Pros
Some genuinely talented coworkers who deserve hazard pay for putting up with this place. You’ll learn resilience… mostly because you’ll have no choice.
Cons
The moment Publicis took over, the vibe shifted from “agency life” to “corporate Hunger Games.” Bonuses? Gone...unless you’re EVP or above, in which case congratulations on surviving the culling, I guess. This year’s review cycle was shoved into October with the big reveal: no raises, no promos, just “thanks for doing the work of three people.” Summer Fridays? Eliminated. Because apparently happiness was too expensive. I’ve been supporting an enormous account with practically zero help, so I guess my new title is “the human bandaid.” Leadership, meanwhile, feels like it’s performing an ongoing social experiment to see how little support people can receive before they snap. Publicis is anti-human agency only focused on money, not people, which would be less painful if they were at least subtle about it. Comp is mid. Benefits are worse. And the Christmas break announcement came so late in Q4 I genuinely thought we were going to get a “surprise, you’re working!” email. They love hiring externally instead of promoting the people who’ve actually been carrying the place. Since the takeover, the company trajectory has basically been one long downhill ski slope, but guess what? It's minus the fun.