Why do people appear to enjoy WPP’s stumble?

Over the past few months I’ve posted a few articles about WPP, the global advertising group that shaped the careers of thousands of people across agencies like J. Walter Thompson, VML, and MediaCom.

What has surprised me is the reaction.

In several WhatsApp groups of former agency colleagues, I sense a curious undercurrent whenever WPP’s difficulties are discussed. Not sympathy. Not concern. Something closer to quiet satisfaction. Occasionally even applause.

Which raises an uncomfortable question.

Why do some people appear to enjoy seeing a giant stumble, even when that giant built their careers, reputations and, in many cases, their wealth?

The explanation may lie in a combination of psychology, corporate memory and distance.

The Distance That Changes Perspective

Advertising professional Ivan Fernandes recently reflected on this dynamic in a thoughtful LinkedIn post.

Fernandes spent time across several WPP agencies before eventually leaving the system. Importantly, he does not frame his departure as bitterness. In fact, he writes that being made redundant “actually helped me more than it hurt me,” because it forced him to adapt earlier than many of his peers.

But distance gave him something else: perspective.

As he put it:

“Sometimes the thing that pushes you out of a system is also the thing that allows you to see it clearly.”

That clarity led him to a striking analogy.

“For years,” he wrote, “WPP was the Manchester United of advertising, the giant, the centre of gravity, the network that dominated pitches, headlines and boardrooms.”

Anyone who spent time inside the WPP ecosystem will recognise the sentiment. For decades it seemed almost unassailable. The scale of talent, the reach of its agencies, and the dominance of its client relationships created an aura of inevitability.

The Myth of Permanent Dominance

Fernandes makes an important point about what happens to organisations that stay at the top for too long.

“You start to believe the dominance is permanent.”

Many inside the system, he suggests, still behave as if the old hierarchy remains intact — as if the current challenges represent merely a temporary dip.

But markets rarely work that way.

“Markets move. Technology changes. Operating models evolve,” he writes. “Slowly, the advantage disappears.”

This gap between internal perception and external reality may be the most important part of the story.

Nostalgia vs. Relevance

Fernandes also notes that conversations with CMOs revealed something interesting. Brands still respect the talent within WPP agencies. What they struggle with is something else.

The complexity of the structure.
The operating model.
The layers.

In other words, the issue may not be the people or even the work — but the system itself.

As he puts it bluntly:

“Markets don’t reward nostalgia. They reward relevance.”

So Why the Applause?

That still leaves the original question.

Why do some observers seem to relish the difficulties?

Several hypotheses come to mind.

1. The fall of a dominant power always attracts attention.
   Human beings have always been fascinated by the rise and fall of empires. When a giant stumbles, it becomes a spectacle.
2. Corporate experiences are rarely emotionally neutral.
   Large organisations inevitably leave scars, restructurings, redundancies, lost opportunities. Even people who prospered financially may carry complicated feelings.
3. Reinvention creates new narratives.
   Many former agency leaders reinvented themselves as entrepreneurs, consultants or independent specialists. When the old system struggles, it validates the decision to leave.
4. Nostalgia meets reality.
   For those who spent decades inside institutions like JWT, the attachment is more complex. The agency was not just an employer. It was a culture, a community, even a professional identity.

Which is why reactions differ so widely.

Some see decline.
Others see transformation.
Some see vindication.
Others feel protective of a system that shaped their lives.

The Honest Moment

Fernandes ends his reflection with a pragmatic thought.

If WPP is indeed searching for a new identity, rebuilding will not begin with messaging or corporate announcements.

It begins with honesty.

“Focus on the work. Focus on the people. Stop pretending the old dominance still exists.”

That is not criticism. It is the starting point of renewal.

And perhaps that is the deeper lesson behind the strong reactions we are seeing today.

When giants stumble, the world pays attention.

But those who spent their careers inside them are not really watching a corporation.

They are watching a part of their own history evolve.

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not in any way represent the views of exchange4media.com.