You heard weeks ago that WPP would be merging J Walter Thompson and Wunderman. And now it's reality, as the company announced overnight the creation of Wunderman Thompson, which will be led by Mel Edwards, global chief executive of Wunderman.
Official sources are mum on the impact and leadership structure in APAC, so as we work to get that story, we thought we'd share some of the best reactions to last night's news we've seen.
The merger has also given us the chance to imagine several other agency mergers... once you've suspended your faculties of belief, please vote for your favourite in our Twitter poll.
All in the family...
.@JWT_Worldwide so excited for this next chapter, together! ��#WundermanThompson
— Wunderman (@Wunderman) November 26, 2018
A very positive development. Makes us an even more powerful company. Look forward to exciting times. #wundermanthompson @JWT_Worldwide @Wunderman @JWTSouthAsia @TamaraIngram @_MelEdwards https://t.co/I2foNZSU7Y
— Tarun Rai (@TarunRai_JWT) November 26, 2018
The name game...
How long till WPP renames itself VMLYRWundermanJWTOgilvyWPP?
— Rob Campbell (@Robertc1970) November 26, 2018
We're pretty sure Wunderman Thompson was the youngest son of the 3rd Earl of Cumberland, famed for exploring Northern Sumatra in the 1840s. But we might be wrong #wundermanthompson pic.twitter.com/H70QiE0QiO
— Whistlejacket (@WhistlejacketGB) November 26, 2018
I dont wanna be called Wunderman Thompson. #soundsLikeAWeirdSuperhero
— lorenzo cruz (@signofthecruz) November 26, 2018
I hope the name "J. Wunderman Thompson" was on the table, at least for a little while.
— Joe Glennon (@josephglennon) November 26, 2018
Wunderman Thompson sounds like a character from a P.G. Wodehouse novel.
— Ciaran James Murphy (@ciaranmurphyads) November 26, 2018
Can we be serious for a minute?
Merging legacy assets (JWT) with current assets (Wunderman) has historically added baggage to the current assets and made them slower, tougher to manage and fraught with problems.
— Henry Innis (@HenryInnis) November 27, 2018
Here's hoping #WundermanThompson is the exception.
I loved my decade at Wunderman, but this paragraph would be my greatest fear in the mega-merger ... any other brilliant digital natives want to ‘serve to support JWT’s ATL creative offering moving forward’? Let’s hope the industry has evolved further than this. pic.twitter.com/3MIQ8slxOx
— Chris Jeffares (@chrisjeffares) November 26, 2018
But tell us how you really feel...
First it was Y&R and VML who merged to become VMLY&R.
— adityan (@adityan) November 26, 2018
Now JWT and Wunderman have merged to become Wunderman Thompson.
Cute way of saying Y&R and JWT are irrelevant.#advertising #wpp #jwt #wunderman #wundermanthompson #vml #vmlyr
The Commodore will be turning in his grave. #wundermanthompson
— Endaldo (@Endaldo) November 26, 2018
Delicious irony that Wunderman Thompson is actually a real name for a business after the recent shitstorm at JWT. Surely, Wunderperson Thompson would have been the only right and proper call in the current climate?
— Sell! Sell! (@WeAreSellSell) November 26, 2018
When you destroy a 100+ y/o brand and replace it with something meaningless harder to say, harder to remember, how do you then look your clients in the eyes as brand builder? https://t.co/MqVQqkDxAj
— Andy George (@_andygeorge) November 26, 2018
Desperate experiments. Headless chicken. Rome burning.
— Juan Rocamora (@juanrocamora) November 26, 2018
Useless and sad to see... https://t.co/Nzi92Y0GeE
Who are those chortling two ladies? Is this giant agency unfamiliar with the concept of the caption?
— Drayton Bird (@DraytonBird) November 26, 2018