Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
Tereza Sverakova is the Chief Creative Officer for Y&R, Czech Republic, and has been in the advertising industry for over 20 years, but she has loved advertising way before she got into it for a career.
At the age of 17, Tereza attended a demonstration against the Communist regime holding a self-made banner saying: “Who if not us, when if not now.” This sentence later became the official slogan of the Czech Velvet Revolution. And remains carved in stone in Prague.
This experienced and highly awarded creative is a member of juries at the biggest international festivals of creativity, and at the 24th Golden Drum she will help in the selection of the Young Drummers Competition.
Media Marketing: What brought you into the world of advertising?
Tereza Sverakova: My career in advertising started 22 years ago. My curiosity to discover new things was the stepping stone to entering this industry. At that time, not long after the anti-communist revolution in the Czech Republic, advertising was a brand new industry associated with a world of open possibilities and freedom of choice. Two very attractive things for a young girl who grew up in a totalitarian regime; who used to queue in front of the market to buy bananas.
Media Marketing: Is there a campaign that you might call your favorite?
Tereza Sverakova: This year I’ve been part of many award show juries: One show, Cannes, Clio, and more recently LIAA. When you spend hours siting in a room, reviewing a long list of work, you see lots of campaigns using all the newest technologies, data, etc. The more I see of these projects (and some of them are really great!), the more I value seeing great classic storytelling with strong human stories behind it. Pieces like that are becoming precious these days. But they resist all the trends and become timeless. The World’s Biggest Asshole is a great example.
Also, it would be inexcusable to not mention Fearless Girl, a game-changer idea. It went far beyond the boundaries of our industry and left a mark that will be here forever. I believe the work is so good because it does not resonate only to the gender equality theme. It is a powerful message about courage and resistance for everyone.
Media Marketing: During your long and successful career you have won a slew of awards at the biggest international festivals, including Clios, D&AD, Eurobest and Cannes Lions to name but a few. How important are these awards for a creative?
Tereza Sverakova: Simply said: very important. Good creatives should always have a passion to do work that sets new standards and changes the rules. And you can do that only if you see your work in a broader context. In this sense, award shows are imperative. They motivate us to achieve better results, push us to resist the average. And for small markets like the Czech one, succeeding in award shows is the best way to bring great young talents from abroad and give the country some recognition.
Media Marketing: The debates are ongoing all over the world about the underrepresentation of women in the creative industries. But in “our part of the world” it seems that the situation with this issue is quite a bit better, or are we wrong?
Tereza Sverakova: Well, I don’t know what the numbers are and can only speak from my own experience. Out of 6 Creative Directors in our Group of agencies there are 3 women. So, we have a really good balance and I am very proud of it. This did not happen deliberately, but we all benefit from the balance of both genders’ points of view.
However, I don’t believe that this can ever be forced. I want the best people in the right place, and in my opinion, if we start putting women in positions only to reach some numbers, in the end it could turn against these women themselves. They must be there because the want it and they earned it with their own work.
Media Marketing: At this year’s Golden Drum you will be part of the Young Drummers Competition. Is there some advice you would send to young people who are only just starting in this industry?
Tereza Sverakova: I just returned from Las Vegas where I judged LIAA. One of the great things about this festival is the fact that it includes juniors who just started their advertising careers. They are a part of debates, they can watch the jury and contribute to the discussion. At Y&R Prague we have permanent workshop programs for Miami Ad School students. What I can clearly see in this new generation is the courage to say their opinions out loud, with enough confidence to share their thoughts and bring provoking questions to the table. Compared to when I started, they are much more fearless: a trait that every great creative should have. But staying humble is equally important. Because only then you can learn from others and stay self-reflective. And that is the beauty of this job, that we can learn new things every day.