Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
By: Adnan Arnautlija
The curtain has dropped on the 28th Slovenian Advertising Festival (SOF). Awards have been handed, champagne bottles have been drunk, the hangover has passed, excitement has subsided, and the emotions have calmed down. The agency of the year is Agency 101, which last year shone with the Hidden Escape Room campaign. Agency Grey Ljubljana and their client A1 Slovenia all but dominated this year’s award ceremony. Among the award-winning agencies there are some new names – Slovenian creativity is on the rise.
The jury for the new, now most prestigious award, The SOF of SOF, among others included three members outside Slovenia – three creative directors whom the organizers thought could contribute to a more objective assessment of the creative value of entries.
They were Vanja Blumenšajn, Creative Director of Zagreb Agency Señor, Jana Savić Rastovac, Creative Director at McCann Beograd, and Veljko Golubović, Creative Director of the agency New Moment Belgrade.
The three of them had the opportunity to look at all the works entered to SOF, and thus gain a very detailed insight into the creativity of Slovenian advertising. We wondered if there is a difference in creative thinking between Slovenian creatives and their colleagues in the rest of the region. Here are their answers.
Veljko Golubović:
This year I was a member of the SOF jury, and last year I also had the pleasure to be part of the WEBSI jury. Both competitions presented the best and most creative communication works in Slovenia.
Compared to ideas from the region, it is obvious that there are similarities, but also differences. Differences are mostly visible in the choice and use of communication channels, as well as in the style in which the message is communicated. Digital channels are in focus and this determines the method of creating, and the quality of the message. Hence, my impression is that Slovenia has once again been the first to boldly make the step, this time into the new era of advertising. The rest of the region is somewhat more “offline” in this respect.
When it comes to similarities, I see them mostly in the choice of topics and exposure to global trends. Trends and pop culture make us virtually identical with anyone else in the world. Individuality of individuals and peoples alike is systematically collapsing at the cultural, sociological and psychological level. Same as the oceans will soon have the same temperature, so will we soon start thinking, working and acting the same, regardless of who we are and where we come from. From that angle, the similarities aren’t really a big cause for celebration.
On the other hand, the choice of topics is determined by context and region. Somehow, the proverbial rule about “south being sadder” doesn’t apply here. Everyone has their dark and brighter side of life, and this is something we can all identify with, no matter how different we may be. This resemblance – that we are human, that we have human emotions, and that we see a person, not a stranger, in other people – this is the only important similarity we should have. That is where great, universal human ideas are created, that drive people and change the world. Everything else – the colour of the skin, the language, the religion, the last name, the football club – are just necessary nuances that give life the colour, smell and meaning.
And without meaning, we are left only with absurdity and the question: Why?
Vanja Blumenšajn:
Usually in the industry we follow world festivals, and for me it is an honour that I had the chance to be in the jury of Kaktus over the last few years, and now in the jury of SOF. It is interesting to see how colleagues work on comparable markets, with similar challenges.
Although I needed help from the Google Translate with wording on several occasions, the ideas at SOF, both in insights and execution, aren’t too different and could easily succeed in the other markets that we consider “ours”. Yugoslavia is no more, but we are not as different as we sometimes like to think. In terms of the quality of the work, it seems to me there is no disparity. Same as in Croatia’s IdejaX or Serbian Kaktus, SOF also had several extraordinary works that stood out (mostly non-television projects). I assume this a realistic representation of the true state of the market.
Jana Savić Rastovac:
The International Jury had the opportunity to look at and evaluate the best of the works on this year’s SOF.
Several capital projects clearly stood out, as a good example of the comprehensive activities of major brands and efforts to address some social problems. It seems to me that the Slovenian scene lacks a bit of creative craziness, which is true for the entire creative scene in the whole region, so the thing I wish to all o us in this year is exactly that – a bit of creative craziness.
