The advertising industry has undergone significant transformations over the past few decades, with the years 2024 and 2025 providing ample evidence of this continued evolution. On January 22, GroupM, the global media investment arm of WPP, announced the elimination of global CEO positions across its major agencies — EssenceMediacom, Wavemaker, and Mindshare—in an effort to streamline its operations and enhance efficiency. This move reflects the broader trend within the industry to adapt to changing market dynamics.
Similarly, following Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential elections, there was a noticeable shift in agency operations. In line with his administration’s proposed rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, many agencies began eliminating the role of Chief Diversity Officer, marking a significant departure from the industry’s previous focus on such efforts.
In India, the advertising landscape has similarly evolved in response to shifting societal and technological trends. The roles that once played critical parts in the industry have gradually diminished or disappeared altogether. Veteran creative advertising professional Chitto Ghosh reflected on these changes, citing the shrinking of the once prominent multi-tiered media departments, which were a hallmark of large agencies.
Ghosh, who has witnessed the industry’s progression over four decades, recalled that in the late 1970s and 1980s, the media planning and strategy sections were extensive, with numerous media clerks and low-ranking employees who carried out key tasks without any authoritative power. These clerks were responsible for tracking advertisements in newspapers and other publications, ensuring that ads appeared as scheduled. This work, which was once manual and supported only by landline telephones, is now largely obsolete.
Though positions such as media managers persist in larger agencies, their roles have evolved, benefiting from digital technologies that have rendered many previous tasks redundant. Ghosh also noted that the advertising industry, before the advent of computers in the early 1990s, was labor-intensive, with large agencies employing hundreds of people across the country. This workforce included a variety of specialists—from finishing artists who handled corrections after proofreading to studio artists engaged in the intricate process of typesetting and artwork preparation.
The pre-digital era saw the emergence of distinct roles such as the “cut-and-paste” artist, responsible for physically assembling ad layouts. This task, once performed by a team of experts, has been replaced by digital technology, which has dramatically reduced the need for such specialized labor. Today, a few individuals, equipped with modern software, accomplish in hours what once required dozens of workers.
Kiran Khalap, co-founder of the communications consultancy Chlorophyll, reflected on how such roles, once essential, are no longer needed. He recalled how Clarion, where he worked until 1999, employed carpenters to construct exhibition stalls for clients, a task now outsourced to specialized agencies. The in-house photo studio and film projectionists who once played crucial roles in advertising production are similarly obsolete, replaced by digital tools, stock photography, and AI-generated images.
Similarly, Khalap remembered how Lintas, once a leader in advertising, was the only agency in India with its own in-house 35mm projector, allowing the agency to show clients ad films before they were officially aired. As digital technology displaced traditional film, the need for projectionists and other analog-era specialists vanished.
The transformation of the industry has also impacted language specialists. Khalap recounted how Lintas employed a team of translators to adapt copy for different regions and languages. Today, however, these tasks are often outsourced or facilitated by tools like Google Translate.
Despite these shifts, some former employees of defunct roles have managed to adapt, learning to work with the new digital tools that have become central to modern advertising. For instance, many former studio artists transitioned into digital roles, while some media clerks found new opportunities in other industries.
As for the future of roles like copywriters and art directors, there is growing concern that technology, particularly AI, will continue to streamline their tasks. In fact, over a decade ago, Mike Fromowitz, a former Vice President and Executive Creative Director at BBDO New York, predicted that the role of the copywriter would eventually become obsolete. Today, copywriting is no longer confined to writing text for print ads; it has evolved into a broader skill set that encompasses ideation across different media platforms, including television, radio, and digital content.
Ghosh and Khalap both agreed that AI will complement, rather than replace, human creativity. The role of the art director, for instance, will remain, though the creative space may shrink as AI plays an increasingly prominent role in executing ideas. In smaller agencies, AI may help maximize efficiency, while larger firms will leverage their resources and expertise to tailor AI to their specific needs.
Ultimately, the advertising industry must continuously adapt to shifting economic and technological realities. As Ghosh aptly noted, the industry’s reliance on market forces requires constant reorientation to stay relevant—a process that will undoubtedly continue in the years to come.
Read More: GroupM axes global CEO positions across agencies, streamlines leadership under CEO Brian Lesser