In a wide-ranging interview with Storyboard18, global business leader and ad titan Sir Martin Sorrell addressed intensifying regulatory scrutiny surrounding the media industry. Speaking candidly, Sorrell, who founded WPP and later established S4 Capital, called on current WPP CEO Mark Read to publicly confront issues tied to the company’s media-buying arm, GroupM, particularly in China and India.
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The remarks come amid deepening investigations by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) into alleged cartelization and price-fixing practices across the media sector. On March 18, 2025, CCI officials carried out coordinated raids on the offices of several prominent advertising firms. Among those targeted were WPP-owned GroupM, Dentsu, Madison World, Publicis Groupe, IPG, Havas, and Omnicom. Regulatory action also extended to key industry bodies, including the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI), the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA), and the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF).
This latest development follows an earlier incident in August 2024, when WPP terminated an executive at its GroupM unit in China after authorities detained the individual on bribery charges. The identity of the executive has not been disclosed, but the case has added to growing concerns over governance and compliance practices within the world’s largest advertising holding company.
As investigations unfold across two of the world’s largest advertising markets, industry observers are watching closely to see how WPP responds to the mounting pressure. Sorrell, who left WPP in 2018, urged transparency and leadership.
Sorrell told Storyboard18, “We have to see what the CCI inquiry uncovers, if anything. We have to understand the reasons why they were asked to investigate or why they chose to investigate and what they find.”
Sorrell led WPP for 33 years and built it into the world’s largest ad holding company. He stepped down because of an alleged internal investigation into allegations of personal misconduct, which he denied.
“WPP have had problems in China. And now, they appear to be having problems in India. And I think it’s about time that they made some statement about both China and India,” said Sorrell
Sorrell added a word of caution, “You can’t assume anything until you know what it is they (CCI) were asked to look at and what they are looking at and what their conclusions are. That’s a pure hypothetical. We have to understand the reasons why and what their conclusions are and then you can come to some judgment. But until then, you just don’t know. And there are other things going on in the world that are more important.”
Storyboard18 sent a detailed questionnaire to both GroupM in India and to Mark Read. As of publication, no response had been received.
As pressure builds, industry observers are closely watching WPP’s next move in what some say could become a defining moment for the company’s future in the Indian market.
The regulatory firestorm has also reignited long-simmering tensions within the advertising industry itself. According to multiple sources, several smaller agencies are preparing to submit a formal representation demanding sweeping reforms to the board of the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI). Some voices have gone further, calling for the establishment of an entirely new industry body to better represent their interests.
While discontent among smaller firms over representation within the AAAI is not new, the current controversy appears to have galvanized efforts toward structural change. “This moment has become a rallying point,” said one senior executive at an independent agency, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. “There’s a growing belief that the status quo no longer serves the broader industry.”