CE DESK 
Following its $13.5 billion acquisition of Interpublic Group, Omnicom plans to retire the historic DDB agency brand, consolidating creative networks to focus on BBDO, McCann, and TBWA as part of a strategic industry shakeup.
As part of the upcoming merger with Interpublic group, Omnicom plans to retire the DDB brand. In modern advertising history, this could become one of the most significant shakeups in the industry. DDB was founded in 1949 by ad legends Bill Bernbach, James Edwin Doyle, and Maxwell Dane. DDB was the first to use creative storytelling in advertising. DDB has produced some of the biggest campaigns in advertising history for clients like Volkswagen, McDonald’s, and John Lewis.
As part of the merger, which was cleared by the FTC for $13.5 billion, Omnicom is streamlining its creative networks and positioning BBDO Worldwide, McCann, and TBWA Worldwide as global powerhouses. DDB is no longer able to operate as a standalone brand and the recent DDB restructuring in North America, Canada, and Australia as well as the merger with other agencies is part of that consolidation.
DDB ad agency may be one of the biggest in the world, but advertise the agency consolidating and integrating their services, as opposed to the public advertising world integrating and providing services through a merger. DDB is still the Network of the Year but has opted to integrate as a way of optimizing their brand and resources, which is entirely the opposite of what the industry is doing. This is all expected to be completed by late 2025, pending final regulations to be approved.
