Media: Advertising
Who’s on Top on Madison Avenue?
Top Execs of American Advertising
Who Creates Advertising in America?
Chief Creative Officers and Executive Creative Directors
Advertising
Advertising is a key driver of media content. Media both mirrors and creates the culture.
Both women and men are consumers/clients/purchasers of all manner of goods and services, with women being the majority of consumers/purchasers in most categories. In fact, women account for 80% of all household purchasing decisions.
Yet the number of female executives – the CEOs, Chief Creative Officers and Creative Directors – who invent the advertising that we all see every day is shockingly low.
Why does this matter? The average American watches 40,000 commercials a year, year in and year out. Add billboards, painted buses, internet ads (pre-rolls & post-rolls), logos, social media “influence,” emails, radio spots, and you have a medium – Advertising – that is part of almost every waking hour of every American’s day.
And the content is being led largely by men.
Advertising Agency Global Holding Company CEOs
0% (0 out of 6)
Advertising Agency Holding Companies: U.S. CEOs
17% (1 out of 6)
The Six Mega-Ad Conglomerates:
Almost all advertising, worldwide, is centered in just six mega-ad conglomerates: WPP Group (headquartered in London, $19 billion revenues), Omnicom Group (HQ NYC, $15 billion revenues), Publicis Groupe (HQ Paris $10 billion revenues), Interpublic Group (HQ NYC $7.5 billion revenues), Dentsu (HQ Tokyo $6 billion revenue), and Havas (HQ Paris $2.3 billion revenue).
Of the two headquartered in the US, Omnicom is led by Chairman and CEO John D. Wren (since 1997). Their website lists a leadership team consisting of the CEO and ten additional EVPs and SVPs, three of whom are women.
Interpublic Group is led by CEO Philippe Krakowsky, who replaced long-time Chmn and CEO Michael Roth in Nov 2021. IPG lists four Executive Officers, one of whom is a woman – Ellen Johnson, CFO. Under “Senior Management”, IPG lists 16 execs, five of whom are women.
WPP in London (CEO Mark Read replaced longtime Chairman Sir Martin Sorrell in 2018), Publicis in Paris (Arthur Sadoun replaced Maurice Lévy in 2018), and Dentsu in Tokyo (CEO Toshihiro Yamamoto) all have male CEOs and Chairmen.
The Six Mega-Ad Conglomerates:
| Ad Agency | US CEO | Parent Co. CEO | Parent Co. |
|---|---|---|---|
| WPP | Alexanddre J. L'Heureux CEO-NY | Mark Reid CEO-London | WPP Group London |
| Omnicom | John Wren CEO-NY | John Wren, Chmn | Omnicom Group NYC |
| Publicis | Dave Penski CEO-NY | Arthur Sadoun CEO-Paris | Publicis Group Paris |
| Interpublic | Philippe Krakowsky CEO-NY | Philippe Krakowsky CEO-NY | Interpublic Group of Companies NYC |
| Dentsu | Jacki kelley CEO-NY |
Hiroshi Igarashi CEO-Tokyo | Dentsu Aegis Network Tokyo |
| Havas | Greg Walsh CEO-NY | Yannick Bollore' CEO Putreaux, France | Havas Paris |
Advertising
Who Creates Advertising in America?
Chief Creative Officers and Executive Creative Directors
CCOs and ECDs of Top Ten U.S. Ad Agencies
5 women out of 19 Total ECDs and CCOs:
5 out of 19 = 26%
Top 10 US Ad Agencies … Chief Creative Officers and Executive Creative Directors
| U.S. Agency Brand | HQ/Global Executive Creative Director | ECDs and CCOs | Parent Co |
|---|---|---|---|
| BBDO | Tim Byrne Global ECD NY |
Susan Credle ECD NY Officer |
Omnicom Group |
| Leo Burnett | Sam Shepard EVP/ECD NY |
Publicis Group | |
| Saatchi & Saatchi | Daniel Lobaton ECD NY Office |
Publicis Group | |
| Ogilvy | Jeff Curry Global ECD NY Office |
WPP plc | |
| McCann | Caprice Yu and Cristina Rodriquez Reina Global ECDs |
Sean Bryan and Tom Murphy Co-Chief Creative Officers North America, Shayne Millington and Pierre Lipton Co-Chief Creative Officers NY Office |
Interpublic Group of Companies |
| TBWA/ChiatDay | Renato Fernandez Chief Creative Officer LA office |
Caleb Jensen and Kirsten Rutherford ECDs LA office |
Omnicom Group |
| Weiden & Kennedy | JP Petty ECD Portlander |
||
| Venables Bell & Partners | Will McGinness ECD SF office |
||
| Doner | Justin Bilicki EVP/ECD Southfield, MI |
Doner and MDC Partners | |
| Droga5 | Tim Gordon and Scott Bell Co-Chief Creative Officers |
Accenture |
What will it take to get women into the Power Percentage among Ad Execs and Chief Creative Officers in the US?