Advertising giants brace for tariff-induced cuts to ad spending

Advertising firms are bracing for a pullback in clients’ marketing expenditure, with the outlook for 2025 appearing increasingly muddled for the industry. Though companies like Paris-based Publicis and New York-headquartered Omnicom both recently dispelled the idea that tariff uncertainty had already squeezed clients’ marketing budgets, they did not dismiss the possibility of a bumpy road ahead. "Of course, many of our clients are facing a very challenging situation due to uncertainty on tariffs, rising inflation and a geopolitical context that is more volatile than ever,” Publicis Chief Executive Officer Arthur Sadoun said on a call with analysts.

Though this hasn’t yet materialized in the company’s numbers, "we could experience cuts from several clients across many industries for the rest of the year,” he added..