A day after Dentsu India issued a statement that it had “proactively approached the Competition Commission of India” in February 2024, thereby acknowledging its role in the media cartel probe initiated by the antitrust watchdog, the industry was split into two. 

One faction acknowledged the need for reforms in the media business, which over the years has grown bigger than the creative side of advertising, while the other frowned on Dentsu’s whistleblowing act, which earns it leniency and penalty waivers, terming it “underhand”.

  Ever since March this year when CCI conducted raids on large agencies like GroupM, Madison, Havas, Publicis, IPG as well as industry associations on allegations that they were colluding to rig ad rates, the industry has been in turmoil and there had been much conjecture about Dentsu’s role. As one adman put it, “Dentsu has always been an outsider here.”

On Thursday, Dentsu India came clean saying , “In February 2024, we proactively approached the Competition Commission of India (CCI) suo moto under its Leniency framework. This was not a reaction to external pressure but a decision to support reform from within.”

Continuing on the theme of broader change, Dentsu said, “Change can’t be affected by walking away – this may be a challenging moment for an industry we are proud to be a part of, but it also presents an opportunity for collective reform.”

Of course, Dentsu, whose executives it now transpires were part of a Whatsapp group comprising top leaders of ad agencies, and whose conversations were leaked to CCI, now enjoys immunity of sorts.

Sonam Chandwani, Managing Partner, KS Legal & Associates, said: “Under the Lesser Penalty Regulations, if one is a whistleblower, they enjoy immunity of penalty waiver. It is not necessary that it will be 100 per cent as the quantum of the waiver is decided on various factors on which basis the regulator decides whether to waive out the penalty to some extent or give 100 per cent immunity in a particular case. There have been some cases in the past, where companies have been granted 100 per cent penalty waiver.” She added this provision is aimed to encourage people to come forward with information.

Meanwhile, ad industry veterans do acknowledge that the media business which has become frightfully competitive, with reduced commissions from clients, requires a shake up. While it is hard to prove collusion, there has been consolidation, giving an advantage to bigger agencies, noted a veteran. He also noted, “There has been an increasing practice of certain platforms giving volume bonuses to media agencies resulting in spends being diverted to them.”

Transparency

Another advertising veteran, who used to head an independent agency, described how there was a need to bring back transparency on media rates through audits on bills, and making the client sit in on meetings with the platform where the ad is being placed.

Dentsu in its statement too, talks of transparency. “We proactively implemented meaningful changes including enhanced audits, stricter governance, and tighter internal controls. These reflect our ongoing commitment to build trust through transparency, action, and accountability to safeguard the interest of our clients,” it said.

The ball is now in CCI’s court. 

Published on June 20, 2025