The new 'mad men' in town

Can Wunderman Thompson refashion itself in the new world? Or will it be a bridge too far?

Wunderman Thompson is the new game in town. The global merger between the world’s oldest agency — J Walter Thompson — and a relatively newbie, a digital network, made headlines, even though the rumour mills had predicted the event for the past few months.

It wasn’t just the branding — placing the Wunderman brand ahead of JWT — but also the choice of the CEO that made it clear what the WPP CEO Mark Reed had in mind; it also signalled an important shift in the world of marketing communications and services.

The merger raises several questions. At one level, putting creative,