Ad giant Publicis has bought Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH), the agency behind iconic camapigns such as “Vorsprung durch Technik” for Audi and The Lynx Effect” for Lynx/ Axe.
Publicis will aquire the 51% stake in BBH that it does not already own, in a deal which will also snap up Brazilian agency Neogama/BBH, of which BBH already owned a third.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Founded in 1982 by Nigel Bogle and Sir John Hegarty, BBH had revenues of €112m in 2011, and employs more than 1,000 people around the world.
Over the decades BBH has created campaigns for Audi, British Airways and Levi Strauss Jeans, and recently internet search giant, Google.
The deal also includes a 100 per cent stake in Brazil based agency NEOGAMA/BBH in which BBH had a 34 per cent stake while Alexandre Gama and his partners had the remaining 66 per cent.
Maurice Lévy, Chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe declared: “My relationship with founders Nigel Bogle, Sir John Hegarty and Alexandre Gama spans a decade – years in which I developed great admiration for the exceptional achievements of these legendary talents and their agencies, the remarkable work they create for their clients, and their magnet to attract talent and clients. These transactions will enable the unification of the BBH network.”
Nigel Bogle, Founder of BBH, added: “The decision was very clear. We were looking for an opportunity that would ensure that our agency maintained a high degree of autonomy and could continue to abide by the values characterized by the black sheep. The key point for us was the preservation of our operational independence in managing the BBH brand, which has produced almost uninterrupted growth for thirty years. The new ownership not only ensures our autonomy, but bringsus considerable advantages through Publicis Groupe’s resources and global infrastructure.”
Alexandre Gama, Chief Creative Officer of NEOGAMA/BBH, added: “This is an exciting development for NEOGAMA/BBH and we are particularly proud to become a 100% BBH agency within Publicis Groupe. The move brings scale, global reach and numerous opportunities, which translates into good news for our clients, our teams and our agency’s future.”
Nigel Bogle, Founding Partner and Sir John Hegarty, Founding Partner – Creative, will remain active on client business but will transfer executive responsibility to this management team.
Bogle will also continue to coach and mentor the new management team. Hegarty will continue to champion creativity and represent BBH on the global stage as well as key client assignments.
Sir John Hegarty said, “Creativity is at the very heart of BBH. The quality of our work and the people who produce it have always been central to our success and will continue to be so into the future.”
The Board of the BBH holding company will consist of three members of the Publicis Groupe Management Board – Maurice Lévy, Jean-Yves Naouri, and Jean-Michel Etienne – as well as Steve King, Global CEO of ZenithOptimedia, Nigel Bogle, Sir John Hegarty and Simon Sherwood. This board will delegate full responsibility and authority for the day-to-day management and operation to a BBH Global Management Team led by Gwyn Jones.
