The company's name comes from Wire &; Plastic products), formerly a company that produces shopping carts. 1975, martin sorrell bought WPP for 250,000 pounds and began to buy some small advertising companies. 1987, WPP took out $566 million in cash from most loans and forcibly acquired J.Walter Thompson, which shocked the industry. 1989, WPP bought Ogilvy & Mather), becoming the largest advertising group in the world. In 2000, WPP acquired Young &; , the world's seventh largest advertising company, $4.7 billion. Rubicam). In 2003, WPP acquired Cordiant Group (which owns Bates and Darby advertising companies) for 443 million pounds. In 2004, WPP acquired the American Gray Global Group Advertising Group again, and obtained Jingxin Global Advertising and Mediacom.