A real shake-up in the advertising industry comes from the world of well-known confectionery brands. Publicis Groupe is taking over the management of Mars’ global media budget from WPP. The budget is valued at $1.7 billion and to serve this client, Publicis will establish a dedicated team called “OneMars,” Adweek reported.
At the same time, the global PR brief for Mars brands has been awarded to Interpublic Group, specifically the Weber Shandwick Collective, which already works with the company. Creative was not part of the review and remains with BBDO and DDB, both agencies within the Omnicom group.
Gülen Bengi, Chief Marketing Officer of Mars and Chief Growth Officer for Mars Snacking, stated that the company wants to put its fans and communities ‘in the driver’s seat’ through scalable, personalized brand experiences. She added that the new, industry-leading agency ecosystem represents a key step in bringing this vision to life. Arthur Sadoun, CEO of Publicis Groupe, said the partnership with Mars will combine advanced AI tools with human insight to develop a new generation of brand building.
The Mars media account was previously handled by WPP’s EssenceMediacom, which retained the business in 2022 following a ten-month review and a four-year contract. The new agency review followed Mars’ $35.9 billion acquisition of rival Kellanova in August 2024, which added brands like Pringles, Cheez-Its, Pop-Tarts, and Rice Krispies Treats to its portfolio. The change is strategically aimed at consolidating and streamlining agency relationships globally.
Publicis already has an established relationship with Mars through Mars United Commerce (formerly The Mars Agency), a commerce marketing firm it acquired in September 2024 for $600 million. That acquisition strengthened Publicis’ expertise in commerce media and consumer insight – capabilities that are now being further integrated into the broader system.
For WPP, the loss of the Mars account marks yet another blow in what has been a challenging first half of 2025. After losing Coca-Cola’s $700 million North America media business to Publicis in March, the company also lost Paramount in June – another major client that ended its decades-long relationship without initiating a formal review. All this comes amid the announcement that Mark Read, WPP’s long-standing CEO, will be stepping down at the end of the year, while the company reports a five percent drop in revenue for Q1 and forecasts stagnation or further decline throughout the rest of the year.
Publicis’ takeover of the Mars account confirms the group’s ambitions and solidifies its position as a leading global network in an era where artificial intelligence, data-driven approaches, and integrated systems are increasingly becoming the standard in the marketing industry.
