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VMLY&R

VMLY&R was an American marketing and communications company specializing in advertising, digital and social media, sales promotion, direct marketing and brand identity consulting, formed from the 2020 merger of VML, founded in 1992, and Y&R (Young & Rubicam), founded in 1923. It was a subsidiary of WPP plc multinational advertising and public relations holding company.

Before the merger with Wunderman Thompson, VMLY&R employed more than 13,000 employees in 80-plus offices worldwide with principal offices in Kansas City, New York, London, São Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore, and Sydney.

On October 17, 2023, WPP announced the merger of Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R into a new agency, VML.

In 1923, John Orr Young and Raymond Rubicam established a small advertising agency in Philadelphia. The company moved to New York in 1926 as a condition of securing a contract with the newly formed Jell-O company. Soon the company moved into offices at 285 Madison Avenue, which remained the company's location for 87 years.

During the 1960s, Y&R produced the first color television commercials.[citation needed] In the 1970s, under the leadership of Edward N. Ney as chief executive officer, Y&R expanded with the acquisition of Wunderman Ricotta & Kline in 1973, Cato Johnson in 1976, and Burson-Marsteller in 1979. Throughout the 1980s, Y&R bought diverse firms like Landor Associates in corporate and brand identity. By the end of the decade there were nine companies formally owned.

In the 1990s, Y&R was charged with bribery related to a Jamaican tourism account, and a partnership with Dentsu and Eurocom fell apart when Eurocom withdrew. Y&R and Dentsu reformed as Dentsu, Y&R Partnerships. Peter Georgescu became chief executive officer in 1994 and began to streamline the company's operations. In 1995, Y&R began an acquisition push again, increasing ownership in advertising agencies and public relations firms across Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America.

In 1996, Hellman & Friedman became Y&R's first outside investor, and on May 15, 1998, Y&R closed an initial public offering of its common stock, and became a public company. Edward Vick was Chief Operating Officer of Y&R Inc.from November 1997 to August 1999.

In 2000, Y&R was acquired by the WPP Group, a London-based marketing communications holding company.

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