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Will the new Omnicom spark a creative leadership race in India?

For many, the most creative group is WPP. But the new Omnicom and its litany of creative agencies may knock the British agency-holding network off its perch.

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Shreyas Kulkarni
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Omnicom next creative leader?

Omincom's acquisition of Interpublic Group (IPG) positions it as the largest ad agency network globally. However, it faces a challenge in India, where, as per media reports, British WPP leads. Now, this upmanship is based on revenue generation. But, what about creativity? The abstract talent on which the advertising industry built its world—who's the top dog there? 

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For most in India, it is WPP. The holding company's JWT and Ogilvy, for decades, have created works that went viral before social media was a thing, leaving a lasting imprint on the collective memory of people. Think Air India's Maharaja and Pepsi's Oye Bubbly from JWT.

Ogilvy, to name a couple, had Asian Paints' Har Ghar Kuch Kehta Hain and its work for Cadbury's and Fevicol. Add to them the belief that Ogilvy's Piyush Pandey has become synonymous with advertising for much of the aam junta.

"IPG has a stronghold in India's top five creative agencies, including McCann, FCB, and MullenLowe." - Rohit Ohri, former FCB Global Partner, and chaiperson and CEO of FCB Group India. 

It doesn't mean that others are left far behind. McCaan's Thanda Matlab Coca-Cola for Coke, BBDO's Share The Load for P&G's Ariel, and Lowe Lintas' Tanishq campaigns are excellent and lasting examples of beautiful creative work. 

Now, the new Omnicom comes with a bolstered arsenal of creative agency brands: McCann, FCB, and MullenLowe Lintas Group from IPG will sit with Omnicom's DDB, BBDO, and TBWA. We may well be looking at a creative leadership race in ad land, India. 

"IPG has a stronghold in India's top five creative agencies, including McCann, FCB, and MullenLowe," states Rohit Ohri, former FCB Global Partner and FCB Group India's chairperson and CEO. He believes these strong creative agency brands will provide Omnicom the much-needed firepower to ignite its creative presence in the country, and will "help this new entity become the creative leader."

"IPG and Omnicom have strong agency brands. I do not know whether they stand to gain or whether we will see more consolidation amongst these brands." - Virat Tandon, founder of Curativity, and former CEO of MullenLowe Lintas Group.

Omnicom creative powerhouse?

(L-R) Rohit Ohri, Virat Tandon, and Saurabh Varma

Virat Tandon, founder of marketing services platform Curativity, and former MullenLowe Lintas Group CEO, adds another layer to this narrative, saying the next big impact will be on the media side. "It is where volume really matters and now Omnicom gets more buying muscle, negotiating power, and clout." He also foresees technology data-led investments in and around artificial intelligence. In media, Omnicom has OMD and PHD and IPG has UM, Magna, and Initiative in India.

Merged into oblivion; the demise of J. Walter Thompson sends Indian ad land into a new age

Meanwhile, he is also cautious about this consolidation seeing how WPP first merged JWT with Wunderman to create Wunderman Thompson and VML with Y&R to launch VMLY&R in 2018, and finally combined Wunderman Thompson with VMLY&R to create VML in 2023. "IPG and Omnicom have strong agency brands. I do not know whether they stand to gain or whether we will see more consolidation amongst these brands," he remarks. 

"The difference between creative and media has to go away because everything will become about digital platforms." - Saurabh Varma, founder of Wondrlab and former CEO of Publicis Communications and Leo Burnett. 

A couple of days ago, Rediffusion chairperson Dr Sandeep Goyal echoed the same thoughts when he spoke to afaqs! and lamented over how "some brands get 'rationalised', 'right-sized,' or even 'eliminated' during such acquisitions. "Don't be surprised if the Omnicom's acquisition of Interpublic too means the death of some venerable old advertising brands."

Speaking about networks, Saurabh Varma knows a thing or two about building one. After he moved on from being the CEO of Publicis Communications in 2019 - he was also the chief executive of Leo Burnett from 2013-16 - he built Wondrlab, a platform-first martech network, with 21 global acquisitions in the pipeline.

When speaking about the new Omnicom and how it can help agencies get a seat on the table like consultancies, we (afaqs!) asked how he would tackle the creative and media aspects of the new entity. He was clear: "The difference between creative and media has to go away because everything will become about digital platforms. Clients are looking for scale and non-siloed approach to problem-solving."
 

WPP Omnicom IPG Omnicom + IPG
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