WPP’s big restructure and creation of WPP Creative isn’t just corporate housekeeping. It marks a clear shift away from agency identities that once defined modern creative work.
WPP has announced something big- a new entity called WPP Creative. On paper, it’s a consolidation. In reality, it’s a spelling out of what’s already happening: the old agency brands are fading fast.
Let’s be clear.
It isn’t about efficiency. It’s about identity. VML, Ogilvy, and AKQA have been more than names. They helped shape what modern advertising looks and feels like. They built distinct cultures and carved out reputations. And today, they are being folded into a single global creative network.
When that happens, something changes. You don’t just lose names. You lose positioning.
In a crowded market where clients chase the next big idea, simplicity sells. But you also lose nuance. A startup might once have chosen Ogilvy for brand depth. Another might have leaned into AKQA for digital edge. Now they get WPP Creative. That feels like a safe answer. A predictable answer. Not a culturally driven one.
It also exposes a deeper tension in the holding company model: clients say they want tailored creativity, but they also want lower risk and lower cost. WPP is simply admitting what many have quietly accepted: brands prefer scale over specialization.
Here’s the hard truth. Agency names used to matter because they told a story. They promised a way of working. Now the story is “one network fits all.” That doesn’t inspire. It standardizes.
Sure, WPP will argue this boosts collaboration and removes silos. That’s the internal pitch. But to outsiders, it reads like an admission that the era of boutique identity- the one that drove culture and distinct creative voices? It’s over.
WPP Creative may be efficient. It may be easier to sell. But it isn’t exciting. It isn’t disruptive. It feels like centralization by default, not evolution by design.
And in creative work, feeling is everything.
