Business

AI Advertising Creatives Drives Consolidation of Major Legacy Agencies
By Reuters | 01 Dec, 2025

Omnicom's merger with IPG will result in the absorption of DDB, MullenLowe and FCB into TBWA and BBDO amid reduction of 4,000 jobs.

Omnicom will lay off more than 4,000 employees and fold several well-known advertising agency brands after its $13 billion acquisition of rival Interpublic Group, the Financial Times reported on Monday, citing an interview with company executives. 

The advertising industry faces an existential reckoning as artificial intelligence reshapes creative production and tech giants like Meta make it easier for businesses to churn out ads at scale and speed.

Omnicom's high stakes acquisition of Interpublic Group is a bid to regain momentum in this shifting landscape, as it contends with fierce competition from French ad giant Publicis and UK's WPP.

The company did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Creative agency DDB, founded in 1949, and creative marketing agency MullenLowe will be integrated into Omnicom's TBWA, according to the report.

FCB, one of the largest global ad agency networks owned by IPG with roots dating back to 1873, will be absorbed into Omnicom's BBDO, the report said.

Omnicom boss John Wren said more than 4,000 jobs would be cut as part of the IPG integration, mainly in administrative roles but some leadership positions too, the Financial Times reported.

Wren, who will remain as chair and chief executive of the combined entity, said the financial benefits would surpass the $750 million in annual cost savings initially projected to investors, according to the report.

The company executives said the cuts should be seen against the backdrop of similar restructuring at rivals such as WPP, which is also expected to axe jobs under new boss Cindy Rose, according to the report.

Interpublic Group had laid off about 3,200 employees in the first nine months of 2025, according to a regulatory filing. Omnicom last year hareduced its staff by 3,000 to about 75,000, the report said.

Reuters could not independently verify the report.

(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Tasim Zahid)