After years of disillusionment working within the WPP, Publicis and Havas networks, Jérôme Gonfond and Pierre Bellefleur broke the mould when they opened Strike in 2018, with the intention of redefining the role advertising can play in shaping society and protecting the planet.

This was unusual in the French ad landscape. At the time only one agency was working for the greater good, but it was more focused on social responsibility. “In the French market, there are two ways of seeing things. There are marketing agencies that use direct marketing to get funds for NGOs,” explains Bellefleur. “Or big agencies and big groups that will dedicate some time to charities to … let’s be honest, get awards.”

Gonfond and Bellefleur (who are CEO/CCO and CSO at Strike respectively) met while working at La Chose on a campaign that celebrated 100 years of Coca-Cola in France. The duo worked on an over-consumption strategy, quickly followed by a plan to eliminate plastic waste from the ocean – an experience Bellefleur best describes as “really schizophrenic”.

They began to talk about what they should change in the industry. “We didn’t feel like the good guys anymore in society,” Gonfond reflects. “As a creative, we don’t want to do this kind of thing. We wanted to do great things that help people. To dedicate our expertise to something 100% honest.”