Havas Launches New Health Agencies in Honour of Creative Legend and Founder

Havas announced today the launch of several new global health agencies in the Havas Health Network. The announcement comes on the same day the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity awards Jacques Séguéla with the Lion of St. Mark, representing his lifetime achievements of creativity in communications.

Aptly named Jacques, the agencies are building for the post-campaign era where creativity, brand experiences, and brand content help companies identify new possibilities beyond the status quo. Disrupting the norms of health and wellness advertising, the agencies will get pharma, health, and health-adjacent companies to become curious and excited about an entirely new global agency network with a different point-of-view on the future of health and wellness marketing.  

“Our belief is that creativity will be the #1 thing that differentiates the successful health brands of tomorrow,” said Donna Murphy, global CEO of Havas Health Network and Havas Creative Network. “Brands are perpetually looking for new formulas, and the launch of Jacques marks an era of transformation in health and wellness.” 

“It’s an honour to be associated with the reinvention of health and wellness communications,” said Jacques. “Even more so, I’m honoured to be part of Havas’ story. It is one that will take the lead, hand in hand with science, to transform the way we think about health and wellness.”

Before he disrupted global advertising, Jacques Séguéla was a practicing doctor of pharmacology and took an early interest in healthcare and healing from his parents. His mother was the first female surgeon in France, and his father was a pioneer in radiology. “Medicine is in his blood,” added Donna Murphy.

Jacques Séguéla broke all the rules of traditional car advertising, and his campaigns for Citroën are still considered some of the most celebrated automotive ads in history. With his goal to disrupt the entire industry, he launched his own agency at 35, where he led work for AirFrance, Louis Vuitton, Microsoft, and Apple. He was also the driving force behind over 20 global political campaign strategies and singlehandedly helped elect and re-elect President Mitterand over a 14-year period.

The principle of Jacques builds upon the foundation Havas Health has created with capabilities such as Welltainment, launched at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in 2023, and the Superhuman report unveiled at CES 2024. 

“When we considered different rebrand possibilities and the name ‘Jacques’ was raised, everyone was on board because he is someone who exists in everything we do at Havas,” added Donna. “He has forever transformed advertising, but it’s his unique and enduring fidelity to creativity that differentiates him from every other ‘adman.’ Even after 55 years and over 1,500 campaigns, he’s still pitching and still winning business, and we are thrilled to extend his legacy through these agencies.” 

The launch of Jacques aligns with a new structure at Havas Health, where most agencies will consolidate into three competitive offerings: Havas Life (global health powerhouse), Havas Lynx (digital health brand transformation), and Jacques (health and wellness disruptor). Havas Health Network’s new naming structure marks further unification of the company’s creative, media, and health networks under its 'One Havas' approach.