Ad Industry's Fossil Fuel Secrets Exposed: Omnicom and WPP Among Worst Offenders

The advertising and PR industry's ties to fossil fuel giants have been exposed in the latest 'F-List' report by Clean Creatives. The research found that 386 fossil fuel firms across 73 countries engaged 802 advertising and PR agencies to shape corporate and public opinion about their products and services in 2025 and 2026.

Omnicom recorded the highest number of holding-company contracts at 118, followed by WPP with 88 contracts. Publicis had 34 contracts, including multi-year relationships with Chevron, Saudi Aramco, RWE, and TotalEnergies.

Clean Creatives identified relationships between these agencies and fossil fuel companies including BP, Chevron, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Shell, and Saudi Aramco. The report also found that 497 of the 1,321 contracts were newly identified in the 2026 research, accounting for 38% of the total.

Nayantara Dutta, head of research at Clean Creatives, said: 'In six years of research, we have found continued evidence that agencies are nowhere close to giving up their fossil fuel contracts. It is startling to see how the creative industry refuses to change, even as it acknowledges the need for climate solutions.'