Advertising From The Heart

During A Recent Visit To Dubai, Havas Director And French Advertising Giant Jacques Seguela Spoke With Gulf Business About The Future Of The Communications Industry, The Dangers Of Technocracy, And Why Now Is The Time For Regional Creatives To Shine

- Neil King

If for some reason you haven’t heard of French advertising legend Jacques Seguela, you will certainly have some knowledge of his legacy.

The octogenarian ad-man is credited with being directly or indirectly responsible for the successful election campaigns of numerous world leaders – most notably former French President Francois Mitterrand, for whom his advertising played a key role in the premier’s election successes in 1981 and 1988.

Having entered the world of advertising in the 1960s, following a successful journalism career with Paris Match and France-Soir, Seguela launched advertising agency Roux-Seguela in 1970, which later became RSCG, and then Euro RSCG after a merger with Eurocom – a subsidiary of Havas – in 1991. Eventually, in 2012, the brand was renamed as Havas Worldwide.

Among his high-profile roles at Havas, Seguela has served as chief communication officer, chief creative officer and vice president. He is currently the company's director – a role he has held since 1992.

He was recently in the region to see first-hand the Dubai iteration of Havas’s Village model, and impart some of his knowledge, experience and encouragement to the local team.

The Village concept was introduced to Dubai in 2015, bringing communications services such as strategy, creative, social, digital, PR and media into one community. In standardising tools and processes throughout the agencies, Havas has moved to ensure best practice across the board, as well as giving clients access to a wider group of specialities without having to onboard separate agencies. The sum total is a full end-to end partnership rooted in efficiency and agility.