Madison World forms JV with UK ad firm

Adman Sam Balsara-promoted Madison World has formed an equal joint venture (JV) with UK-based advertising company Beattie McGuinness Bungay (BMB).

The JV would offer creative services to advertisers, said Balsara, with the Mumbai-based diversified communication group’s existing creative agency, mc2 being merged with BMB.

“The new entity will be headed by mc2’s business head, Prabha Prabhu, while the creative head will be a person from BMB.”

The JV would be called BMB Madison Advertising Pvt Ltd, but it would be promoted as BMB, a unit of Madison World, Balsara said. “We were looking to strengthen our creative services for long. The alliance with BMB will allow us to do that.”

BMB is co-founded by maverick adman Trevor Beattie and two other UK-based advertising professionals, Andrew McGuinness and Bill Bungay.

Beattie, who was creative director and chairman of TBWA in London, is best known for his provocative works for brands such as French Connection UK, a high-street fashion chain, which he rebranded as FCUK, in the 1990s. He also masterminded campaigns for the Labour Party during the 2001 and 2005 General Elections.