My relationship with advertising began at the age of 8, with the TV-show called “The worlds funniest commercials”, illustrating commercials from all corners of the world. I sat in front of the television mesmerized, and from that moment I was hooked.

Strangely enough, some people actually argue advertising is complex, rocket science. For me, advertising should be simple, communication in its purest form. It’s basically about problem solving, and my mindset is to find the perfect creative solution to any given problem. This is done in two intertwined steps: 1. What to say (strategy); and 2.How to say it (creativity). Without a sensible strategy, the creative workmanship is useless. It’s like building a really really nice house without the proper foundation. Eventually, it will break. Or, as Jeff Richards puts it:

“Creativity without strategy is called art. Creative with strategy is called advertising.“

Also, I think it’s important that one does not strive for, or allows oneself to the contained by consensus making. If you do, the emotion is left out of the equation and this is not good, because advertising is all about emotions, right? It is equally important not to leave yourself out of the equation. Be yourself, but stay curious about others. When I test my ideas, I do my best to put myself in the shoes of the target group. At the end of it all you need to ask yourself “does anyone give a shit about this?”

The idea phase is my favorite part of a project, and when you start thinking in terms of: “why hasn’t anyone done that already?” or “Are we legally allowed to do this?”, this means that you are on to something good.

The good old David Ogilvy used to say that creativity and innovation “function best in an atmostphere of fun and foment”, and that creativity hardly functions at all in an atmosphere of politics and fear. Accordingly, I thrive in environments that are friendly, flat, and open, and I’m allergic to dictators who uses suppression techniques.

So, WTF is a creative Jedi Mind Tricker? In short, it is the ability to change or shape the opinion about a brand through creativity, without people even knowing it.

The worlds funniest commercials from when I was 8 years old. Enjoy!