to seek employment as Uber drivers.

 

How Omnicom tried—and failed—to keep hold of the Acura creative account

 

By Ewan Larkin

 

American Honda Motor Co. has moved Acura’s creative business to RPA, a longtime agency for the Honda brand and its media partner for both Honda and Acura, without a formal review.

 

The shift came after Omnicom couldn’t figure out where to park Acura within its expanded creative agency lineup. MullenLowe, which was part of Interpublic Group of Cos., had held the Acura creative account since 2013. After Omnicom acquired IPG in November, the holding company ran into an issue with MullenLowe’s creative relationship with the Honda-owned car brand.

 

Omnicom couldn’t place the Acura business with TBWA, which absorbed MullenLowe in the deal, because of that agency’s relationship with Nissan, which presented a conflict, according to people familiar with the matter. TBWA\Chiat\Day has worked with Nissan since it won the creative account in 1987, and that relationship has evolved into Nissan United, Omnicom’s bespoke creative and media team for the brand.

 

The situation follows the collapse of merger talks between Honda and Nissan in February 2025.

 

Instead, Omnicom proposed placing the account under IPG creative agency Deutsch, which has experience in the automotive sector from its time on the Volkswagen U.S. creative account, according to people close to the situation.

 

American Honda confirmed it had moved the Acura creative account to RPA, but pushed back on the idea that the shift stemmed from Omnicom’s acquisition of IPG.

 

“American Honda made a strategic decision to consolidate creative work for both the Honda and Acura brands within a single agency to better align with business objectives,” American Honda said in a statement to Ad Age. “Effective April 1, 2026, creative work will be led by our longstanding agency partner, RPA—which is already managing media buying for both brands.”

 

Asked about potential conflicts with Nissan and Omnicom’s plan to place the business with Deutsch, American Honda stated: “We would ask that you talk to Omnicom about its internal strategies.”

 

The auto company also thanked MullenLowe for its tenure: “We extend our sincere appreciation to the entire team at MullenLowe for 12 years of creative partnership and valuable contributions to the success of the Acura brand.”

 

The shift means Omnicom will move forward without an account MullenLowe had held since 2013, when Honda split its agency roster, keeping RPA on Honda creative but moving Acura creative to MullenLowe and media for both brands to MediaVest (now Spark Foundry). RPA took back media duties for both brands in 2017.

 

Omnicom, Nissan and RPA declined to comment on the account move. Deutsch deferred calls to comment to Honda.

 

Acura spent $128 million on U.S. measured media in 2025, down from $152 million in 2024, according to MediaRadar. The brand recently reported its best first-quarter performance in four years, with deliveries rising 5.2%.

 

Omnicom’s acquisition of IPG, which closed in November, has necessitated some reshuffling of accounts. For instance, McCann, not FCB (which has been folded into BBDO), is now leading the Kimberly-Clark Co. business.

 

Marketers don’t seem to be as concerned about conflicts these days—Omnicom itself works with a spate of automotive brands—but the Acura account move serves as a reminder that sensitivities still exist.

 

“Conflict is an ongoing challenge for clients and agencies,” said Greg Paull, president of global growth for consultancy Mediasense, adding that as holding companies have leaned harder into integrated services, managing those conflicts has only gotten harder.

 

When Omnicom announced its plan to acquire IPG, Chairman and CEO John Wren downplayed conflict concerns. “I’m not aware or threatened by any conflict as a result of us announcing that we’re joining forces,” he said on a December 2024 call with investors. He went on to acknowledge that some clients may ultimately move their business elsewhere because of the deal, which created the world’s largest agency company by revenue when it closed last year.

 

“Could it happen? Yes. Will it happen? Yes,” Wren previously said. “But I think people will be short-sighted in doing that.”