WPP, one of the world’s biggest advertising agencies, disclosed a stunning trove of apparently confidential client data in an attempt to defend itself against accusations of operating self-enriching rebate schemes, according to legal documents.
In court documents, the London-based company filed a 35-page report divulging payments of more than $9 billion from its biggest clients – including name brands like Google, Coca-Cola, Ford and Unilever.
The inside look at detailed client spending and other likely confidential information could raise calls for further transparency around how ad agencies generate the bulk of their revenue.
“This is not simply a court document. It is strategic and commercial intelligence that would normally remain internal,” Ivan Fernandes, a former WPP employee who now works as a marketing consultant, told the Times of London, which earlier reported the filing.
The company submitted the document as evidence to defend itself against a $100 million lawsuit filed by Richard Foster, a British executive who spent 17 years at the ad agency and claims he was ousted for whistleblowing.
Foster worked for the firm’s media-buying division GroupM, now WPP Media, before losing his job last summer during a round of cuts.
But in November, he filed a lawsuit in the US against his former employer, alleging he was fired for sounding the alarm that the company was allegedly improperly profiting from rebates on advertising deals by not passing savings along to clients.
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