Sir Martin Sorrell: AI, Power, and the Future of Marketing

When Sir Martin Sorrell speaks about the future of our industry, it’s worth listening. In our recent conversation in Mexico City, he made it clear: marketing is entering an era where technology—especially AI—will shape everything. Still, power will remain concentrated in the hands of a few.

For Sorrell, Latin America isn’t a “promising” region—it’s already delivering. S4 Capital employs hundreds across Mexico City, Bogotá, São Paulo, and Buenos Aires, and he sees the combination of youth, creativity, and technical skill as unmatched. While many markets stagnate, Latin America continues to grow for all major holding companies.

The digital advertising market, however, belongs to six giants: Google, Meta, Amazon, Alibaba, Tencent, and ByteDance. Together, they command over 70% of global spend, and with Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, Adobe, Oracle, Salesforce, and OpenAI in the mix, these players are pouring half a trillion dollars a year into AI. For brands, there’s no avoiding them. The opportunity for agencies, Sorrell argues, is to serve as “validators”—trusted advisors who understand the platforms deeply enough to challenge and refine their algorithms in a brand’s best interest.

He dismisses the idea that agencies should try to build their AI to compete with tech giants. The more brilliant move is to master existing tools, use them to work faster and cheaper, and focus on creative excellence. AI will cut headcount, yes, but it will also raise the quality of work and break down silos by making information accessible across organizations.

Looking ahead, Sorrell sees the agency world polarizing into massive global players and nimble specialists, with the middle ground eroding fast. In his words, “The algorithms will spit out the answers. Humans will still be needed—to validate, to create, and to lead.”

In a business obsessed with the next big thing, his vision is refreshingly direct: adapt fast, align with the winners, and use technology not to replace human judgment, but to sharpen it.

Watch full interview