Digital Ad Tax Impact, Why Did 1Q25 Outperform? And Observations on CPG Growth Trends
Madison and Wall: Saturday Summary for May 31, 2025
Will you be in Cannes for the Lions? Are you returning via Paris? If so, on Sunday June 22 we will be organizing another “chocolate marathon.” It’s a nearly 26-mile path around Paris, France over the course of a day. To see a past route and get a sense of what it looks like, visit www.chocolatemarathon.com. If you would like to join in for some or all of the day please reach out and let us know.
On this week’s M&W Podcast we review our work of the week and provide additional commentary on new economic data points. Separately, on Agency Business, Olivia Morely and I interview Exverus Media’s Talia Arnold about why she believes the success of media shops comes down to talent and problem-solving—not channel access or tech stacks—and why everyone at Exverus is encouraged to act like a “chef,” not an order taker.
Weekly Work:
Digital Advertising Tax Proposed in Germany: Perspective on Impact of Taxes on Ads
US Advertising: What Was Behind 1Q25's Growth Spike?
CPG: Soft 1Q25 Organic Revenue, Mixed Advertising Trends
More Context:
We wrote last week about the potentially punitive taxes associated the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” for countries implementing policies the US government dislikes such as digital services taxes. Despite the passage of that Bill (which will still need to pass the Senate before it can be turned into law), on Thursday Germany’s Culture Minister told magazine Stern that it is considering a 10% tax on the local spending directed to large primarily US-based digital platforms, including Google and Meta.
In a fuller note this week we reviewed the consequences of taxes on advertising which might be most significant at the present time outside of the US. However, as Maryland recently established its own digital advertising tax in 2020 and more than a dozen states are poised to follow them in the near future, the issue will likely be increasingly relevant in the US regardless of the choices that Germany makes for itself on this topic.