Courtesy of Pam Martens.
Cover of the German Magazine, Der Spiegel, November 5, 2012
When Martin Sorrell speaks about America’s brand, important people listen. Sorrell is CEO of the monster advertising and marketing company, WPP, a brand unremarkable to the average worker around the world. Sorrell took recognized advertising brands like J. Walter Thompson, Ogilvy & Mather, Young & Rubicam, and Grey, bundled them with mega public relations firms like Hill & Knowlton and Burson-Marsteller to sit atop the image makers of the new world order.
WPP – the parent brand – stands for Wire and Plastics Products Plc, a name which likely 9 out of 10 people around the world could not identify. But don’t question the brand masters of the universe.
Earlier this month, Sorrell was quoted in the U.K.’s Telegraph newspaper on the potential for a shutdown of the U.S. government. Sorrell said, “If you were running a company like this, and stopped paying your workers, you’d get fired.” Sorrell said shutdown “is almost like going into Chapter 11 or bankruptcy. The Americans I talk to are frustrated and embarrassed,” adding that the “impact on Brand America is not good at all.”
Today, CNBC is airing an interview with Sorrell where he delves deeper into America’s brand damage, following Germany’s charge that the U.S. has been spying on German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s mobile phone. Sorrell said: “Firstly, there’s the privacy issue, the Snowden situation and what we’ve had — all those revelations which continue to flow out….the second level is this paralysis of government, these extremities in the Democratic Party, in the Republican Party, the Tea Party which I think have caused significant damage to Brand America abroad.”
The echo chamber is now in full buzz with the Wall Street Journal’s web site picking up the story early this morning with this summary: “WPP Chief Executive Martin Sorrell said the latest allegations over U.S. data surveillance could have serious consequences for the image of the U.S. as well as for the advertising industry, where data is playing an increasingly crucial role.”
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