Publicis vs WPP: Industry rolls its eyes at handshake spat

Nothing says “we’re the grown-ups in the room” quite like a seven-slide Instagram carousel signed “Your friends at Publicis”.

On Friday, Publicis Groupe went public in its feud with WPP CEO Cindy Rose. In a recent earnings call, Rose had suggested rivals were winning big accounts on a “pitchless CEO handshake”, and Publicis called that claim “an insult to clients’ intelligence”.

It was a sharp takedown, one you could tell had gone through several eyes and edits to make sure it hit just right.

If only someone outside the agency bubble had been brought in for their opinion, because for its intended audience, the clapback didn't quite have the impact it was meant to.

Publicis' reply, posted on Instagram, drew a slew of comments, with the most-liked replies backing neither holding company. 

Both were told to read the room.

What Rose said

Rose made the comments on WPP’s September quarter results call last week. She was explaining why WPP sat out Coca-Cola’s North American media pitch.

She said WPP had won the rest of the Coca-Cola business and had a lot of work to deliver in a short time. She added that the industry wasn’t doing “ourselves any favour” by encouraging clients to “bypass proper due diligence” through a “pitchless CEO handshake”.

Rose never named Publicis, and she didn’t need to. The French group has been on a strong run, landing PepsiCo’s global media account after a capabilities review and LVMH’s Asia-Pacific media and planning business with no formal pitch.

Coca-Cola's history adds extra edge. Publicis took Coca-Cola’s North American media business off WPP in 2025. WPP kept the media account in the markets covered by the latest review, and Omnicom was named North American media partner.

Now for the fallout.

Publicis picks up the pen

Publicis opened by framing the fight as a tradition: “We’ve always enjoyed a bit of industry back and forth, à la Maurice and Martin.” That’s a nod to Maurice Lévy and Sir Martin Sorrell, whose rivalry was a fixture of holding company life for decades.

Then it turned to clients.

“We all know global companies don’t hand over their data, media, and tech keys over a friendly espresso,” the post read. “Skipping an old-school pitch circus isn’t skipping due diligence. It’s clients knowing what they need and testing us to the limit.”

It also got personal. Publicis pointed to Rose’s own history at one of the companies that appointed the group this year. “You know its leaders really well, and your comments sell them remarkably short.”

 

 

 

 

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The sharpest line was about WPP sitting out the Coca-Cola pitch: “It’s as believable as saying your troops were too tired to try and win back your biggest client’s biggest market… If an extra six-week run was enough to sideline your teams, it’s not an endurance problem; it’s a capability one.”

It followed with some advice: “Take it from us, investing in tech and talent really helps on that front.”

The sign-off went for the moral high ground. “We didn’t expect a basket of muffins or a thank-you note for clearing the path to your global renewal,” it said, adding that “a victory lap is fun even when you’re the only one who ran”. It closed with: “Our industry does extraordinary work. Let’s give it the credit it deserves.”

Hello pot, it’s kettle

The people who actually do that extraordinary work didn’t share the enthusiasm.

“Two agencies talking sh*t while killing the industry and burning out a generation of talent while fuelling the generational wage disparity,” wrote Instagram user stef_la_vie, in a comment with more than 740 likes. “Hello pot? It’s kettle. But hey, sure I’ll sit down for the CEO celebrity death match.”

Another user was blunter: “It’s actually pretty pathetic posting something like this. It reads like a playground squabble and feels both tone deaf and embarrassing for your employees.” That comment drew more than 460 likes. One reply added drily: “And the global brands paying them for their sound judgement.”

On Reddit’s r/advertising, Publicis’ line about “investing in talent” went down especially badly. “The best part of this: ‘investing in talent’,” wrote one user. “Meanwhile, everybody at the agency is miserable because they’re not getting raises.”

Another user boiled the whole saga down to a four-line script:

Cindy: they won on a handshake
Pub: bro it was like at least FOUR handshakes, clients aren’t dumb to do it on ONE handshake
Social: oh my godddddd dramaaaaa
People who just want a livable wage and work life balance: please don’t ruin my life

The wind-down

Publicis and WPP can argue about how much due diligence goes into a handshake. Both of them, though, are putting on a show for the market while their own staff watch.

Publicis asked the industry to give its work “the credit it deserves”. Judging by the comments, the people doing that work would settle for a pay rise.