"You've never seen Klopp like this before," was the headline in Deutsche Image-newspaper a few days ago. That one sees the outgoing Liverpool FC coach in a commercial for "Deutsche Vermögensberatung" as a yogi or, for example, as a dentistwas worth a headline in the tabloid. It is the first TV commercial on German television in which artificial intelligence (AI) plays the leading role, it proudly states in the making of the commercial. The commercial is only running in Germany. "But there with considerable media pressure," explains Caspar Heuss, Senior Partner of the Wirz Group. They are very proud that as a Swiss agency they were able to win the pitch against the well-known German competition and that they are now also present on German advertising television.

All image and sound recordings in the commercial are real, but were subsequently edited with AI. The film was therefore shot with body doubles and the actors' faces were simply replaced with Jürgen Klopp's afterwards. However, "simple" may be the wrong word here. The production took longer than conventional campaigns, reveals Heuss. Because the initial filming process was the same as for any other campaign. But then there was also the very complex post-production process. In concrete terms, this means: "We shot the film in Frankfurt and Bucharest in mid-November, and it was only finished last week."

The costs for this AI production were therefore also higher than usual. Much more important than the production price, however, was the fact that this film could never have been made without AI. This is because the currently most popular German simply wouldn't have had the time to make himself available for such a long shoot. "Above all, he simply wouldn't have wanted to do it," adds the 45-year-old ECD.

Klopp enthusiastic about AI deputy

The master trainer thought it was a great idea to just have to stand there quickly for a few photos. "That certainly has something to do with the fact that he himself has neither the desire nor the need to act," says Heuss with a grin. This was a unique opportunity for him to present himself from a different angle without having to do much.

The external reactions to the TV commercial were also very positive across the board. Of course, it helped that Jürgen Klopp is currently on everyone's lips anyway due to his announced departure from Liverpool and half the (football) world is speculating about what the coach will do next. That the Image The Basel native, who has lived in Zurich for ten years, says that the idea of Jürgen Klopp jumping on the bandwagon as a yogi was therefore perfectly conceivable. "Of course, we were delighted that it actually happened."

Deepfakes are mostly associated with negativity. When asked whether this is the future of advertising, Heuss replies: "As is so often the case, you can create great things with new technical achievements, but you can also do a lot of shenanigans with them. What is certain is that AI will also play an increasingly important role in advertising in the future." However, it is not yet conceivable that artificial intelligence will completely replace creative intelligence.

The right to one's own image

Moreover, the new technology will not change the legal situation, says Heuss, who heads up creation at Wirz together with Lorenz Clormann. "The right to one's own image is and remains protected." To reassure us, he says that Jürgen Klopp "happily" consented to his deepfake ego.

But could it be that in future, "lookalikes" (with their consent) will simply be sought to show a star in an advertisement? Caspar Heuss studied law over 20 years ago, which is why he should not be held responsible for this statement: however, he is of the opinion that the choice of a lookalike would be a typical circumvention of the law, which would be sanctioned in the same way as the circumvented law. The right to one's own image therefore also applies if only one doppelganger appears in the commercial. This is the case if the commercial implies that it could be the "real" person.

The advertising and creative agency Wirz, whose clients include Migros and Switzerland Tourism, currently has hardly any projects in which AI no longer plays a role. "AI is increasingly becoming part of our daily work, which is why we no longer differentiate between AI projects and conventional projects." This is also the reason why the company has deliberately refrained from setting up an internal AI department. "On the contrary: we want all our employees to incorporate artificial intelligence into their work processes." The aim is for all employees to become AI specialists in their field.

Hidden Easter eggs in the campaign

Various "Easter eggs" are hidden in the Deutsche Vermögensberatung commercial. For example, in the navigation system in the scene where Jürgen Klopp can be seen as an Uber driver. The "Säbener Strasse" is briefly recognizable. For football fans, this is a well-known address, as it is the headquarters and training ground of FC Bayern Munich. Bayern captain Manuel Neuer, for example, already considers Jürgen Klopp to be a candidate for FC Bayern - whether this is the case remains to be seen.

Another hidden Easter egg, for example, is the dentist's claim, which can only be seen very briefly on the screen. The Klopp dentist's motto is: "You'll never smile alone". This is based on the Liverpool FC club song "You'll never walk alone".

DIN A4, at least the older ones still know it, is a format. The whole series up and down from 0 (world format) to 10 (smallest format) is part of it. DIN stands for Deutsche Industrienorm (German Industrial Standard) and in the western world - excluding the Anglo-Saxon world - is a term with a leading character. For a long time, German industry also had a leading character. The fact that our northern neighbor is having a hard time right now has probably not escaped anyone's notice - and if there is gloating about this in Switzerland, it is not only ignorant, but also out of character. After all, the Swiss economy is largely dependent on the German economy. So if Europe's locomotive stutters, Switzerland's first-class car will no longer move forward either - regardless of whether we are in the EU or not.

However, those who suddenly use the word for everything that actually has other names also have no format. Perhaps they are simply not hip enough for the cool and creative people. "Hybrid work is the right format for me", "Stories are good formats for your social campaign", "Yoga is a good format", "Crèche", "Fondue evening", "Dry January", "Soup days" et cetera are all suddenly formats. Why is that?

From education to everyday life

The first people to start talking about formats when they meant forms were people in the education industry. And that industry is huge in Switzerland. The number of students at Swiss universities has been increasing for years. In the winter and fall semester of 2022/2023, a total of around 274,900 students were enrolled at public universities in Switzerland, of which around 167,700 were at universities, around 83,700 at universities of applied sciences and just under 23,400 at universities of teacher education. However, the market is currently oversaturated, and our sector is feeling the effects. Advertising for training and further education is now taking on dimensions in the high season that we only know from health insurance companies in the fall. Every conceivable poster space is being booked to advertise the training courses offered by schools.

The education industry has borrowed the term from the world of television. The term has long been used there for the various broadcast formats. During Covid, television was booming, while the education industry was facing tough organizational challenges. From one day to the next, plans had to be made to move away from face-to-face teaching and towards hybrid or remote teaching. Teachers and students alike felt increasingly lost in the jungle of terms such as face-to-face and distance learning, on-site teaching, traditional teaching, online teaching, digital teaching and remote teaching. So the whole range of teaching formats began to be called formats. That at least gave a bit of stability.

And support is needed when times are uncertain. Free churches can tell you a thing or two about that. But instead of praying to God straight away, we started to call all sorts of things a format in order to get a bit of a foothold in this world full of options.

* Benno Maggi is co-founder and CEO of Partner & Partner. He has been eavesdropping on the industry for over 30 years, discovering words and terms for us that can either be used for small talk, pomposity, excitement, playing Scrabble, or just because.

The award-winning project "Endress + Hauser - The Musical" was developed by 300 employees over a period of two years in collaboration with choreographers and vocal coaches and premiered in June 2023 in front of 5,500 employees at Messe Basel. Edgar P. Lehmann from Plan B Entertainment was responsible for the concept, script and realization of the project. The award winners also include Irene Endress and Brigitte Eble from the Endress + Hauser core team and Stefan Mathys, CEO of Winkler Livecom.

One technical highlight was the largest LED wall ever erected at the trade fair. Chaostheater Oropax took the audience on a crazy journey through history. The journey through time was filmed in three countries by Marc Schippert, while Rainer Maria Salzgeber acted as narrator between the decades.

The BrandEx Award is a creative award for successful live communication. It honors outstanding brand experiences, i.e. international benchmarks in encounter communication as well as in temporary and permanent architecture. The central evaluation criteria are creativity and successful implementation.

The switch-off of FM is approaching, and there are still many cars on Swiss roads with FM radios. An orchestrated campaign aims to make drivers in Switzerland aware of the upcoming switchover to DAB+ and support them in converting their vehicles.

The campaign focuses on radio reception in the car and also shows what would be lost without the changeover - such as music in various styles and editorial formats from news to sport. This is visualized using "wiggly figures" that are attached directly to the car radio on the dashboard and speak directly to radio listeners. They stand for radio content, give the abstract topic an emotional approach and do so in an entertaining way that suits the medium of radio. The campaign is now on air throughout Switzerland on TV, radio, OOH, digital, social media and content. Partners from the radio, automotive and retail sectors also have access to advertising material via a portal.

The measures were developed in close consultation with the DigiMig working group and with representatives of private commercial and non-commercial radio stations as well as SRG SSR and on behalf of Bakom.

Responsible at Bakom: Kathrin Kluser (project manager). Responsible at Scholz & Friends Zurich: Joana Faria, Barbara Hartmann, Franziska Stäger, Martin Arnold, Patrick Bucher, David Fischer, Christian Vosshagen (Creation), Véronique Forster, Victoria Kirsch, Ramona Zwyer, Elodie Caucigh, Susi Miller, Mathias Rösch (Consulting & Strategy). Film production: Markenfilm, Lars Timmermann (director). Partner Western SwitzerlandAgence Trio. Media agency: Mediatonic.

As an independent funding foundation, the Age Foundation addresses socially relevant issues related to the challenges of ageing and is committed to finding sustainable solutions. To this end, the foundation has been developing basic principles, promoting projects, initiating partnerships and raising public awareness since 2002.

Evolutionary into the future

In 2024, the Age Foundation is realigning its strategy: Ageing with a stronger focus on vulnerable life situations and fragile phases as well as a new emphasis on palliative care. At the same time, the Age Foundation's image is also being reviewed and the design updated. The future appearance is to be given more stringency, the corporate design systematized and manifested in the new website and company portrait.

Restructured and documented

The basis is right, but there is still more potential in the details of the design. The logo will be reduced, the core elements of the design will be readjusted and the overall appearance will be tidier. The website is revised and made more user-friendly. The new design system is clearly defined and documented in the manual.

The hyphen becomes the link

The hyphen now has a more prominent role and is also increasingly reflected in the content of the website. Finally, the Age Foundation has a unifying effect in its core activities. This makes the hyphen the defining element for all communicative applications.

New appearance with presence

The realignment should be clearly visible and tangible to the outside world. The entire team, including the Board of Trustees, will be portrayed by Zurich photographer Dan Cermak. All office documents, the social media presence, newsletters and presentations will be refreshed. The future strategy is presented to the media, experts, partners and friends at the "Age-Connect 2024" networking event. The relaunch of the revised website will take place at the same time. The Age Panorama, which presents the activities of the Age Foundation, also celebrates its premiere here. Further applications will follow in the course of the year.

Reach your goal more effectively through collaboration

The new website was created in close collaboration with Managing Director Fleur Jaccard and her team. Advocacy provided support with the content of the website and the Age Panorama. TBS was responsible for the design concept, all implementations and the coordination of the web programming.

The Evulpo learning platform offers students a digital learning world with explanatory videos, summaries and practice units for all important school topics. The offering has now been expanded to include the AI tutor "Vulpy". It has been fed with content from Curriculum 21 - and is therefore designed to help with precisely those school topics that are causing headaches in this country.

"With Vulpy, students can learn school material at their own pace and have a lot of fun at the same time," explains Evulpo CEO Christian Marty. For example, you can talk about everyday topics such as hobbies or vacation destinations in a foreign language and improve your language skills almost casually. Mistakes are corrected and explained, and error-free conversation is rewarded. You can also be quizzed on the current school topics - and if anything is unclear, you can of course ask the tutor any question you like. The tutor will provide information - and at the same time refer you to the learning materials that can be used to explore the topic in question in greater depth.

As part of an in-house produced campaign, Evulpo wants to show with real feedback from students and parents that the exchange with the AI tutor does not feel like boring learning, but is so much appreciated that students even spend more time than necessary on the learning platform.

The campaign went live in mid-February and was mainly rolled out on YouTube and social media.

Responsible at Evulpo: Nadine Mojado (Creative Director); Hannes Sturzenegger (CMO); Christian Marty (CEO); Sabrina Schmidli (Video Production); Valentin Mutzner, Gonçalo Serralheiro, Sérgio Correia (Graphics).

The defined Journalistic Guidelines (PLL) would be binding for all employees "who are directly or indirectly involved in SRF's journalistic work", according to a press release. This is intended to "ensure the quality and credibility of SRF's offerings". In order to be useful, the PLLs would have to be renewed on a regular basis.

New chapter on AI

In the current version, there is a chapter on artificial intelligence (AI). In it, SRF formulates its self-image in dealing with AI. This is based on the basic principles of AI throughout SRG: responsibility, transparency and confidentiality. For the practical application of AI in everyday working life, SRF has developed specific Instructions for action designed. As a first step, they regulate the use of AI applications as well as AI-generated or AI-edited texts, images and audio.

"AI is here to stay. It is therefore important that employees get to grips with this technology. At the same time, we are fulfilling our great responsibility as a public media company with these guidelines," explains Severin Mayrhofer, who heads SRF's internal "AI Ethics Group". The guidelines will be regularly updated and further developed in future.

No fundamental overhaul of the guidelines

The current revision of the Publishing Guidelines is not a complete overhaul. Adjustments were made where they were considered "necessary and sensible".

Contcept Communication was already able to support Hug with PR and influencer measures in 2023. The agency has now also been awarded the corporate communications mandate. This includes consulting, media relations, storytelling, influencer marketing and content production - with the aim of positioning Hug as an attractive employer with a unique and authentic visual presence.

The mandate was launched in January with media conferences in German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland.

Jeannette Herzog has organized the "Züri Fäscht" for the past nine years, first as project manager and from 2020 as managing director. At the interface between politics, administration, business and culture, she was responsible for the safe and successful organization of Switzerland's largest folk festival.

She was also responsible for Silvesterzauber Zürich and other events. As a member of the Board of Directors of Kongresshaus Zürich and a board member of the City Vereinigung Zürich, Jeannette Herzog is well connected in Zurich and is also familiar with the challenge of combining business, commerce, culture, art and gastronomy.

The Board of Directors of House of Winterthur very much regrets the departure of Samuel Roth, as stated in a press release. Nevertheless, there is understanding for the decision. "In Samuel Roth, House of Winterthur is losing a committed and proactive managing director who has significantly shaped the further development of House of Winterthur into a modern location marketing organization," Beat Schwab, President of House of Winterthur, is quoted as saying.

Roth has launched a series of exciting event formats such as "Tech Lunches", the "Smart Health Series" and "House Culture Evenings", thus establishing House of Winterthur as an inspiring regional networking platform. "He and his team have also succeeded in significantly increasing the relevance and reach of the various newsletters and social media channels. He has also been able to inspire many people for the Winterthur region by spreading countless Winterthur success stories," Schwab continues.

The Board of Directors has formed a nomination committee under the leadership of the Chairman and will begin the search for a successor immediately.

The combination of animals and dental hygiene doesn't make much sense at first glance, but this changes when you take a closer look at Swiss Dental Center's online campaign. The campaign for dental hygiene is intended to show bite and humor - in the form of animal protagonists. All animals - from cats to walruses - have beautiful teeth. Probably thanks to dental hygiene at the Swiss Dental Center.

In this way, the campaign aims to break with the cliché of the classic Hollywood smile for dental advertising and offer an unexpected twist. Five subjects show animals with teeth in combination with humorous headlines. The landing page for dental hygiene at the Swiss Dental Center was given a new look to match.

The campaign can be seen in the form of Google Ads, Meta Ads and LinkedIn Ads - and is reportedly a complete success. The combination of humor and expertise has "achieved the desired effect and brought new customers to the Swiss Dental Center", according to Content and Form. Monthly engagement increased by an average of 24% and the landing page was visited over 10,000 times during the campaign period.

Responsible at Swiss Dental Center: Klaas Friedel (dentist). Responsible at Iundf agency group: Dominik Stibal (CEO), Karin Estermann (Executive Creative Director), Mato Bilic (Motion / UX Designer), Dario Brazerol (Junior Copywriter), Adrian Huwyler, Bettina Righetto (Project Management). Iandf Media: Gianluca Pirrera (Media Director), Michal Tylicki (Digital Campaign Manager).

Artificial intelligence (AI) is seemingly at odds with what makes the entertainment industry so successful: human creativity, emotion and passion, combined with hard-earned skill. But AI is already supporting and enhancing the live experience in impressive ways.
The Congress 360° Entertainment opens its doors to thought leaders and practitioners from the entertainment industry. Here, 70 experts and 400 participants meet to shape the future together.

Entertech as the future of Swiss entertainment

Just imagine: Put on your glasses and you're in the middle of the show instead of just being there. At least that's what the future of entertainment is supposed to look like, made reality by "Entertech". Augmented realities and interactive experiences are the focus of this congress. It's no longer just about what happens on stage, but about how technology allows us to be a part of it.

Pioneers on the front line of the digital revolution

Industry giants Google and Meta show how far the boundaries of what is possible have already been pushed. Personalities such as Paul Wiedmeier from Meta and Behshad Behzadi from Google Cloud will share their visions at the congress. AI thought leader Pascal Kaufmann will also take participants on a journey into a world where AI is redefining the art of entertainment.

The cinema of tomorrow

What does all this progress mean for cinema? Experts such as Alex Oberholzer from ETH Zurich and Prof. Markus Gross from DisneyResearchStudios reveal how new methods are making films an even more intense experience. They talk about the symbiosis of traditional filmmaking and state-of-the-art technology. In addition, the successful Swiss actor, co-author and producer Stefan Gubser will provide insights into his work away from the red carpets and big stages.

Data as the key to the hearts of the audience

Data is the new gold of the entertainment industry. It is essential for understanding the wishes and needs of the audience. With smart data management, new opportunities arise to personalize experiences and make them even more memorable. The presentations by VSSA, Ticketcorner and CTS Eventim will underline the importance of data analysis and customer understanding.

The network of entertainment professionals

Companies from all sectors, including event organizers, venue operators, artists, media, sponsors and infrastructure providers, will meet at the Radisson Blu Hotel. The congress is intended to provide an opportunity for exchange, inspiration and networking as well as unusual perspectives. For example, when presenter Sven Epiney takes a look at and into the work of Swiss music pioneer Sina.