Arthur Sadoun, chief exec of Publicis Groupe, has lashed out at S4 Capital’s Sir Martin Sorrell over comments the latter made about Publicis’ one-off staff bonus.
Sadoun said that Sorrell’s comments about Publicis’ one-off bonus to staff was “childish.” Publicis had announced that members of staff not currently on a bonus-based pay packet would be given a week’s pay following strong Q3 results.
“It’s quite amusing that Sir Martin is using childish make-believe stories about others to distract from the epic fall of S4 value in the last 18 months,” Sadoun said.
Sorrell had said that Publicis, rather than being benevolent with staff in the face of rising living costs and inflation, offered the bonus to make up for lost incentives that it failed to pay out during the COVID pandemic.
“I also want to say a big ‘merci’ to all of our people for their outstanding efforts. In a context where inflation is impacting the daily lives of many of them, we want to ensure we are giving additional support where it is most needed as we enter the holiday season. That is why we are granting next month an additional one-week salary to half of our team members who do not have any variable remuneration and have contributed to everything we have achieved over the past year,” Sadoun said when Publicis’ results were released.
Sorrell, is no stranger to making headlines for his outspoken remarks. Following his departure for allegedly using funds from his previous employer, WPP, to pay for prostitutes, Sorrell has been slinging muck at everyone in adland.
In 2018, he said WPP’s decision to sell its stake in IT company Globant was “bordering on negligent,” for example.
In 1989, David Oglivy, founder of the eponymous agency, called Sorrell an “odious little jerk” after Sorrell’s WPP launched a hostile takeover of his company.
However, most chief execs have been known to try stay out of Sorrell’s way and not comment on his remarks.
Sorrell’s latest comments came in an interview with Campaign and Sadoun, clearly irked, sent a stinging unsolicited response to the mag.
“S4 may have failed to pay out incentives during the pandemic, but that’s not the case at Publicis, as he wrongly stated in your article. In 2020, not only did we fully reimburse at the end of year the salary sacrifices made by our teams voluntarily when COVID hit. We also paid out a record high level of bonus for all of our teams, who have been fighting so hard during the crisis,” Sadoun said.
“At Publicis, we have always stood for putting our people first. Sorrell should give it a try. I just hope he’s not recompensing them with stock options.”
S4 Capital’s share price rocketed after it launched on the stock market in 2018 and peaked at more than 800p (around AU$14) in September last year. Since then, the company’s shares have lost more than three-quarters of their value. During the same period, Publicis Groupe’s share price has risen by around 10 per cent.
None of the other “big six” agency groups has paid a special bonus in recent months.
Sorrell did not respond directly to Sadoun’s comments when contacted by Campaign, but a source close to S4 Capital apparently said that an investment in the company has appreciated significantly more than Publicis over the last four years
