Martin Sorrell takes a shot at Havas’ latest AI investment and dentsu

Cannes: Martin Sorrell, Founder and Executive Chairman of S4 Capital, in an explosive interview with BestMediaInfo.com at Cannes Lions, took a dig at Havas’ recent announcement about huge investment in AI, data and tech capabilities, and the performance of Japanese holding company dentsu.

Commenting on dentsu’s attempt to position itself as a marketing X technology company, Sorrell said, "What they say, what they do, and what they are all different things."

"Dentsu is probably the worst-performing holding company," Sorrell added.

Taking a shot at Havas' €400 million investment in data, tech, and AI, Sorrell remarked, "It has no meaning. It is just a sound bite that the media has picked up. There are no details of the investment. It is just a bold statement."

Sorrell believes that Publicis is the only holding company that has positioned itself well. "They have a good leader with a great digital and data story," he commented.

According to Sorrell, India’s population coupled with its economic growth offers a huge opportunity for brands over the next 50 years. “There’s a huge revenue opportunity in India,” he said.

Sorrell also asserted that technology is not our enemy if implemented correctly.

To provide our audience with an overview of the topics discussed and the sequence in which they were addressed in this extensive interview, below is the list of questions, which we adhered to quite closely:

1. For Sir Martin Sorrell, Cannes means business and bigger business. How has been your experience here as S4 Capital chief and what takeaways are you expecting this year?

2. It has been about a good six years since the world has heard from you about creating an agency business that competes with big consulting firms, especially to correct pricing and margins. Were six years, not enough for turning S4 Capital into one such company?

3. If a fresh beginning with an intent to follow a consulting model could not do it, is it next to impossible for holding companies such as Dentsu or WPP?

4. Pricing and margins continue to shrink year on year in agency business even as the clients continue to multiply their market valuations. What will it take for a course correction in the prevailing situation?

5. When it comes to pricing and margin challenges, India is no different from other markets. In fact, it received the same treatment when S4 decided to reboot its operations. How different is your overview of the Indian market as the chief of S4 Capital now than WPP chief eight years ago?

6. How much weight does India have in the S4 scheme of things because that will decide the thrust with which you would rebuild your leadership there?

7. Even as India continues to be the largest growth market, do you think it won’t be that attractive unless its GDP to adex ratio improves? How can holding companies help push for a better GDP to adex ratio?

8. Artificial intelligence took centre stage at Cannes last year but saw pushback from the creative fraternity labelling it just a tool. This year is no different. Except for getting work done at a much faster pace, creative leaders continue to warn against over-dependence on AI. How do you see this battle between humans and artificial intelligence?

Watch the explosive interview with Martin Sorrell: