The story
J. Walter Thompson
J. Walter Thompson was founded in 1864 by James Walter Thompson and traces its origins to the Carlton & Smith agency, one of the first known advertising agencies in the United States.
J. Walter Thompson was acquired by WPP in 1987.
Wunderman
In 1958, direct marketer Lester Wunderman, alongside his brother Irving Wunderman, and colleagues Ed Ricotta and Harry Kline, opened Wunderman, Ricotta & Klein (WRK). Founder Lester Wunderman is widely considered to be the creator of modern-day Direct Marketing—a term he first used in 1961.
In 2000, the firm became part of WPP's $5.7B acquisition of parent Young and Rubicam.
In 2013, WPP acquired the ecommerce consultancy Salmon.
In 2019, WPP acquired the ecommerce agency CSP Commerce.
Post merger (2019–present)
In 2018, WPP merged Wunderman with J. Walter Thompson Co., and in the first quarter of 2019, unveiled its new identity as Wunderman Thompson. Wunderman CEO Mel Edwards was named Global CEO of the new entity.
In March 2019, WPP merged its agencies POSSIBLE and Cole & Weber with Wunderman Thompson.
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In December 2020, the agency launched a global brand study called "Inspiring Growth", which ranked the most inspiring brands in the world.
In June 2021, Wunderman Thompson won the Innovation Lions Grand Prix at the 2021-2022 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity for Degree Inclusive deodorant. In September, the agency expanded its global brand study with research on the role of inspiration in people's lives.
In January 2022, Wunderman Thompson launched a virtual reality metaverse at the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show, showing how virtual and physical worlds can converge.
In July, the company's Wunderman Thompson Health division created a smallpox simulator for smallpox medication maker Meridian, to help governments plan for future infectious disease outbreaks.
From Wikipedia’s article on Wunderman Thompson, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4