17328: ICYMI USPS RFI BS.

MediaPost reported the US Postal Service retained a White search consultancy; plus, an RFI has been issued to White advertising agencies and White media firms.

 

The USPS and consultancy insist the RFI represents an exploratory exercise, and a competitive pitch has not yet launched.

 

Expect the following delivery process: RFI > RFP > RIF

 

Also, non-White advertising agencies and media firms can count on collecting crumbs and experiencing Prime Redlining.

 

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these [White] couriers from the swift completion of their appointed [discriminatory] rounds.

 

Postal Service Issues RFI, Taps JLB To Study Ad Market

 

By Steve McClellan

 

In advance of a likely competitive pitch for new media and creative agency assignments, the US Postal Service has retained search consultant JLB + Partners and issued a request for information to a number of media and creative shops.  

 

USPS spent approximately $150 million on net media expenditures in 2025, according to agency research firm COMvergence. 

 

A spokesman for the postal service stressed that it has not yet launched a formal review for new agencies. 

 

Instead, he said it is “performing ongoing market research regarding the advertising and media services market and issued a Request for Information (RFI) in December ... to both creative and media agencies.” 

 

JLB, the spokesman added, “is supporting this effort as a consultant focused on market trends. The RFI is not a competitive Request for Proposal (RFP) concerning any potential future requirements.” 

 

In recent years USPS has worked with McCann Worldgroup and its agency MRM on campaigns.

17327: On Bringing Back Black Blasts From The Past.

The previous post on Dos Equis spotlighted a common practice among White advertising agencies, whereby iconic campaign characters are revived and/or resuscitated to reinvigorate a brand.

 

The reintroductions include gushing from CEOs, CMOs, and CCOs, revealing sales were best during promotions of the past, the updated critter will ignite a boring category, the public demanded the reappearance, blah, blah, blah.

 

Has anyone considered bringing back Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben, and Rastus?

 

The same marketing criteria mentioned above can surely be applied to the famed triumvirate.

 

Hell, Honey Bunches of Oats once coaxed Diana Hunter—the Honey Bunches of Oats Lady—out of retirement.

 

Who’s next—Mia the Land O’Lakes Native American Maiden, the Frito Bandito, and Annie the Chicken Queen?

 

Cry “Havoc!” and let slip the dogs of war!

17326: An Adverse Reaction For A Clio Health Initiative.

 

A Clio Health Initiative — Women’s Health Platform should be retitled Divertsity Dumpster, allowing predominately White advertising agencies to display performative propaganda and scampaigns professing faux concern for women’s health issues.

 

It represents another example of medical waste in marketing.

17325: Dos Equis, Mas Icky.

 

Advertising Age and Adweek published lengthy content—which likely represents professionally orchestrated product PR—on Dos Equis reviving its iconic Most Interesting Man campaign.

 

Resuscitating old concepts is common in the beer category, presenting the least interesting manner to reinvigorate a brand.

 

Why wasn’t this maneuver executed entirely by AI?

 

It would be Artificial Intelligence generating Average Innovation, inspiring Alcoholic Intoxication, brought to you by Anglo Insights.

 

Stay Thirsty, My White Friends.

17324: WPP Production Reconstruction Introduction.

 

MediaPost reported WPP is dumping all White advertising agencies’ production operations with the White holding company’s production unit Hogarth Worldwide to create a global pile of shit called WPP Production.

 

Adweek reported no layoffs resulted from the consolidation, and the appointed lead bullshit artist of the newly formed dung heap insisted the maneuver is not a cost-cutting scheme.

 

WPP CEO Cindy Rose gushed WPP Production represents a “cornerstone of our strategic vision to integrate our services, making it easier for clients to access WPP’s full spectrum of capabilities... This is about delivering exceptional value and setting new benchmarks for the quality and scale of content production worldwide.”

 

Wow. Did WPP Production produce the Kool-Aid Rose is guzzling—and pouring down the throats of WPP drones worldwide?

 

WPP Unifies Production Ops, Puts Glasson In Charge

 

By Steve McClellan

 

WPP has reorganized its global production operations under the newly created WPP Production, which consolidates holding company production unit Hogarth with production operations at agencies across the company such as Ogilvy and VML.

 

The Hogarth brand is being retired and its Global CEO Richard Glasson will oversee the reorganized operation.

 

With the new setup, all of the holding company’s production teams will operate on a single platform driven by WPP Open’s production technology and AI-powered workflows.

 

The move follows WPP’s recent investment in a major content and virtual production studio in London. And now WPP Production will open an undisclosed number of additional studio locations around the world. The aim, per the company: Ensuring always-on access to facilities so that clients will get faster turnaround times, great cost-effectiveness, and access to more innovative and diverse production solutions. 

 

“Bringing all of WPP’s craft expertise together in WPP Production reinforces our position at the heart of WPP’s integrated offering,” stated Glasson. “It allows us to activate the full collective power of WPP — its talent, creativity, technology and data — to redefine content creation.” 

 

WPP CEO Cindy Rose added that the reorganization of the company’s production services serves as a “cornerstone of our strategic vision to integrate our services, making it easier for clients to access WPP’s full spectrum of capabilities... This is about delivering exceptional value and setting new benchmarks for the quality and scale of content production worldwide.”

17323: Omnicom Executes Experiential Expulsion.

 

MediaPost reported Omnicom appears to be continuing the pruning started by acquired IPG, selling White experiential agency Jack Morton to The Riverside Company, which will then lead to a merger with competitor White experiential agency Impact XM.

 

It’s quite a game of marketing musical chairs, likely leading to radical restructurings, redundancies, and RIFs.

 

In short, staffers can expect an experiential event unlike anything they’ve ever executed.

 

Omnicom Sells Jack Morton, Will Merge With Impact XM

 

By Steve McClellan

 

Jack Morton, Omnicom’s global experiential agency is merging with competitor Impact XM and going private by way of a private equity-backed deal. Omnicom acquired Jack Morton when it bought Interpublic last year. 

 

The majority owner is financial firm The Riverside Company. XM CEO Jared Pollacco will become CEO of the combined agency, which will retain Jack Morton branding. Jack Morton CEO Craig Millon will become global president. And Josh McCall, who ran Jack Morton from 2003 until 2022 is coming out of retirement to serve as executive chairman of the firm’s board of directors.  

 

The combined firm will have over 1,000 staffers across 20 offices spanning North America, Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific. 

 

Services include orchestrating conferences, brand activations, trade shows, activations, corporate events and more.  

 

The deal is subject to “customary closing conditions,” and is expected to be completed in the first quarter.  

 

“We’re building an agency ready for a marketing landscape reshaped by AI, one that keeps real, human experience at the center,” stated Millon. 

 

Pollacco added that the merger “brings together the impact of XM’s unified experiential approach and Jack Morton’s global scale and creative strength.”

17322: WPP & Dentsu Have Fallen Down, Can’t Get Up.

More About Advertising reported on how WPP and Dentsu are facing falling market value and investor disinterest. Add brand indifference to create quite a brew of breakdown.

 

It’s like watching the final destruction of Jurassic World.

 

WPP follows Dentsu down

 

By Stephen Foster

 

WPP has joined Dentsu in the charity shop bargain bin, its shares tumbling 6.6% today following Dentsu’s 11% fall – presumably in sympathy unless someone knows something we don’t.

 

Dentsu is trying to offload its international business (HQ above) but, so far, there have been no takers with only Bain still apparently in talks after lukewarm interest from the much smaller trade rival Havas. A break-up of Dentsu International looks more likely with performance agency Merkle and media business Carat possibly of interest alongside fairly recent acquisition Tag. Dentsu Creative, although it has some talented people and produces good work in patches has never really functioned as a global force.

 

The same can’t be said of WPP and, to an extent, it’s surprising that no-one has nibbled at it, given that it’s now valued at less than £4bn even though its revenues are not far behind Omnicom and Publicis, valued far more highly. But its debts are equivalent to its market cap, surprising as debt reduction was supposed to be a flagship policy. Somehow or other the money still keeps leaking away.

 

Size and geographical spread no longer attract investors in the marcoms sector. Publicis Groupe, whose shares have also been under the hammer latterly, is still valued at more than Omnicom (just) even after Omnicom acquired IPG to be the biggest by revenue. You suspect that a smaller WPP would be far more attractive to investors and others than it currently is – still with around 100,000 people nobody else knows quite what to do with.

 

This is likely to be the focus of new CEO Cindy Rose’s strategic review (with McKinsey presumably) when it’s eventually announced. McKinsey, like its consultancy peers, rarely says you need more people.