Florian Schwalme (Creative Director, Scholz & Friends) is happily married to advertising, the thing he has fallen in love with since day one. Dedicated to simplicity, he strives to make creativity have its say. Even if that means searching for inspiration, together with his team, on the agency rooftop.
I grew up on the streets of East-Berlin.
As a child, I dreamt of becoming a cartoonist like my father was.
The craziest thing I did in high school was getting comatosely drunk with my biology teacher the night before the final exam.
In college I was the guy who skipped college.
What is great about our agency is that there is no fear.
This is where we brainstorm:
We try to get out of the office as often as possible. Many times we brainstorm on the roof deck of the agency.
This is how my desk looks like:
Beware of the garden gnome! He is in charge, when I'm not in the office. His machine gun is no threat, but his karate skills are.
My relationship status with advertising: happily married. No extramarital affairs ever since.
I decided I wanted to work in advertising when I realized, I shouldn't have skipped college.
What is great about working in advertising is that you're basically paid for fantasizing.
The work I am most proud of is my daughter Lilo and my son Bruno. Although the job wasn't too tough – rather quick'n'dirty.
The most rewarding moment in my career was when I watched one of my very first commercials in cinema and experienced the reactions of the audience.
My favorite place to fish insights from is any kind of internet forum.
Great creative campaigns have in common an idea so simple no one has thought of it before.
The best clients are the ones that understand that creativity sells.
The worst clients are the ones that are driven by fear.
I feel most frustrated when my calendar looks like a lost game of Tetris.
In my opinion, the best creative works ever are:
Sony Bravia's "Bouncy Balls" – a timeless piece of art that becomes more beautiful every time you watch it.
Burger King's "Whopper Sacrifice" – such a simple, efficient and somehow mean idea that led the Facebook principle ad absurdum.
Former headline ads by The Economist – so much said with so little words.
Can't remember the exact client, but it was some Pizza restaurant or Pizza delivery service, that asked people to rip out the competitor's ads from the yellow pages and trade them in for a free pizza. This is couponing on a whole new level, it's guerrilla couponing.
Heineken – almost everything they've done and communicated is very convincing and working so well, that I really start to believe one can "drink coolness".
The best piece of advice I ever received from someone in the industry is "It's only advertising".
My best sources of inspiration are children's books.
In my browser history you can find tons of travel sites. Any holiday tips for Romania?
Possibly the oldest picture of me. Don't think there's a big story behind the potty – maybe in the potty.
