French multinational advertising network- Publicis Groupe has kicked off 2025 with a union of a more creative kind which combines two of its leading creative agencies- Leo Burnett and Publicis Worldwide, to create ‘Leo’ constellation through the Power of One.
While this development has surely drawn much attention so far, it is clear that the ad holding company doesn’t have plans to take the ‘Burnett’ name any further. The same can be seen in the new logo of Leo as well, which comprises the rising sun logo element of Publicis and the first bit of the Leo Burnett’s signature.
At a time when global brands and challenges require outsized creativity to drive scaled transformation, personalized content and connected brand experiences, Leo, as per Publicis Groupe, is designed to deliver solutions for the world today by uniting Leo Burnett, the brand of Humankind, and Publicis Worldwide, the network that stands for transformation, leading the change and the Power of One.
In a press note announcing the development, the ad network mentioned, “An expansion and redesign of the Leo Burnett logo, Leo unites the firepower of one of the most iconic first names in advertising with the roar of a lion to form a formidable global creative force of 8,000 creative minds from Leo Burnett and 7,000 from PWW, with 8 agencies of the year across 90 countries, and over 400 major creative awards.”
That said, Leo will be led by the team that made Publicis Conseil the Cannes Lions 2024 Agency of the Year with Marco Venturelli and Agathe Bousquet acting as Co-Presidents, Gareth Goodall serving as Chief Strategy Officer and Andrew Bruce, CEO- Publicis Groupe Canada taking on the additional role of Chairman, Leo North America.
“Together they are responsible for Leo’s global creative community and culture, that will be activated at the country level through the Power of One, ensuring the constellation’s creative thinkers and makers have direct access to the Groupe’s data, tech and media assets,” the French ad major mentioned.
Here is the launch film for Publicis Groupe’s newest agency- Leo:
In the launch film, the Publicis Groupe Chief- Arthur Sadoun also mentioned that the newly formed Leo is a new modern creative constellation of awarded talents that bring together the human vision of the Leo Burnett Network and the innovation of Publicis Worldwide.
“Leo is HI meets AI- Human Insights and Ideas amplified by the data and technology to do more faster and everywhere. Leo brings together the power of the most recognisable name in advertising with a roar of a lion,” he mentioned therein.
With this, Leo constellation will now join Publicis Groupe’s creative roster, alongside Saatchi & Saatchi, LePub and BBH, and creative hot shops like Fallon and The Community, as well as Le Truc- the only creative collective operating at holding company level.
In South Asia, some of the renowned leaders of Publicis Groupe’s Leo Burnett include Amitesh Rao, Rajdeepak Das, Amresh Godbole, Anirban Roy, Vikram Pandey (Spiky) and Sachin Kamble amongst others.
Publicis Worldwide India on the other hand is led by Paritosh Srivastava as CEO and Oindrila Roy as MD.
Commenting on the unison of Publicis Worldwide and Leo Burnett to make the Leo Constellation, Carla Serrano, Global CSO, Publicis Groupe, said, “Through Leo we are doubling down on our strategy of strong creative brands, connected to the industry’s only data, media and tech ecosystem. With Publicis as the global group brand we all rally to, we are now accelerating on the Power of One, turning two networks into one constellation.”
“At Publicis, we have demonstrated time and again the power of the Power of One. Leo’s global spirit will live and breathe at the local level, with outstanding creative and strategic talent turbocharged by best-in-class data and technology through our country model, to create truly bespoke models for its clients.” added Agathe Bousquet, Co-President, Leo, and President, Publicis France.
To this, Marco Venturelli, Co-President and Chief Creative Officer, Leo, added, “We’ve never had so many tools to better understand people and connect with them. Nevertheless creativity still is, and forever will be a messy human process. Leo will be a true global community of creative and strategic talents, connected together for a more human way of creating at scale.”
Concludingly, the holding company’s Chief, Arthur Sadoun, CEO, Publicis Groupe, stated, “I have had the privilege of leading both Publicis Worldwide and Leo Burnett. Since then, other iconic names have disappeared, but I have never believed that creative efficiency should mean fewer brands and fewer operations. It is about big ideas from creative minds that are nurtured by strong agency culture, to have an impact on our clients’ business. In today’s world it is also about more collaboration and more access to capabilities. That’s exactly what Leo stands for. By unifying the spirit and talent of these global creative communities, Leo will be bigger, stronger and on more doors than ever.”
