AD Agencies
WPP learns to live without Martin Sorrell
MUMBAI: British multinational advertising and public relations company WPP has decided to review its policies and codes of conduct and how these can be improved upon. The agency’s chief operating officer Mark Read in a staff memo said that the review will be conducted by leadership teams throughout the group.
He did not respond to allegations in reports in the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal which stated that its former CEO Martin Sorrell resigned in the midst of investigations of having paid company money (some 300 pounds) for services to a sex worker in a Mayfair brothel. Additionally, there were allegations in the reports that Sir Martin had a bullying nature towards junior employees and was curt with them.
Instead Read stated in the memo that “Although we can’t comment on specific allegations, I feel we should remind ourselves of and reinforce the kind of values we want and need to have within every part of our business: values of fairness, tolerance, kindness and respect.”
He added: “It should hardly need saying that all WPP working environments must be places where people feel safe and supported. They must also be places where people are able to raise concerns if they want to, and where those concerns are dealt with when they need to be.”
The memo also mentioned about WPP’s helpline, Right to Speak. Read mentioned that the service was available for everyone across the group that allows them to raise issues without fear of reprisal. The Right to Speak service is independently operated and protects the identity of anyone who would rather not speak directly to their respective line manager or senior official about their concerns.
The company also had its annual general meeting with its shareholders on Wednesday, during the course of which a section of shareholders protested against the appointment of WPP chairman Roberto Quarta, the handling of the Sorrell exit and the payouts being planned for him in the form of share awards, as well as the fact that he was not asked to sign a non-compete agreement when he departed from the agency last month, amidst controversy.
WPP chairman Roberto Quarta said that there was no basis to cancel Sorrell’s share awards as the company did not have any proof of misconduct. “The contract required Martin to be treated as having retired unless a definition of gross misconduct would be satisfied, which it could not, and on which the board had clear legal advice.”
As far as the non-compete clause and the payout were concerned, Quarta stated that the conditions of Sir Martin’s employment contract predated the current board. This despite, it managed to get him to take cuts in pay and benefits at a time when the agency had put up a stellar performance in 2015.
Quarta has also started an investigation within the organisation on how information about allegations against Sorrell leaked into the media.
Read who is tipped to take over CEO was quoted by the BBC as saying that “Martin was a hard-working and hard-driving chief executive. I don’t recognise the bullying nature of some of the allegations.”
Sorrell has denied the allegations which have appeared in the media but decline to say anything more.
Read meanwhile said he has spent time with group agencies and clients over the last eight weeks, reassuring them of WPP’s health today and going forward. Disclosed he in the note: “There is tremendous positivity and confidence about the future of the business. Let’s stay focused on that, and continuing to build a company we are all proud of. We all want WPP and its agencies to continue to be home to the world’s best talent, which means creating a positive, supportive and inclusive culture in every office. More importantly, it’s the right thing to do.”
AD Agencies
AdTrust Summit 2026 to examine trust, AI and Gen Alpha in advertising
Two-day summit in Mumbai to explore ethics, regulation and the future of advertising trust
MUMBAI: At a time when advertising is navigating a delicate trust deficit, the Advertising Standards Council of India is preparing to bring the industry to the table. On 17 and 18 March, the body will host the inaugural AdTrust Summit 2026 in Mumbai, a two-day gathering designed to spark conversation around responsibility, regulation and credibility in modern advertising.
The summit, to be held at the Jio World Convention Centre in Bandra Kurla Complex, will bring together leaders from advertising, media, technology and policy to examine how brands can build trust in a marketplace increasingly shaped by algorithms, influencers and artificial intelligence.
In an age of deepfakes, dark patterns and blurred lines between content and commerce, the question is no longer just how brands capture attention, but whether audiences believe what they see. The AdTrust Summit aims to unpack that challenge.
Day one will turn its attention to the youngest digital natives. Titled Decoding Gen Alpha, the session will unveil ‘What the Sigma?’, a study by ASCI and Futurebrands Consulting that explores how children growing up in a hyper-digital environment encounter advertising and commercial messaging.
The report presentation will be delivered by Santosh Desai, founder and director at Think9 Consumer Technologies and a social commentator known for his insights into consumer behaviour. The discussion that follows will attempt to decode how Gen Alpha consumes media, interacts with brands and navigates the growing overlap between entertainment and marketing.
In a move that mirrors the subject itself, two Gen Alpha students will also join the conversation, offering a rare perspective from the generation advertisers are trying to understand.
The second panel of the day will shift the focus from observation to implication, asking what the report’s findings mean for brands, agencies and society. Speakers include Karthik Srinivasan, communications strategy consultant; Preeti Vyas, president at Mythik; and Abigail Dias, associate president planning at Ogilvy. The session will be moderated by Sonali Krishna, editor at ET Brand Equity.
Day two moves from insight to regulation. Under the theme From Compliance to Trust, ASCI will release its Ad Law Compendium, a comprehensive guide to India’s advertising regulations.
The day will open with a keynote by Sudhanshu Vats, chairman at ASCI and managing director at Pidilite Industries, followed by a chief guest address by Sanjay Jaju, secretary at the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Legal experts from Khaitan & Co., including Haigreve Khaitan, senior partner, and Tanu Banerjee, partner, will present an overview of the current advertising law landscape in India and examine whether existing frameworks are equipped to deal with emerging technologies and formats.
Subsequent panels will explore issues increasingly shaping the industry’s ethical compass. Conversations will range from the limits of persuasive design and the rise of dark patterns, to the growing scrutiny brands face from digital creators and consumer watchdogs.
One session will also feature Revant Himatsingka, widely known online as the Food Pharmer, whose critiques of packaged food brands have sparked debate around transparency and corporate accountability.
Later discussions will turn toward media literacy among Gen Alpha, asking how children can be equipped to navigate a digital world where gaming, content and commerce are becoming indistinguishable.
The summit will conclude with a final panel on the future of advertising, bringing together voices from agencies, legal circles and technology platforms to discuss how innovation, intelligence and integrity can coexist.
For an industry built on persuasion, trust has always been its quiet currency. But as audiences grow more sceptical and digital ecosystems more complex, that currency is under pressure.
Events like the AdTrust Summit suggest the advertising world knows it cannot afford to take credibility for granted. The real challenge now is turning conversation into commitment.
