The "F-List" of agencies holding fossil fuel contracts has hit a record number, with nearly a quarter of those deals now held by major holding companies. Omnicom leads the pack with 118 contracts, a finding that sharpens the ongoing debate about the advertising industry's role in climate change.
The updated list arrives alongside a flurry of creative leadership moves. Chris Garbutt joined Brandtech as global chief creative officer, bringing experience from Apple's "Shot on iPhone" and IBM's "Smarter Cities." Skechers, the world's second-largest footwear company, named former Puma president Tara McRae as its new CMO.
AI splits the room on speed, cost, and billing
New research points to a growing divide over what AI should do to agency compensation. The technology makes creative teams faster and brand production cheaper, but agencies are becoming more expensive. For media buyers, the tension between efficiency gains and traditional billing models is becoming a consequential pressure point.
Microsoft's AI chief weighed in on the risks of training models like Anthropic's Claude to mimic human consciousness. The executive warned against systems that consider their own state of being, calling the approach dangerous. Meanwhile, R/GA debuted an AI tool designed to uphold brand guidelines, signaling that practical governance tools are arriving alongside the philosophical debates.
For creatives exploring how these tools actually work, the conversation is shifting from theory to practice. Resources on AI for Creatives and Generative Art reflect the demand for hands-on skills rather than just headlines about disruption.
Agency expansion and regional bets
We Are Social opened a Miami office to serve Latin America, with plans to double staff by 2027. The move reflects broader agency investment in regional hubs. Lions is also expanding its global model, debuting a new North American event called Insight to Impact in Denver next month before moving to Nashville.
On the personnel front, Collective Measures hired Hipschman from agency Known for a senior growth role. She previously held media strategy positions at Horizon Media. The Opus Group selected Coppock as COO, and Stagwell named Rutgersson Assembly CEO.
Creative work that lands - and work that doesn't
TorchHouse Studio launched "No Bull" work for Omaha Steaks, targeting younger urbanites and busy families who want quality protein. The campaign aims at a demo that values straightforward messaging and premium ingredients.
Not all creative lands well. A commentary piece examined how an ad depicting a woman shoved to the ground became a snafu for the agency Good Good. The analysis pointed to blind spots in the review process that let problematic work slip through.
Why this matters for creatives
The F-List puts a number on a tension many creatives already feel: the agencies winning the most awards are often the same ones holding the most fossil fuel contracts. At the same time, AI tools are changing how work gets made and billed. The skill isn't just using the tools - it's understanding how they reshape your value to an employer and your responsibility to the brief. The agencies that figure out how to price AI-assisted work without devaluing creative labor will define the next few years.
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