Adweek reported on shenanigans at the Paris office of Havas, where official investigations are underway, prompting two leaders to step aside. While the Adweek story offers vague details, another source was more open:
“…[T]he two men are accused of having sought to ‘kiss’ or ‘touch’ on multiple occasions collaborators, sometimes trainees, in the premises of Havas Paris or during external events. … [One executive] is a brilliant guy but he has the sexuality of a teenager. (…) Under cover of being drunk, after two drinks, he jumps on anything that moves. … ‘Comments on all the clothes, hands on the shoulder and the waist, kisses very close to the mouth, I avoided him and only feared one thing, finding myself in front of him,’ says an ex-collaborator…”
The alleged scandalous behavior was exposed via anonymous accusations left at an Instagram account. Has Diet Madison Avenue gone global?
Havas Execs Step Aside as Internal #MeToo Investigation Begins
Julien Carette and Christophe Coffre will not lead the Paris-based agency while allegations are looked into
By Stephen Lepitak
Vivendi-owned advertising network Havas has begun an investigation into allegations made against members of its leadership in Paris leading to two executives stepping aside.
Julien Carette and Christophe Coffre, CEO and creative director, respectively, have both stepped down while the investigation is conducted following the anonymous accusations made on the Instagram account Balance Ton Agency (Balance Your Agency).
The account, which states that it “reports abuse in advertising”, currently has 338,000 followers and has highlighted the actions of two individuals from Havas—cited as “JC” and “CC”—with testimonies published about their behavior.
The page was started by Anne Boistard in September 2020 as a response to her own professional burnout as well as the #metoo movement and growing accusations across the advertising sector of inappropriate conduct.
“These people have been at the head of the group for years and allegedly abused their power over young women but also over a journalist from a specialized press magazine,” outlined a comment from the moderators of the page in response to one post that went live last week.
The message also outlined further individuals, both men and a woman, from across Havas and its agency network including BETC while revealing that the company’s management had decided to undertake an investigation prompted by the online posts.
Investigation underway
A Havas Group spokesperson confirmed the investigation adding, “We take allegations of this nature very seriously indeed and do not tolerate discrimination or abuse of any kind at Havas. We will act on any and all findings from the enquiry.”
The statement went on to outline that both Carette and Coffre will step aside while the investigation takes place.
These are not the first advertising executives in France to face scrutiny in recent years over similar allegations. In 2019, creative agency Herezie parted way with its creative director Baptiste Client over accusations of inappropriate behavior. That same year, a blog post also alleged sexism against Marcel’s chief executive Pascal Messim, while the founder of Buzzman—another Havas business—Georges Mohammed-Cherif also faced accusations following an investigation by French newspaper Le Monde.
At the helm for ten years of the agency of which they are now co-presidents, the two men are accused of having sought to “kiss” or “touch” on multiple occasions collaborators, sometimes trainees, in the premises of ‘Havas Paris or during external events.
“JC is a brilliant guy but he has the sexuality of a teenager. (…) Under cover of being drunk, after two drinks, he jumps on anything that moves. Same for the DC (creative director) d ‘Havas Event. I remember to warn interns not to approach them during agency evenings,’ according to one of these testimonies.
International Women's Rights Day: “A new page has opened with #MeToo”
“Comments on all the clothes, hands on the shoulder and the waist, kisses very close to the mouth, I avoided him and only feared one thing, finding myself in front of him,” says an ex-collaborator about by Christophe Chest.
Others remember about him a gesture simulating a sexual act, and inappropriate remarks.
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