Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) has refreshed its visual identity for the first time in more than four decades; since its inception. This comes as we see more news this week of advertising groups restructuring and consolidation.
BBH, owned by Publicis Groupe since 2012, introduced a bespoke typeface and updated brand system aimed at reinforcing its long-standing positioning around distinctiveness and creative difference.
Earlier this week, according to Reuters, Publicis' competitor WPP said it was preparing to bring its three main creative agencies – Ogilvy, VML and AKQA – under a new WPP Creative holding structure.
In the US Omnicom announced, late last year, cost-cutting measures and agency rationalisation following its acquisition of Interpublic Group, citing the need to streamline operations.
AI tools are increasingly being used across the industry to generate copy, design variations and media assets, reducing production costs and turnaround times. This is intensifying competition in core creative services while increasing the strategic importance of talent, data integration and measurable performance outcomes.
Publicis has positioned itself as a leader in AI-enabled marketing services and says competitors still can't make it pay. The Groupe are also reporting steady organic growth and margin expansion in recent results published online.
“Thanks to our AI-powered growth model, we are entering our second century stronger than ever, with Q4 [2025] organic growth of +5.9%,” said Arthur Sadoun, Chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe.
Against that backdrop, BBH’s emphasis on creative authorship highlights a broader industry tension. As technology lowers the cost of content production and smaller independent agencies operate with leaner cost structures, larger groups are seeking to differentiate through brand strategy and distinctive positioning.
Felipe Serradourada Guimaraes, ECD at BBH shared: “The BBH brand hasn’t been touched since its inception in 1982, so we had a lot of pressure on us to get this right. We needed to modernise the brand, whilst still honouring our iconic heritage.”
He continues; “we are doubling down on Zag in the face of the sloppy AI sameness, evolving the meaning behind the BBH brand and power of difference.”
Chris Nott, Co-Founder & Type Director at Studio DRAMA shared, “BBH is one of those rare brands that every creative grows up admiring, so being trusted to shape its first new typeface in 44 years was a huge honour.”
The new visual identity is being described by Studio DRAMA as 'A custom typeface for BBH Global that reframes British Grotesque heritage through a bold, display-first, global perspective, with three founder-named cuts built for impact!'
BBH’s typefaces have all been made available for free as open-source Google fonts. Since going live, the typeface has seen a combined total of 4 million downloads worldwide.
The new VI was teased to employees with custom, limited edition fleeces, designed by BBH’s Design department and realised by BBH’s production department in collaboration with Senior Design Consultant, Limma Ali.
The black fleeces feature ‘BBH’ in the new typefaces embroidered on the chest pocket and a small, yellow ID tag, usually used for sheep, clipped on the hem.
Filmed on location with a flock of heritage Radnor sheep in Pembrokeshire, Wales, the specially commissioned film, directed by artist filmmaker Gilly Booth, incorporates aerial cinematography by Cinearth.
The 44 second film was created in homage to the original BBH Levi's advert made 44 years ago.
The new identity has been adopted globally with a new global website, created in-house in collaboration with Creative Developer, Oliver Brown.
In a recent interview with THE GOODS Justin Billingsley, former global COO of Publicis Communications, said “AI is eating certain parts of the agency value chain - production, adaptation, analytics, media buying and planning.”
He said agencies positioned in the middle of the market, neither fully integrated platforms nor highly specialised creative boutiques, face the greatest pressure.
And this is why a well-executed rebrand makes sense for BBH. The agency is asserting that ‘they make the power of difference tangible, injecting human creativity into the heart of the new identity and turning a long-held philosophy into something you can see, share, and hold.’
Clients are demanding both greater efficiency and clearer commercial impact from marketing spend, particularly as economic uncertainty and competitive pressures weigh on budgets.
While a visual refresh does not alter underlying market dynamics, it does show how legacy agencies are able to define their role within larger holding company structures increasingly shaped by technology investment and integration.
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