Josef Havelka
Adman, founder of Advertising Expendables
Josef Havelka is one of the undisputed legends of Czech advertising. He established Prague’s Leo Burnett offices, went through a number of prestigious posts, started a few successful business ventures and most recently, brought the British creative platform Contagious to the Czech Republic. But to this day, what interests him the most are ideas. Ideas that move the world, services and products that make our lives more beautiful, comfortable, healthier and overall more valuable.
Josef Havelka is a Czech advertising veteran who in 2026 launched Advertising Expendables, a loose creative team offering brands a campaign for free in exchange for choosing the client. He founded and led the Prague office of Leo Burnett, worked at Ogilvy and Zoot, ran marketing at Česká spořitelna (2013-2016) and later led Contagious in the Czech Republic. His columns from three decades are collected in the book Reklama: Umění hovna?
