Publicis Groupe is merging Leo Burnett and Publicis Worldwide to create Leo, a creative unit that will boast over 15,000 employees in 90 countries. 

The combination will see “Burnett,” one of the most iconic last names in advertising, disappear. The agency has carried the name since Leo Noble Burnett opened Leo Burnett Co. in Chicago in 1935. 

Leo Burnett’s regional offices will now simply go by Leo. Leo Burnett Chicago, for example, will now be known as Leo Chicago. The same goes for Publicis Worldwide offices, except Publicis Conseil, which will retain its name, according to a spokesperson. Publicis New York will now be known as Leo New York. Leo’s logo includes both the “Leo” name and Publicis lion, a staple of the agency group’s branding. 

Read more: Former agency execs, clients and industry insiders react

Leo will be spearheaded by Co-Presidents Marco Venturelli and Agathe Bousquet, the duo that helped steer Paris-based Publicis Conseil to an Agency of the Year win at last year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Venturelli is also chief creative officer of Leo. Gareth Goodall will serve as Leo’s chief strategy officer while retaining his role as chief strategy officer of Publicis Creative. Andrew Bruce, CEO of Publicis Groupe Canada, will take on the additional role of Leo North America chairman. 

The merger of the Publicis Groupe agencies will not result in layoffs, according to a Publicis Groupe spokesperson.

‘Exponential creativity’

Publicis Groupe describes Leo as a “creative constellation,” rather than a network, which Venturelli called a “concept of the past.” (The term also nods to Publicis founder Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet, whose star sign was Leo.)

Venturelli, Bousquet and Goodall will oversee Leo’s culture and team, which will be deployed at the country level through the “Power of One.” Leo Burnett has long played a role in Publicis’ Power of One approach—which brings multiple shops together to pitch and manage big accounts—but by merging the agency with Publicis Worldwide, the company aims to boost connectivity, Venturelli told Ad Age.            

Leo Burnett suffered some notable account losses in 2024, including General Motors, Campbell’s Goldfish brand and Kellanova. After losing the GM business, which included the creative accounts for Buick, GMC and Cadillac, Publicis shuttered Leo Burnett Detroit. But the agency’s recent performance—and the proposed Omnicom-Interpublic agency group, which would house several creative networks—didn’t play a factor in the decision to establish Leo, Publicis execs said. 

Marrying Leo Burnett’s human craft and Publicis Worldwide’s chops in data and technology will help Publicis better support global clients and focus on “exponential creativity,” said Carla Serrano, chief strategy officer at Publicis Groupe.

“We see this union being the perfect match of complementary skill sets, spirits and philosophies at a time when our clients really need it,” said Serrano. In an industry obsessed with AI and efficiency, Leo is a “reframe of the conversation,” she added.

In a statement, Publicis Groupe Chairman and CEO Arthur Sadoun said that, “by unifying the spirit and talent of these global creative communities, Leo will be bigger, stronger and on more doors than ever.”

That point is reiterated in an internal video Publicis sent to employees announcing Leo, featuring clips of the eponymous adman, who created evocative icons including the Jolly Green Giant, Pillsbury Doughboy, Charlie the Tuna and Tony the Tiger. The clips come from Leo Burnett’s famous retirement speech delivered in 1967 when he suggested the agency take his name off the door when they stop doing things he believed in, such as when it spends “more time trying to make money and less time making advertising. Our kind of advertising.”

Also read: Leo Burnett on ‘When to take my name off the door’

Publicis is removing Burnett’s last name from the agency moniker while emphasizing his legacy through the name Leo. In the video, it states, “Leo, your name will be on more doors than ever.”

Burnett’s last name becomes the latest in adland to be wiped away in recent years. Three legacy agency names, J. Walter Thompson, Young & Rubicam and Wunderman, disappeared when WPP merged VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson in October 2023.

In a sign of how the industry has consolidated, just four agencies from the list of the top 22 agencies in Ad Age’s first Agency Report in 1945 are still standing: Omnicom Group’s BBDO and Interpublic Group of Cos.’ McCann, FCB and Campbell Ewald. (Omnicom last month agreed to acquire Interpublic, in a deal that is still pending.)

With the creation of Leo, Publicis now has a “portfolio of creative brands,” each of which serves a different purpose for clients, said Serrano. It has shops such as Saatchi & Saatchi, Fallon and The Community, as well as creative collective Le Truc, which operates at a holding company level. Publicis also recently expanded its creative agency LePub, with plans to open a New York office in January. LePub plans to open offices in London, Bogotá, Colombia; and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, later in 2025.

Leo is “another model that we think is fit for today’s landscape,” Serrano said.

Contributing: Bradley Johnson