When the River Roars: DDB’s Sunset and the Creative Revolution That Will Never Die The End of an Era, Not a Spirit

By Luis Miguel Messianu

The rumors swirling about DDB’s potential sunset feel like a seismic jolt to the soul of advertising—a heartbreak, a reckoning, and a test of our industry’s collective memory. “Cuando el río suena, agua lleva”: when rumors carry this much weight and momentum, it’s time to brace for the truth and respond with the passion DDB always inspired.

This is not just a name change or a routine merger shuffle. If DDB is swept away by the Omnicom–IPG merger, the industry will lose more than a logo—it will lose the living, breathing ideal of creative excellence that for 75 years has inspired, challenged, and humanized our business. Bill Bernbach, Keith Reinhard, Bob Scarpelli—these were not just names; they were the architects of a creative revolution that changed the world’s perception of advertising.

Speaking not only as an industry observer but as the founder of alma, a proud member of the DDB family, this moment lands deeply personal. alma was more than a multicultural agency under DDB’s wing—it was living proof that this legendary agency’s values could amplify voices like mine, and like those of millions whose stories deserved to be told. DDB was the place where my own vision for multicultural creativity was not just welcomed but championed and woven into the very fabric of a global legacy.

Living Up to the Legacy: DDB Latina

Alongside Juan Carlos Ortiz, raising the DDB Latina flag was always about business results; but beyond that it was about relentlessly striving to live up to the extraordinary standards set by our founders. Together, we worked to ensure that the voices and ideas from Latin America were not only heard but celebrated and held to the highest creative bar. It is a chapter of my career defined by pride, pressure, and the kind of ambition that only DDB could have inspired.

One of the greatest honors of my professional life came in the words of Keith Reinhard, who once told me, “alma has done an amazing job of preserving and enhancing the legacy of DDB.” For me, and for so many of us at alma, that validation is a badge of pride that no corporate sunset can erase.

The Shockwave of Consolidation

Industry logic might justify the merger—Omnicom’s $13.5 billion acquisition of IPG, consolidating brands into global super-networks and promising a new kind of efficiency. But no synergy erases a legacy: “Think Small,” “We Try Harder,” “i’m lovin’ it,” and hundreds of campaigns redefined what daring, human storytelling could do for brands and society itself. In this flood of change, the philosophical loss looms even larger than the practical one. The river doesn’t just carry water—it carries the soul of an industry.

Legacy Written in Flame, Not Stone

Let us be bold: if DDB is to be sunset, its passing will not go quietly. It leaves a river of inspiration—a call to arms for all who believe that advertising is at its highest when it is most human, most honest, and most fearless. To Bill, Keith, Bob, and all the souls who infused three letters with lifeblood and ethics—thank you. Your lessons were more than templates. They were liberation.

My personal gratitude to the DDB family is immense. The years spent as alma—side by side with mentors and creative giants, elevating Latino creativity to its rightful place—have been a privilege, an honor, and a gift that shaped me as a professional and as a person.

This Current Will Not Be Stopped

Greatness can be erased from stationery but never from hearts. DDB’s soul will echo wherever creative courage, radical empathy, and multicultural authenticity are embraced. Whether the door says DDB or not, the current that Bill Bernbach set in motion will keep sweeping us forward—undaunted, unbroken, and utterly unstoppable.

Gracias, DDB—your river roars on, and we are all part of its journey. From one who was blessed to found alma and help build DDB Latina, let this be a thunderous thank you, a promise to keep your creative revolution alive, and a tribute to the truth that the river, though it may change course, will never run dry.