Jacques Séguéla, French advertising legend, and former vice chairperson, Havas, won the Lion of St. Mark at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity earlier this year.
 
As part of a special issue on the Havas Group in October, Manifest caught up with Séguéla for his point-of-view on the impact of technology on the advertising business.

Stating that technology like AI will hamper only 'middle-class' advertising, he explained, "Our industry changes every decade, with the latest transformation being the emergence of AI. This will destroy 'middle class' advertising, those who handle small jobs such as adaptation, distribution, and translation. AI will do this cheaper and faster." 

He urged agencies to offer the training required for their creatives to flourish. 

"Now is the right time for agencies to offer these 'endangered advertisers' the training they need to remain with the agency, and why not at a higher level, or in a new position. As for the rest, AI, since its creation, has yet to come up with a single idea. It’s a gigantic data processor with supersonic speed, but it will always lack the human intelligence that no machine can possess. No need to panic!"

To read our full chat with Séguéla, get your copy here. For subscription options click here.