On the sidelines of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Sir Martin Sorrell, founder and executive chairperson, S4 Capital, had a conversation with Manifest about the current state of holding companies, whether it’s the time of the independents, job cuts, and how Monks needs to grow in India. 

Sorrell explained how technology is leading to a new era in advertising.

"I was asked earlier in the week whether this was the end of a ‘golden era’ (in advertising). It is probably the end of an era, but it’s also the beginning of a new one. AI is both the good and the bad news. That’s the big issue around us right now. There’s a question mark around it being more effective, but we know it will be more efficient. Everybody’s terrified about machines replacing people. I don’t think they should be terrified, but look at them as devices that can help do better work," he stated.

However, he did add that there will be less employment in some areas in advertising, but there will be more employment in others.

"Overall, there will be less employment," he added stating how advertising will see a drop in headcount overall.

Consolidations

Giving his perspectives on the consolidations in advertising (this conversation was in June, before the talks of Accenture and WPP's potential merger were revealed), he said, "All the holding companies are trying to do that. To be fair, Publicis has done it better than most. WPP continues to struggle with it. I don’t think slamming these brands together makes sense. I met some people working at VML recently, and it’s very difficult for them. Most of them were from Wunderman or Y&R and currently don’t have any identity. Putting Grey under Ogilvy is insane."

He added, "The reason that we did that deal (of acquiring Grey back in 2004-05) was that we wanted to work with both Unilever and Procter & Gamble. What this signals is that Grey doesn’t have any Procter business anymore. If I were Mark Pritchard (chief brand officer, P&G) or Esi Bracey (chief growth and marketing officer, Unilever), I’d be raising a red flag. Are we mixing Ogilvy and Grey? It doesn’t make sense."

Cannes Lions

Sorrell also stated how the organisers of the Lions are focusing primarily on technology and data, and less about advertising creativity.

"Nobody is here on a Friday anymore. It’s now a Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday festival, with a focus on technology and data. The balance has to be addressed and it’s gone too far," he surmised.

Catch our full conversation with Sir Martin Sorrell, who was joined by Ketan Desai, managing director, Monks India, in the July issue of Manifest. Get the July issue here. 

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