Publicis Groupe is preparing to enter its 100th year in 2026, and the holding company is marking the milestone by revisiting a century of reinvention from its beginnings as a creative shop in Montmartre to its position today as the world’s largest advertising group.
One tradition remains unchanged: the annual New Year wishes. For its centenary edition, the Groupe turned to Publicis Conseil, the agency founded by Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet, to bring the project to life through a blend of AI innovation and live action.
The film draws heavily on the company’s past while signalling the direction of its next chapter, weaving together scenes from Publicis’ history with newly generated imagery shaped by AI tools from across the Groupe.
A lion that never gives up
The film, A Lion Never Gives Up, revisits the moments that have defined Publicis including war, fire, technological disruption and global economic downturns and highlights the resilience that has been consistent across its 100-year history.
Arthur Sadoun, chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe, said the milestone year arrives with both reflection and a forward view.
“2026 will be a very special year for us, as we end our first century. A century where we have turned a small hot shop from Montmartre into the industry’s largest holding company over the last two years,” he said.
“A century that has seen the Groupe rise from the ashes – sometimes literally – three times and reinvented itself many more. It is this spirit of resilience that has defined us for 100 years, and that is captured in our Wishes: a lion never gives up.”
Sadoun added that the next century will be shaped by AI both creatively and operationally.
“2026 will also be the year when we enter our second century, the beginning of which will undoubtedly be defined by the rise of AI. This film is a human, historical and technological odyssey that blends our best creative minds with our unmatched capabilities in AI production to embody our belief that the future of AI is our people.”
The Groupe has also released a documentary on its history, featuring Elizabeth Badinter, Maurice Lévy and Sadoun.
Inside the hybrid production approach
Publicis describes the film as a hybrid project that blends live action with generative AI to reconstruct historical scenes at scale.
One quarter of the film is live action, while the rest was created using GenAI 2D and 3D imaging, supported by photos, film and documents from the company’s archives.
To assemble the visuals, Publicis Conseil and Prodigious Paris used a catalogue of more than 4,500 assets across 150 shots.
AI prompt artists and archival specialists worked to source, manage and label materials, while also producing new images to fill historical gaps.
Unlike a traditional production pipeline, the AI-led workflow allowed each shot to be regenerated or re-edited at any time, keeping the creative process open until the final stages.
Production partners and creative credits
The film was created by Publicis Conseil, with production by Prodigious Paris.
Publicis Conseil leadership:
Marco Venturelli – Global CEO/CCO Leo, CEO/CCO Publicis Conseil, CCO Publicis Groupe France
Agathe Bousquet – President, Publicis Groupe France and President, Publicis Conseil
Alexis Ben Behe – Executive Creative Director
Maud Robaglia – Creation Director
Gurvan Prioul – Creative & UX Design Director
Hamza Ben Maadoum – Junior Art Director
Prodigious Paris:
Christopher Thiery – CEO
Caroline Petruccelli – Managing Director
Yann Dubois – Executive Producer
Cédric Herbet – Post Producer
Nico Vogel – VFX Creative Director
Nicolas Loir – Director of Photography
Damien Perrolaz – Sound Operator
Marie Caron – Production Director
Sound production was handled by Prodigious, with Martin Sumeire as producer and KOUZ overseeing mix and sound design.
The accompanying documentary, L’avenir est l’affaire de Publicis, was directed by Stanislas Valroff and produced by Eddy Story. It was filmed at Prodigious’ XR Studio.