Ad industry veteran Sir Martin Sorrell, Founder and Executive Chairman of S4 Capital Monks, joined NDA Editor-in-Chief Justin Pearse on stage this week at MAD//Fest London 2026 for a discussion that spanned topics including AI’s impact on adland and the significant challenges facing the world’s major advertising networks.
Unequivocal in his support for AI’s use in the creative side of the advertising business, Sorrell believes that AI is making creative work better: “It’s raising the general standard. These are tools that will enable us to do much better work.”
The biggest impact of AI over the next two or three years won’t be on creative, argued Sorell, but instead on media planning and buying.
“We’re still a $1.2 trillion industry doing too many things semi-manually, while industries like finance have already embraced machine-led decision making. The future is increasingly agentic. Give the machine the objective, and it will build the campaign.”
Sorrell describes the present as “one of the most disruptive periods our industry has ever experienced” and warns against assuming the incumbents have all the answers.
“The acquisition of LiveRamp reinforces one thing above all else: the growing importance of data. The unintended consequence is that it will push the industry towards much greater transparency. Media planning and buying will move towards a genuinely transparent model.”
Advertising is “still show business,” says Sorrell but adds that, if he were starting his career today, that he wouldn’t limit himself to Europe: “I’d be looking at the US, Latin America, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. Latin America remains one of the most underappreciated regions in the world. China is here to stay. The world needs to accept that reality.
“Learn Chinese. Learn Spanish. Learn to code. AI may help you do those things, but the underlying principles still matter. The two great opportunities for this generation: geography and technology.”
The future of marketing
The future belongs to the “analytical CMO,” rather than “the one who wants to appear on the front page of Campaign” said Sorrell.
“The people gaining influence inside organisations are the CIOs, the CTOs and, increasingly, the CFOs. The pressure for AI transformation comes through the CEO and the CFO.
“AI transformation is happening first in industries under real competitive threat. Where there’s existential pressure, change accelerates.”
He predicts that the next technological leap, namely Quantum Computing, will dwarf the impact of AI to date. The future, says Sorrell, is an end-to-end automated marketing model, with agencies acting as validators rather than operators:
“Our role will increasingly be to advise clients on whether the algorithms are making the right decisions. That’s uncomfortable for some people, but I think it’s actually a very strong role for agencies.
“You wouldn’t hand your entire media budget to one publisher. Equally, you’re not going to hand everything to one platform. Our job is to validate the mix.”
