Big 6 advertising agency Havas has ceased all new investment in Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
The French multinational operates in Russia through its regional partner ADV Group, in which it holds a minority share.
A statement from Havas, seen by The Drum: “We are all deeply concerned by the situation in Ukraine. The devastating violence has shocked us profoundly and our thoughts are with everyone affected by this conflict.
“Havas is present in Ukraine – we have 250 people working in three agencies. We are very concerned for their welfare.
“Our absolute priority since the beginning of the war has been to do everything we can to provide the financial and logistical support to our teams there.
“We are following the situation very closely.”
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However, a Havas spokesperson told the Drum it does not “operate directly in Russia”, but is a local partner that serves its global clients. global clients.
“The affiliate is a Russian operation with Russian people and a primarily local client base, and it continues to operate independently,” they said.
As a result, the firm confirmed that it would be reviewing all its Russian activities on a client-by-client basis.
The news comes as two of Havas’ main competitors made similar announcements this week, with WPP announcing that it had ceased all trading in Russia, while Dentsu confirmed that it would be reviewing all its activities in the territory.
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