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Ogilvy ends 32-year IBM creative partnership
WPP agency opts out of review amid broader group restructuring.
MUMBAI: Ogilvy just closed the longest chapter in advertising history because after 32 years, even the best client relationships sometimes need a clean page break. Ogilvy has ended its 32-year partnership as IBM’s creative agency of record, a relationship that began in 1994 when IBM consolidated its then-$500 million advertising business with the agency. The split was confirmed after Ogilvy chose not to participate in IBM’s upcoming creative agency review, according to a Campaign US report published on 14 March 2026.
The decision is understood to be commercial rather than creative, stemming from longstanding balance-of-trade tensions between WPP and IBM. In December 2025, IBM had initiated a media review in which WPP Media, the incumbent, also declined to participate.
The move aligns with WPP’s wider transformation under CEO Cindy Rose. The group is reshaping into four operating divisions WPP Media, WPP Creative, WPP Production and WPP Enterprise Solutions across North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East & Africa, and Asia-Pacific. The three-year “Elevate28” strategy aims to reverse revenue declines, reduce internal fragmentation and shift away from the traditional holding-company model toward a more integrated, technology-led operation.
Central to this shift is WPP Open, a platform connecting data, media and creative workflows at scale. The changes reflect intensifying pressure from consulting firms, tech companies and investor demands for durable growth in an AI- and automation-driven industry.
Despite the structural evolution, Ogilvy remains a cornerstone of WPP’s creative network, with reorganized capabilities spanning advertising, PR, customer experience and consulting through Ogilvy One. The agency continues to hold major global accounts while adapting to a market that increasingly favours fewer, more capable partners.
In an advertising world where partnerships once lasted decades, Ogilvy and IBM’s parting isn’t just the end of an era, it’s a quiet sign that even the strongest creative bonds can’t outrun the industry’s relentless rewrite.
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Happy Pawdcast launches merchandise with The Souled Store
Season 2 success leads to co-branded line celebrating pet-parent bond.
MUMBAI: The Happy Pawdcast just gave fans something to wag their tails about because when your favourite pet show gets merch, even the couch starts feeling like a runway. Building on the momentum of Season 2 which reached over 14 million pet lovers, clocked more than 20,000 hours of content consumption and engaged over 23,000 users, The Happy Pawdcast has teamed up with The Souled Store for an exclusive co-branded merchandise collection. The line translates the podcast’s emotional core into wearable designs that celebrate the everyday bond between pets and their parents.
Hosted by Sonali Bendre and Icy Behl, Season 2 featured candid conversations with celebrity pet parents including Remo D’Souza, Diana Penty, Kubbra Sait, Rohan Joshi, Karan Wahi, Tusshar Kapoor and Amala Akkineni. The episodes tackled responsible adoption, stray welfare, pet emotional well-being and debunked common care myths, earning strong resonance across digital platforms.
Sonali Bendre said, “Season 2 reaffirmed how deeply people connect with stories around pets, responsibility, and companionship. This collaboration with The Souled Store is a natural extension of that bond, taking the conversations beyond the screen and turning shared emotions into something tangible for pet parents.”
Rose Audio Visuals head of marketing & branded content Megha H Desai added, “With Season 2, The Happy Pawdcast evolved from a content property into a strong, community-led IP. The collaboration with The Souled Store reflects our approach to building meaningful extensions around our shows where audience insight, brand alignment, and scale come together.”
The Souled Store co-founder Vedang Patel noted, “Pet parenting today is as much about identity and expression as it is about care and responsibility. This collaboration allowed us to tap into a deeply engaged, emotionally invested community and co-create designs that feel authentic and accessible.”
Produced by Rosepod (the podcasting division of Rose Audio Visuals), the merchandise marks the podcast’s shift from audio-video content into a broader lifestyle IP, while aligning with The Souled Store’s focus on pop-culture-led, community-first products and its animal welfare initiatives through World For All.
In a pet-parent world where love often comes with a leash and a hoodie, The Happy Pawdcast isn’t just telling stories anymore, it’s letting fans wear them, proving the bond between humans and their fur-babies deserves more than likes, it deserves to be flaunted.
