By: Ekrem Dupanović
Three weeks ago, when I arrived in Ljubljana with the first copies of the Creative Portfolio 02, my first stop was at Fest Fest, to meet Jure Apih. He was the first one I brought the previous book as well. For some reason, I believe that Jure has the natural right to get the first copy of a book like this, since he has committed his entire career to promoting creativity in advertising.
Looking at the book, first he dwelled on the covers for quite some time, before he said: “It looks nice. Very nice.” Then he skimmed the book, hovering over some of the campaigns that caught his attention. Then he went through the book backwards, closed it, and finally said: “This book needs an event!” Then I told him about the difficulties Asja and I faced in an attempt to make a list of the most successful agencies in the Adriatic region based on their success at the festivals.
Ultimately, we gave up, because no scoring system we applied gave us a realistic picture. Some campaigns were on festivals all year round, some of them came out in autumn or end of year. Campaigns from the second half of the year will continue their festival tour in the next, so it is almost impossible to achieve objective results in a single calendar year. We would need to collect points from two years.
Asja then told me the only solution would be to apply the principle of The Cup, which Jure Apih organized as the Intercontinental Advertising Cup. He would take members from the juries of different festivals, and form a single jury that would select the best of the best from across festivals.
So, we should also make The Adriatic Cup following the same principle, and with the help of a jury that would be made of representatives of all juries at national festivals, choose the best campaigns and declare the most successful agencies and advertisers in a single year.
I told that to Jure. And I also said it would mean we would use his idea and his rules for The Cup, which is, after all, his brain child. “I have nothing against it. The idea is good, the Creative Portfolio needs an event, feel free to call it The Adriatic Cup. If you need anything, just ask. I’ll help you do it.”
A few days ago, we met again in Ljubljana for a lunch at the Pen Club. Jure, Meta Dobnikar, Asja and me. As soon as we sat at the table, Jure opened his bag and pulled out The Cup trophy. He handed it to me, saying: “Here, I am handing you the baton of The Cup. Do with it as you and Asja have imagined.”
I held the trophy in my hand, whose ceremony I even organized twice. First time in Sarajevo (2009) and second time in Belgrade (2014), when Media Marketing partnered with Fest Fest in organizing this planetary holiday creativity in advertising. I was very grateful for this gesture that is so in character for a gentleman of Mr. Jure’s calibre.
Accidentally (or not) the day after, at the Printera printing house (Sv Nedelja near Zagreb) Asja and I had a meeting with Žare Kerin, Futura DDB Ljubljana, Creative Director of the Creative Portfolio, and Mirko Koren, Sales Director of Printera. We talked about the future of the project and how we can improve it from the print side. The conversation was very creative, we all showed great readiness to contribute to making an even better book. We expressed our interest in the long-term development of this project together.
From Sv. Nedelj Žare traveled to Ljubljana, and Asja and I to Rovinj for Days of Communication. We talked about The Adriatic Cup all the time. Jure said that Creative Portfolio needs an event, and Jure is someone you listen to.
We will make a big event at the end of February next year. We should also talk about the city in which we would organize it. Belgrade, Zagreb and Sarajevo are in circulation. Every city has its own advantages. We’ll see. We must first agree partnerships with other festivals on this project. If they accept our proposal, it will be a really big event.
April 8, 2019
