Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet

Several members of the Executive Team here at Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness went to a special screening of le Monsieur de la Pub last week. The film is a documentary about the life of Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet, the founder of The Publicis Groupe, our parent company. Marcel is often credited as the father of advertising, certainly in France. The director of the film, Olivier Mille, was at the screening and held a q&a session right after.

Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet had an incredible life, publically and privately. He endured many ups and downs in his career, but always remained steadfast in his pursuit of creativity. He made Publicis a force to be reckoned with, to this very day.

I had not realized that Marcel's advertising career started in health: one of his first clients was an aspirin. And then he opened a drugstore that sits in the lobby of the company headquarters. How cool is that (!?!), especially for those of us dedicated to the pursuit of wellness.

When the film was over, I walked away with one very important lesson learned: enjoy your life. Live it to the fullest. Marcel certainly did, through all the trials and tribulations he enjoyed his life and he made every moment count. And he was incredibly successful doing it, leaving a legacy behind for all of us to be inspired by.

The pictures are there to prove it!

Hope this finds you well -- Jim.