It’s the lament of bosses around the world. You get into a job that you love and are good at, but over time, as you become proficient and your talents are recognised, you get promoted and tasked with doing things that you’re not actually good at.
But WPP’s global chief creative officer, Rob Reilly believes that artificial intelligence will let everyone get back on the tools – including himself. In fact, it’s one of the three reasons he “loves” AI.
“The managers can be makers again. We’re all back to being creators again, and that’s amazing for the industry,” he told B&T during Cannes Lions.
“It’s great for people who want to break in. It’s great for people who get stuck in the management. I’m writing more things, I’m doing more things, I’m creating my own presentations and playing with video. I’m playing with things that I’ve never played with before.”
That should be an exciting prospect for WPP, given Reilly’s glittering career. After joining Crispin Porter + Bogusky as a copywriter in 2002, he rose to become co-CCO. Ad Age would name CP+B its agency of the decade in the noughties. He joined McCann Worldgroup in 2014 as global creative chairman before leaping to WPP in 2021. Last year, the holdco was named Cannes’ creative company of the year.
“I’m sharper now. When I was at Crispin, I was there for 10, 11 years, living in Boulder [Colorado]. I was probably low. It was probably good that it ended for me because I got to go back to New York, and I was immediately thrown back in where I’m from, into the fire, the energy, the tension, the dirt. It reinvigorated me. This is the same moment for me. A year ago, I wasn’t into AI, and I felt the tension that I would be left behind gratefully. I forced myself to be curious and learn as much as possible and be a heavy user,” he said.
Reilly did admit that he doesn’t use every single one of the tools that WPP has created for its staff to use within its Open system. Reilly said Canvas is an “amazing tool”, but that he’s not “the expert” and that he uses Creative Studio more than anything. He isn’t alone on that front, either, saying that “nearly 50 per cent” of WPP’s 110,000-strong workforce are using Open.
The Cobbler’s Shoes
Reilly put those tools to use, working with a variety of other WPP seniors to help craft the company’s brand campaign to demonstrate its AI-focused repositioning to the market.
“I was one of the writers and the client. Mark [Read], of course, was the ultimate client. I partnered with the Ogilvy folks, Dave Webster [principal of Ogilvy Consulting’s technology practice] was the planner and Ogilvy London, Hogarth was doing all the production and a lot of the concepting and Landor was on design. It was very collaborative,” said Reilly.
“I had to be so involved because the nuance, the needle we’re threading is that we’re committed to [AI] but also committed to humans and human creativity. So ‘Transforming how we create for the world’s biggest brands’ are very specific words. How do you walk that fine line? I think it does that.
“But the most important part is that people are excited to work for us and, if I’m one of those 60,000 people, I’d think maybe I should be starting to get into it because it’s going to make my job even better.”
While it is a campaign, the main intention, according to Reilly, was to demonstrate the company’s point of view on AI, rather than constantly trying to re-tell the market in other ways.
“We’ve had lots of CEOs say ‘We get it’. It’s a point of view, it’s what we’re doing, it’s our narrative. Getting clients to understand that we get it doesn’t mean we have to go in and show you how it all works,” he said.
What’s next for WPP?
It’s safe to say that WPP has had a quick succession of unfortunate headlines in recent months. In March, it lost a large slice of Coca-Cola’s media account in North America to Publicis, though to be worth somewhere in the region of US$700 million or north of AU$1 billion.
In June, it also lost the media, production, paid social and influencer and connected commerce work for Mars to Publicis again. IPG’s Weber Shandwick got the brand PR. In total, the work is thought to be worth a whopping US$1.7 billion or AU$2.63 billion. A day earlier, Read announced he was stepping down. A few days before that, he told the Times’ tech business editor Katie Prescott at SXSW London, Read said there is “no doubt” there will be “fewer people involved” to do the work that advertising and media agencies carry out today.
“New jobs will be created (as) innovation does ultimately create jobs.”
It’s unclear who will replace Read, but industry speculation is pointing to GroupM CEO Brian Lesser, though VML chief exec Jon Cook and global Ogilvy CEO Devika Bulchandani are thought to be among the contenders, too.
“You’ll look back and say, ‘Oh they were preparing for the future’ and the Band-Aid’s been ripped off. Sometimes, when the Band-Aid is ripped off, the wound is open. But I really believe we’ve bet on the right model. We might be losing here and there, but we’ve won a lot of things too, and a lot of clients are buying into it, and they will more and more,” Reilly said.
“We’re by far in the best position to deliver on the future of creativity, media, data, insights, performance, marketing, and sometimes being first, you get the bloodiest when you’re first through the wall. And Mark’s always been first through the wall in supporting Ukraine, supporting female reproductive rights in the States, he’s always been first through the wall. It’d be the biggest honour if we get on stage on Friday, winning holding company of the year again, because it’s that guy who believes in it.
“I know he’s leaving, but I’m bummed that he’s leaving because he’s been an incredible partner. He’s one a lot of the firsts in this business these days.”
We’ll find out soon if Read and Reilly did get their time on the red carpet.
