John J. Dooner Jr, a titan of advertising who formalised McCann Worldgroup as a global network, has died aged 77.
The advertising legend spent the majority of his career at McCann, which he joined in 1984, after starting out at Grey Advertising in 1970. At McCann, he worked on clients including Coke and Gillette until 1992, when he was promoted to president and CEO of McCann Erickson, a role he remained in for eight years.
Dooner’s formalisation of McCann Worldgroup housed agencies including McCann, MRM, Momentum, McCann Health and Craft, bringing together marketing capabilities under a single umbrella in a rapidly shifting digital landscape.
McCann Worldgroup has since been acquired by Omnicom following its acquisition of IPG at the end of 2025.
Dooner was chairman and CEO of McCann’s parent company, Interpublic Group (IPG), from 2000 to 2003, during which he led the acquisition of True North, bringing agencies including FCB and Deutsch into the network.
He then returned to lead McCann Worldgroup as chairman from 2003 to 2011 before becoming chairman emeritus.
“John Dooner found his home at McCann and led it into the 20th century with a visionary drive,” Daryl Lee, chairman of McCann and former CEO of McCann Worldgroup, said in a statement shared with ADWEEK.
He added that Dooner’s creation of McCann Worldgroup “set the template for the industry’s continued evolution to this day”.
Dooner was deeply committed to the advertising industry, serving as chairman of the Ad Council, vice chairman of the 4A’s, and working closely with the AEF to support advertising education. He was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame in 2019.
Dooner served on several nonprofit and educational boards, including United Way Worldwide and St. Thomas University, his alma mater.
He is survived by his wife, Cynthia Stewart Dooner, daughter Jaclyn Simón Ramirez, and grandson León.
