Publicis Groupe ANZ launches Le Truc down under led by chief creative officer Dave Bowman

Publicis Groupe Australia and New Zealand has rolled out its creative collective Le Truc locally, extending the model first developed in New York City.

The collective will be overseen regionally by chief creative officer Dave Bowman, with Katrina Alvarez-Jarratt and Iain Nealie appointed as executive creative directors.

Before joining Le Truc, Alvarez-Jarratt spent nine years at TBWASydney, departing the agency in May last year. During her time at TBWA, Alvarez-Jarratt played a pivotal role in shaping some of the agency’s most awarded and culturally resonant campaigns helping steer the creative output of the Sydney office across both local and global brands.

Nealie rejoins the Publicis network after more than a decade with Google across APAC, where he led creative direction for many of the region’s largest commercial partners and agency relationships. Earlier in his career he held positions at Saatchi & Saatchi and TBWA New Zealand.

Opened in February 2021, Le Truc is a model within the Publicis Groupe which unites all creatives, producers and strategists from its agencies into one, dynamic, collaborative team. A collective of “monsters” curated and brought together to add firepower to briefs of all kinds, provoke and inspire brand change, and solve problems with new and emerging forms of creativity.

Further details on additional hires and how the collective will be deployed are expected in the coming months.