The bad news is, Martin Sorrel may be right about his plan. Perhaps, he can cut old-school creative agencies out of the loop altogether. But, the good news is no one can cut creativity out of the business. While his headline worthy statements aren’t entirely far-fetched or devoid of truth, the idea of cutting them off entirely may have strains of a jilted (advertising agency) ex-lover of sorts. Whichever way you look at it, the fact is that most pure-play advertising biggies have been struggling across the world. And newer creative ecosystems are on the rise. The future of this business like any other business will get more and more technology-enabled. But, I would bet big that it is creativity that will continue to define the X-factor in the business of communications. While one may jump on the bandwagon of AI, machine learning, data analytics or any other amazing technology buzz-phrase, if it doesn’t come with a certain place of reverence for creativity, it won’t reach its fullest potential. Technology is only an enabler. It would be myopic to make it the ‘Big Idea’.