The Beijing Olympic Games will be looked back on as the moment "when the baton of economic growth was handed back from the West to the East", Sir Martin Sorrell declared from China's capital today.

The chief executive of advertising giant WPP said that while the opening ceremony had been iconic, the real impression he had gained from the Games was "the scale of the whole thing and the implicit power behind that.

In effect, it's been the equivalent of the technological terracotta army".

Sorrell said that while WPP had seen a tightening on spending by its clients in the second quarter in traditional markets, that had been more than matched by continued strong growth in emerging markets.

He also thinks that most major consumer companies believe, like him, that "cutting brand spending at this stage in the cycle is too costly long-term".

Of WPP's top 20 clients, 14 have increased their spend in the last six months and only six have cut it.

Sorrell also pointed out that some of the hardest-hit industries, such as financial services and motors, are increasing their spending on advertising, marketing and public relations as they cut their costs elsewhere.

Today's first-half figures were better than expected and Sorrell's outlook was distinctly more upbeat than some analysts had hoped.

Revenues rose 14% to £3.3billion and were up 4.3% on a like-for-like basis. Pre-tax profits grew 15% to £389million and the interim dividend goes up 20% to 5.19p.

Sorrell cautioned that prospects for next year are less certain, particularly if the US and Western European economies continue to be hit by the credit crunch and rising commodity prices.

But he also believes there is a good chance that financial markets will rebound by mid-2009, and in 2010 things will be boosted by events such as the football World Cup in South Africa, the Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, Congressional elections in the US and World Expo in Shanghai.

WPP is increasingly frustrated by the £1.1billion bid battle for Taylor Nelson Sofres.

Sorrell is convinced his German opponents are unable to come up with a financial backer for their bid.