AD Agencies
Indian watchdog had reason to raid global ad agencies for price-fixing
MUMBAI: Even as India’s advertising industry executives were painting the town red at their annual jamboree in Goa, a Reuters exposé should have them reaching for paracetamol. The party-poopers at India’s Competition Commission have uncovered a cosy cartel that makes the old boys’ club look positively egalitarian.
A confidential document dated 7 February reveals that global advertising giants have been caught red-handed coordinating the commissions they charge clients—a practice about as competitive as a rigged horse race. The evidence was so damning it prompted surprise raids in March at the Indian offices of WPP-owned GroupM, Interpublic, Publicis and Dentsu, along with three industry bodies that apparently forgot the first rule of cartels: don’t leave a paper trail.
The Competition Commission of India’s (CCI’s) sleuths discovered not one but three separate cartels operating through the Indian Society of Advertisers, the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF) . It’s like finding out your local parish council is actually running the mafia.
Since at least 2023, these agencies have been exchanging commercially sensitive information through WhatsApp groups. They agreed to stick to pre-decided commission structures with the discipline of a Swiss watch, the commission found.
The AAAI, which represents the big four agencies, didn’t just coordinate prices. It organised virtual meetings to align on responses to clients and discussed “retaliatory action” against members who dared to break ranks. The group also “fixed the formula for fees in case of fee-based service to advertisers”, the commission noted—apparently unaware that price-fixing went out of fashion around the same time as top hats.
None of the accused parties responded to Reuters’ queries, maintaining the kind of stony silence usually reserved for caught teenagers or politicians facing corruption charges.
The case was triggered after Dentsu turned whistleblower—a move that proves there really is no honour among thieves. The revelations cast a shadow over India’s booming media sector, where Reliance-Disney and Sony are top dogs in a market worth $18.5 billion last year.
The commission found that advertisers had “established a buyer’s cartel” whilst broadcasters engaged in “collective action to refrain from giving discounts.”. Another cartel lurks in the media segment, with attempts underway to establish one in the creative business too, because apparently one conspiracy just isn’t enough.
In recent weeks, the AAAI has privately advised members to avoid pricing discussions during meetings unless their legal adviser is present.
The investigation comes as India’s advertising landscape shifts following last year’s $8.5 billion merger between Walt Disney and Reliance’s Indian media assets, creating a behemoth with an estimated 40 per cent share of the television and streaming ad market.
India ranks as the world’s eighth-biggest advertising market, making this less a local spat and more a global reckoning. The CCI’s investigation is expected to rumble on for several months before final findings emergE.
AD Agencies
Publicis Brazil’s creative chief Mauro Ramalho lands the jury chair at Abby Awards 2026
Mauro Ramalho brings 25 years of global advertising firepower to the new creative commerce, use of data and B2B category at Goafest
GOA: The Abby Awards 2026, powered by The One Club and The One Show, has appointed Mauro Ramalho, chief creative officer of Publicis Brazil, as jury chair for its newly launched creative commerce, use of data and B2B category. The announcement, made on 18 March, signals the awards’ intent to bring serious international muscle to a category that sits squarely at the intersection of creativity and commercial performance.
Ramalho is not a name that needs much introduction in global advertising circles. Over 25 years spanning three countries, he has worked at some of the industry’s most creatively restless addresses. At AKQA in San Francisco, he worked across McDonald’s, Nike, Fox, Target, Kraft Foods and GAP, and helped lead “The Lost Ring” for McDonald’s, one of the first alternate reality campaigns and among the most awarded projects of its era. He later moved to Organic in Toronto, bridging the Detroit and Toronto offices on Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler, before spending over a decade building CUBOCC into one of Brazil’s most iconic and innovative independent agencies, which subsequently joined the IPG network.
A stint at FCB followed, where Ramalho led integrated work bridging online and offline, before he joined R/GA São Paulo as vice-president and executive creative director, stitching together the São Paulo office with New York, London, Portland and California on global clients including Verizon, Google, Meta, Samsung, American Express and Heineken. He now heads Publicis Brazil as its chief creative officer.
His trophy cabinet includes Clios, Effies, TikTok awards and MMA Smarties, and he has served on juries at the Andys, TikTok and the Lisbon Awards.
The Abby Awards 2026 is scheduled to take place at Goafest 2026 on 20, 21 and 22 May in Goa.
For Indian advertising, landing a jury chair of Ramalho’s calibre for a category built around data-driven creativity and commerce is a statement of ambition. Goafest just raised its own bar.
