• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, December 6, 2022

Publicis Groupe has released a more somber holiday video this year. It’s more PSA than festive and comic season greeting with a message about the widespread human papilloma virus (HPV) and the cancers it can cause. 

It’s the same type of cancer that CEO Arthur Sadoun successfully battled earlier this year.

In addition to Sadoun and Supervisory Board Chair Maurice Levy, Hollywood star Michael Douglas—who also successfully battled the disease a decade ago—appears in this year’s video.

The video has some funny moments—someone is clearly star struck to see Douglas even though he keeps mispronouncing the star’s name. And Douglas can be heard saying in French before entering the office where Sadoun and Levy are talking how unlikely it would be for him to appear in an agency video.

But the serious tone is punctuated by Sadoun’s noting that 80% of adults have HPV and that there are vaccines available to protect people from getting it.

The video ends with the call to action: “Let’s get protected against HPV … in 2023!”

View the video here.