Over a decade ago, Adam Singolda landed a pivotal meeting with legendary businessman and WPP founder Sir Martin Sorrell, under less-than-honest pretenses. Claiming he “happened to be in London”, Singolda had in fact flown across the Atlantic just for the opportunity. At the time, Taboola was a fledgling startup with 10 employees and modest revenue. “Why do you think I should have this meeting?” Sorrell asked. A young Singolda quivered, hoping his ambition and determination would speak for themselves.
Fast forward to 2025: in a penthouse overlooking the French riviera in the midst of the Cannes Lions Festival, the two reunited – not as strangers, but as peers. Their conversation spanned the present and future of advertising: AI’s transformative role, the reinvention of agency models, and how to lead through growing global uncertainty.
2025: The Year of NOW?
Sorrell has framed AI adoption in three phases: 2023 was the year of “Wow”, 2024 the year of “How?”, and 2025, he predicted, would be the year of “Now”.
But when asked whether that vision was materializing, he admitted that the “Year of Now” was still a work in progress. “Clients are still tinkering,” he says. “If I have another client that says, ‘can I do a workshop, an audit, a test…’ it’s really frustrating.”
He praised General Motors as a standout example of a company boldly adopting AI and automation to drive efficiency at scale and tackle market challenges. As competition from low-cost Chinese electric and autonomous vehicles intensifies, General Motors is already working to streamline operations, ensuring their budgets deliver maximum impact when price pressure intensifies.
Navigating Uncertainty
Amid an increasingly volatile geopolitical and economic landscape, marketers are under growing pressure to operate with greater focus and precision. According to Sorrell, two imperatives stand out: first, identifying the right markets for investment and growth – he sees the most promise in North and South America, the Middle East, and Asia; and second, achieving operational efficiency at every level. That’s where AI plays a pivotal role.
AI: Threat or Turning Point?
Sir Martin Sorrell didn’t mince words when it came to AI’s impact on advertising: “The theme here in Cannes this week, to me, is whether AI is going to kill the advertising industry.”
His answer? It won’t be a death, but a radical rebirth: a new golden age.
He described how AI has already enabled teams to produce video content within days rather than months. He outlined five areas where AI is already driving transformation:
- Copywriting and visualization
- Personalization at scale
- Media planning
- General efficiency
- Democratization of knowledge
“We have 900 people across the world working on Google, and 5-7 major meetings with Google here this week,” mused Sorrell. “If we can feed in all the knowledge we get here to all the people who work on Google, that’s a huge gain.”
Will AI Replace Agencies?
Asked whether he agrees with Mark Zuckerberg’s view that AI could replace or significantly reduce reliance on advertising agencies, Sir Martin Sorrell replied, “Directionally, I think he’s right… but clients will still need validation.”
While platforms like Meta, Google, and Amazon may dominate ad spend, Sorrell argued that agencies will still play a crucial role: offering independent guidance, verifying algorithms, and ensuring business outcomes align with brand goals. “You’re not going to go and say, Mark, invest it for me,” he quipped.
Looking Ahead: Reinvention or Irrelevance
Closing the conversation, Singolda posed a forward-looking question: what would be the focus of this conversation in a year’s time?
“You’re seeing a new industry being born,” Sorrell predicted. Traditional holding company models are “under huge pressure,” while independent and tech-native players are gaining ground. The message was unmistakable: reinvention is no longer optional. Change is happening fast, and those who don’t adapt swiftly will be left behind.
