Martin Sorrell Said He Won't Leave Advertising Until Someone Murders Him

AP Photo/Nati HarnikMartin Sorrell has no plans for retirement.

The monolithic Publicis Omnicom Group, a merger of advertising giant WPP's two rivals worth $23b together, is poised to exceed WPP in terms of revenue, but WPP CEO Martin Sorrell is not going anywhere. In an enlightening interview with Adweek, he said that he won't be stopping to smell the roses anytime soon.

"We have a very strong company, but I'm still not convinced we have consistently reached the pinnacle," he said, later adding that he'll stay at the helm until they drag him off to "the glue factory."

He predicted he's got five years left of good health, but if death meets him sooner, it won't be because of suicide. "Someone will have to murder me."

Aside from the morbid humor, this means that Sorrell has no retirement plan.

He predicts that "math men" will further overcome "mad men," meaning that media formats and market research will continue to dictate creative, rather than having creative be the governing force in campaign planning, as has been the case for much of the advertising industry's history.

For more of Sorrell's industry predictions and some fatherly advice he still thinks about, click here for the full interview.