What BBDO, TBWA and McCann bring to Omnicom’s reshaped empire

Omnicom’s takeover of Interpublic Group (IPG) has dramatically reshaped the global advertising landscape. On November 26, 2025, advertising's biggest-ever deal closed, creating a holding company with over $25 billion in annual revenue. But the real shock came days later when Omnicom unveiled its restructuring plan by retiring its three creative networks: DDB, FCB, and MullenLowe by mid-2026, consolidating the global creative business into three networks — BBDO, TBWA, and McCann. FCB will fold into BBDO. TBWA absorbed DDB and MullenLowe.

The move affects around 4,000 jobs globally, coming on top of 3,200 roles IPG had already shed this year and roughly 3,000 cuts Omnicom made after announcing the deal. 

The decision to retire DDB, FCB, and MullenLowe in favour of BBDO, TBWA, and McCann raises an immediate question: what makes these three networks the chosen ones? To get a better understanding of this, it is important to know about their histories, their creative philosophies, and the distinct positions they occupy in the advertising landscape.

Origins and history

BBDO's story begins in 1891, when George Batten opened a one-room advertising agency at 38 Park Row in New York with no clients and one employee. Batten was an innovator from the start, installing in-house printing and advocating for simple, standout typography.

In 1919, Bruce Barton and Roy Sarles Durstine founded The Barton & Durstine Company. When Alex Osborn joined that July, the agency was renamed Barton, Durstine & Osborn. In 1928, the George Batten Company merged with Barton, Durstine & Osborn to form Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn, abbreviated as BBDO. The merged entity started with over 600 employees and was among the largest agencies at the time.

BBDO India was established in 2008 with a philosophy of ‘Create Acts, Not Ads’. The agency gained recognition with campaigns that became social movements. Three of its campaigns – Ariel's ‘Share The Load’, Whisper's ‘Touch The Pickle’, and Gillette's ‘Women Against Lazy Stubble’ were recognised as iconic work of the decade. 

The Share The Load campaign won multiple Lions, including the inaugural Glass Grand Prix for Change. BBDO India has won the inaugural Black Lion for Creative Effectiveness at Cannes.

Josy Paul serves as chairman and chief creative officer of BBDO India and continues in this role post-merger. In the new structure, Nancy Reyes is global CEO of BBDO, with Chris Beresford-Hill as global chief creative officer.

On the other hand, TBWA was founded on August 10, 1970, in a 120-square-meter apartment at 34 rue de Ponthieu in Paris. The four founders, William G. Tragos, Claude Bonnange, Uli Wiesendanger, and Paolo Ajrold, all had worked at Young & Rubicam and decided to create the first international advertising agency born international. Their names provided the initials for the agency.

TBWA is known for campaigns like Apple's ‘Wreckshaw’, JSW Paints' ‘Independence Day Film’, and more. The agency serves clients including Nissan, Cipla, Intel, Accenture, and Standard Chartered. Govind Pandey serves as CEO of TBWA India. In the merged structure, Prateek Bhardwaj from Lowe Lintas joins as part of the leadership team for the combined TBWA Lintas network.

Globally, Erin Riley continues as CEO of TBWA Worldwide, joined by Chaka Sobhani, who moves from DDB as global chief creative officer.

McCann's history spans over a century. In 1902, Alfred Erickson formed his advertising agency in New York City. Ten years later, in 1912, Harrison King McCann, along with four partners, launched H.K. McCann Co., introducing the credo "Truth Well Told." In 1920, "Truth Well Told" became the first service company emblem to receive intellectual property protection through the U.S. Copyright Office.

On October 2, 1930, the two pioneer agencies merged to form McCann-Erickson, creating a $15 million agency that was the largest in the industry at the time. After winning the Ford Motor Company account in 1933, the agency continued to expand. By 1957, McCann Erickson was the first U.S. advertising agency to bill $100 million in TV and radio sales.

McCann launched its global expansion early, opening in Canada in 1915, Europe in 1927, Latin America in 1935, Australia in 1959, and Asia in 1960. By 1993, McCann Erickson was the number one agency in the world. In 1997, the agency reinvented itself, consolidating its operations and launching McCann Worldgroup.

McCann India has produced campaigns like Coca-Cola's Thanda Matlab Coca-Cola’, Nescafé's ‘It All Starts With a Nescafe’, Dettol's ‘Maa Maane Dettol Ka Dhula’,and Paytm's ‘Paytm Karo’. The "Thanda Matlab Coca-Cola" campaign, launched in 2003, was created by Prasoon Joshi, who moved from Ogilvy to become National Creative Director at McCann Erickson. The campaign became an instant cultural phenomenon by linking the Hindi word for cool drink to Coca-Cola.

In the new structure, Dheeraj Sinha, formerly CEO of FCB South Asia, becomes CEO of McCann Worldgroup India. Rahul Mathew from DDB joins as chief creative officer. Globally, Tyler Turnbull, currently global CEO at FCB, is expected to become CEO of McCann Worldgroup, with Andres Ordines as global chief creative officer.
The strategic rationale

Omnicom chose BBDO, TBWA, and McCann as its three global creative networks based on what it describes as clear positioning, established client relationships, and complementary capabilities. The company expects the consolidation to generate over $750 million in annual savings.

The strategic advantages Omnicom is betting on include:

• Media capabilities: The combined Omnicom Media, led by Florian Adamski, includes OMD, PHD, Hearts & Science from legacy Omnicom, plus Mediahub, Initiative, and UM from IPG, forming the world's largest media organisation by billings.
• Data & tech: The merger combines Omnicom's Omni platform with IPG's Acxiom assets, creating what the company calls an advanced intelligence platform to power all capabilities.
• Client success teams: The company is appointing Client Success Leaders with senior accountability across all capabilities, reporting to Jacki Kelley (chief client and business officer) and Andrea Lennon (client experience officer).

The challenges that lie ahead

The merger brings together two organisations with distinct cultures and working styles. The retirement of DDB, FCB, and MullenLowe represents the loss of significant brand equity. DDB was founded in 1949 and was one of the original founding companies when Omnicom was formed in 1986. FCB traces its history back to 1873, making it 152 years old. MullenLowe has deep roots going back to 1970. These agencies have created some of advertising's most iconic work. The emotional weight these brands carry in markets like India cannot be understated.

For India, the merger is particularly significant. For the first time, six of the country's most prominent creative agencies sit under one global roof. 

On one hand, the combined entity can offer clients comprehensive capabilities across creative, media, data, CRM, and measurement. The integration of the Omni platform with Acxiom could enhance data-driven marketing in India. On the other hand, the country becomes a critical battleground for restructuring. Agency brand retirements, office consolidations, and senior-level reshuffles are likely. The new structure will determine competitive dynamics with WPP and Publicis, and set the tone for how aggressively Omnicom pursues growth in India.

The consolidation marks the end of an era in advertising, where multiple global networks operated under one holding company with relatively independent operations.