Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
By: Stana Šehalić
Veljko Golubović is one of the most awarded creatives in the Serbian advertising industry. Campaigns he created and led won awards, among which stand out the eight Cannes Lions, and there are also awards from Clio, New York Festivals, One Show, Eurobest, Epica, Golden Drum, Cresta, Red Dot Festival, Cristal Festival, Red Apple, AdStars, PIAF, EACA, LIA and many other festivals.
During his many years of career, Veljko was a creative lead at agencies Leo Burnett Belgrade, Saatchi & Saatchi Belgrade, Grey Moscow, Grey Zagreb and Grey Belgrade, and has worked on the most important and most relevant projects for regional and international clients. Since recently he leads the creative team of FCB Afirma as the Regional Creative Director for the Adriatic region.
Your arrival at the helm of the creative team of FCB Afirma has attracted quite an attention from the media in the region, both those that are dedicated to this industry and others. In addition to being one of the most awarded creative directors, how else do you explain such interest?
Veljko Golubović: The region has become a much more interesting place than the local. The story has moved to a new, higher level, and hence the interest is higher. Simply put, things are going in that direction and that’s where everyone is looking at. No one looks back, so it’s impossible not to notice, whether this was about me or someone else. Another thing is that the world has shrunk tremendously, small news lose importance almost immediately after they’re published, so I expect that if someone from here was to become the secretary general of the UN, we would get immediately immersed in the nirvana of information.
According to the PIAF list of several years ago, among the 250 most successful creative directors, you were 12th, together with your then colleagues Dragana Petković and Žarko Veljković. This is a great international recognition for your creativity. How is a creative created (and more importantly how does one survive) in an environment so heavily bounded with such colossal banalities?
Veljko Golubović: I think it’s an individual thing and that there is no universal rule. You are constantly surrounded by someone’s interests. The pressure and responsibility are largely up to you, but the merit and rewards are always shared, and sometimes even completely transferred to another person. However, the key thing is where your focus is, and what drives you. Someone’s goal is to be a successful creative in their own country, for someone it’s to have their name in some book, for someone it’s to win a Cannes Lion, for someone it’s to win all the awards in the world, to get rich, to become famous, respected, recognized, and what not. I, above all, am a team player. When the PIAF list came out, at first only my name was on it – without Dragana and Žarko, and I didn’t want it to be published. Only when their names were added I decided to release the news. It doesn’t mean that anyone would do it, or that this is an acceptable behavior in this line of work, but that’s me – a social animal. PIAF list is the broadest. It includes both global and regional, both executive creative directors and CCO-s. There are other lists as well, such as the global list which was exclusively for executive creative directors, there I was ranked in the Top 10. As for the banalities – what can you do … That’s the way things are now, which doesn’t mean it will be forever. And if it is forever, then we will enjoy the reruns.
Distinctive manners are not a virtue
Experts gave their explanations when they presented you with recognitions and awards. How would you explain them? What do you consider your greatest achievements in your career so far, and which projects would you especially highlight in your work so far?
Veljko Golubović: The campaign “Hunger Strike Against Hunger” was my most important project. At the time, this idea was an avant-garde in communications. I remember the then global CEO of Leo Burnett network saying that our idea was greater than the “Earth Hour” campaign, which at that time was the greatest thing in the world. And it was successfully implemented in the most difficult circumstances: the Serbian government was against, FondB92 wasn’t exactly a fan of the idea, the media censored the action, but the citizens gave the final ruling. Groundbreaking moments were when the labor unions began to join the action, and then the individual, municipal boards of the ruling party. And so, when the ground shook, reactions came immediately with a recognition that the hunger issue in Serbia exists, and that every action in the fight against hunger is supported. Next year at the Eurobest, “Hunger Strike” won gold as the best campaign of the year in Europe. In addition, we won everything at the Golden Drum and got the EACA Grand Prix in the European Parliament. A few months later, when Sonja Milović and I first came to Saatchi & Saatchi London, no one knew who we were, but they all knew our campaign.
What do you believe is the differentia specifica of your author’s “handwriting” that sets you apart?
Veljko Golubović: I do not know if I’m right – it would be easier for someone on the side to say it – but I guess it’s because all that is humane, emotional, fully from the heart, fully honest, with a lot of noise and discussion, without any calculations, bold and hard hitting, avant-garde and meaningful, popular, attractive, fresh, funny, simple, problem solving or making life better, inspiring and if possible a game changer… What I’m trying to say is: it’s not a virtue if you as a creative have a distinctive manner, style, author’s seal, because that means that you communicate each brand in a similar or the same way. And that is really bad for the brands, for observers, for the agency and for you as a creative. So I sincerely hope that I am “illiterate” in this case.
Offer the client what they need, not what they like
How do you balance agency standards of creativity and client’s demands, or rather the overall limitations that you face on the road to realization of an idea?
Veljko Golubović: Balance is a perilous thing in our business. As a result of it, you get something bleak, at best an average thing. If you already have to give up on things along the way, then it’s important that these are not the elements that would change the essence of the idea. In general, “reaching for the stars” is a philosophy that can be very helpful in this situation. The higher the standards you set at the start, the less you will feel like a loser at the end. If you yourself are not satisfied with your idea, no other opinion is important. I always offer clients what they need, not what they like. On the other hand, the client is your greatest friend and the moment you agree on an idea, you have an open way to realization. The customer is not always right, but they now much more about their business than we do, so they should be listened carefully.
In recent years, since the economic crisis shook the entire world economy including the advertising industry, there’s been talk that advertising is changing and is trying to adapt to the ever more demanding consumer of the new era. There’s talk about changes imposed by the new media and social communities on the internet. How do you look at advertising today and tomorrow?
Veljko Golubović: The industry is changing. Communication is changing. The creative process is changing. The pressure is increasing and more and more we resemble a service and less creative agencies that make creative products. The global creative directors are resigning increasingly often, because it no longer looks like a job that they used to do and love. In general, we are all under pressure: clients to earn, agencies to create, consumers to buy. New technologies set the pace by offering wonderful sources of income, and shareholders set the rhythm seeking their share of the pie. As betting killed sport, so corporations devoured creativity. The whole industry has become one massive trend follower. Brands and big ideas once had the main say and created trends, now the roles are reversed. Postmodernism is doing its thing. Neo-fascism with democratic principles where even the worst can be the best. Kitsch, trash and all other rotten fruits of the mass media and mass production. Ultimately, you have Kim Kardashian as the biggest star and a speaker at the Festival of Creativity in Cannes.
In an interview amid winning the Cannes Lion for Chronicle of Threats, you concluded the conversation somewhat resignedly: “A much more difficult question is whether there’s any point in doing that in Serbia, where the first in the village is always better than the best in the world?” Do you have a clearer answer to that question today?
Veljko Golubović: The only thing that’s clearer is that the village is a global thing, and that you will find the same phenomenon everywhere. It’s just that in larger markets, and in higher circles, everything is much more unscrupulous, because the stakes are much, much higher.
The world has lost its depth a long time ago
Given the fact that you are a psychologist by education, I believe it was easier for you to reach the most remote rooms of the human mind, which one can reach only through meandering paths – both in clients and in people in the agencies where you worked on the affirmation of your own creative idea. How much psychology is there in modern advertising?
Veljko Golubović: There is more and more psychology. Psychometrics are appearing in various ways. Everything is measured: speed of reaction, perception, emotions. Results of psychological metrics are becoming ever more frequent argument for a strategy or a creative solution. There is, of course, plenty of popular psychology in the form of various tests, questionnaires, and even personality archetypes, while research and insights are indispensable elements of communication. My education was helpful, but not in the sense that I manipulated others, but I better recognized the value of ideas or insights. Basically, all these psychological means act on the surface of human consciousness and behavior, but realistically, there is neither time nor need for a serious approach – the world has lost its depth long ago.
In some future interview we will discuss, I hope, about your experiences at FCB Afirma. We will conclude this conversation with a bit provocative question. With the experience you have garnered, could you tell us the secrets: how are brands made into lovemarks?
Veljko Golubović: Lovemarks is a methodology of the Saatchi & Saatchi network, which Kevin Roberts, until recently the network’s global CEO, set up about 15 years ago. At that time, it was innovative and fresh, but the time does its thing – there’s no more love. In the age of design, you’re either beautiful, or you’re smart or you’re practical – the heart here is a total underdog. That’s why its victories are so fascinating, and when they happen, they shine brighter than anything else.