An advertising guru cites open-mindedness

ALEX SCHILL, global chief creative officer and a partner of Serviceplan Group, loves to challenge his juniors. Whenever his younger associates succeed in a project that he didn’t approve of, he awards them a bonus.
“That happens quite often, and I do lose a lot of money,” Schill tells The Korea Herald.
Schill, who holds 50 Cannes Lions, including the Grand Prix from 2012 and 2013, believes that admitting to his failures has helped him become more creative and, moreover, successful.
“Those who are creative are those who know how to look at things from different perspectives,” he says. “They understand that what they think is right might not always be right and want to learn more about alternatives.
“People often think that being creative has something to do with coming up with brilliant ideas all of a sudden. But, once you really get there, you understand it’s about moderating so many different needs and demands from different persons. It only becomes possible when you are truly open-minded.”
Schill was preparing to talk about “Responsible Design for Sustainability” yesterday at the Herald Design Forum at Dongdaemun Design Plaza. He planned to introduce his know-how in designing advertisements and his questioning approach to everything he encounters.

HOW DID YOU FIRST BECOME INTERESTED IN THE INDUSTRY?
In 1989 I had the chance to start studying at the High School of Fine Arts in Berlin. Besides the good reputation of the school, it was the craziest thing that ever happened in Germany when the Wall came down in those days. And Berlin was the hottest place to be.
That was most likely the reason for me to go to Berlin and start studying advertising. I spent four years in Berlin and lived in the middle of a breathtaking change of the country.
In 1994 I was offered a chance to work for Mercedes-Benz at Springer&Jacoby, formerly |the most creative agency around in Germany. Since I like cars a lot, I agreed and then just one step followed the other. I became CCO after 10 years and after 12 years I moved on to Serviceplan.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE IDEA YOU’VE HAD IN YOUR CAREER?
I think it is a job that we did a couple of years ago for the Lead Awards in Germany. It was an installation called “Pro&Contra”, which was placed right in the middle of an art exhibition at the Deichtorhallen, one of the most famous museums in Germany.
It was hundreds of balls hanging from the ceiling, in an apparently chaotic order. But if you stood in the right position in the room, the balls formed the word “pro”. After moving to another spot marked on the floor, you could read the word “contra”.
We asked people to discuss the art they saw in the exhibition by using a piece of art itself.

WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENTS IN SUSTAINABLE DESIGN?
Is it relevant? Is it involving? Is it different?

YOU’VE WORKED WITH BMW, GOOGLE, LUFTHANSA AND LEGO. WHO WERE YOUR FAVOURITES OR MOST MEMORABLE?
The most memorable one is definitely Mercedes-Benz. It was the first client I ever worked for and I was deeply involved for 12 years. I think I still can quote the first copy I ever wrote in my career.

WHAT WOULD YOU ADVISE STUDENTS ASPIRING TO WORK IN THE ADVERTISING AND MARKETING INDUSTRY?
If you want to succeed, you have to be yourself. Never try to anticipate what your client likes. Even if you already know, it wouldn’t be relevant. He pays you a lot of money for your opinion, not for repeating his. The decision is on his side. The advice is on yours.