UK advertising guru asks Google and Facebook to be dissociated

John Hegarty, advertising guru. Häagen-Dazs, Boddingtons and Levi were all stimulated by this man's vision

One of the most influential advertising gurus in Britain has called for the segregation of the Internet giants, accusing them of "sinking money" of the economy and harming businesses and society .

In a deadly attack, Sir John Hegarty – the man behind the famous 1980s dairy announcement and Audi's "Vorsprung durch Technik" slogan – said companies like that Google and Facebook should be regulated more strictly reintroduce enough into the economy.

Google and Facebook have become so powerful that experts estimate that they account for up to 90% of all new digital advertising spending in the UK.

Sir John, an advertising industry legend who helped create the Saatchi & Saatchi giants and Bartle Bogle Hegarty, believes that it is inevitable that the Silicon Valley companies are dissociated. "They are sucking money [of the economy], paying no taxes and destroying what they left, "he told The Mail on Sunday.

"All companies will want to monopolize. It's in their nature. They will grow as fast and as big as possible, exclude competition, dominate the market, keep it where it is. But he thinks there will be a break with the possibility that Facebook will be forced to sell Instagram.

His critics follow the publication of a damning critique on digital competition for the government of Jason Furman, former adviser to Barack Obama.

Mr Furman called on the UK to carry out a global crackdown on the dominance of tech giants and accused the companies of "intimidation tactics". He said that the Competition and Markets Authority should have the power to prevent the takeovers of smaller rivals.

According to the report, US tech giants have engulfed 400 small businesses over the last decade, highlighting Instagram's takeovers of Facebook and the WhatsApp messaging service, as well as the agreement between Microsoft and LinkedIn, the social media platform for professionals.

Last week, the European Commission fined Google 1.5 billion euros for stifling competition in the online advertising industry. But Sir John said: "Google earns nearly $ 9 billion [profit] a quarter, so when you fined them 1.5 billion euros, it's like you're going out with someone for lunch. "