Here are some of the big questions left unanswered by the FTC’s Omnicom-IPG neutrality decree

The FTC has granted the Omnicom-IPG merger under unusual conditions with major implications for brand clients.

Jun 25, 2025 - 05:08

Here are some of the big questions left unanswered by the FTC’s Omnicom-IPG neutrality decree

Omnicom and Interpublic Group’s (IPG) $13.5 billion super-merger took a giant leap toward completion this week, following a qualified approval granted by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The conditions attached to the FTC’s green light are far from normal, however. They constrain the combined holding company’s ability to steer clients away from publishers or media environments that might compromise their reputations. The agreement grants the U.S. government unprecedented power over the flow of advertising dollars to publishers, according to industry observers.

“It gives the [Trump] administration… and future administrations, for a 10 year period, a vehicle through which they can decide at an industrial scale, [that] the largest U.S. media agency will fund or not fund media owners on behalf of their clients,” said Ebiquity CEO Ruben Schreurs.

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