ADC Young Creatives: Here's to young talent

Socrates put it this way: «Young people these days love luxury. They have bad manners, despise authority, have no respect for their elders, and chatter instead of working. Young people no longer stand up when older people enter the room. They contradict their parents, brag in public, devour the desserts at the table, cross their legs, and bully their teachers.»

This was written by the Greek philosopher, and—to put it bluntly—it’s been a few years now. If we want to know how the established generation of creatives views the next generation in 2022, let’s return to the present.

Creatives Under 30 in the Competition

The ADC and Leading Swiss Agencies (LSA) support up-and-coming creative talent through initiatives such as the Ad School. In addition, the ADC presents the Young Creatives Awards every year. These awards recognize outstanding communication work by people under 30. The creative challenge comes from one of the partners and is presented to all interested creatives under 30 at a joint meeting. Participants work in groups, usually in pairs. After the entries are submitted in the various categories, the jury—composed of renowned creatives and the partners—meets to evaluate the work and award gold, silver, and bronze prizes. Anyone who receives an ADC cube is eligible to become a member of the Young Professionals and, if possible, travel to Cannes—specifically to the Cannes Lions, where the world’s best creative work is honored each year. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the creative elite met in person again this year.

Hardworking, ambitious, and self-assured

Six young Swiss men and women had the opportunity to travel to the French coast this year after winning an award at the ADC Young Creatives. On the following pages, four renowned senior creatives describe what sets these up-and-comers apart and why it’s worth nurturing these talents early on.

Scenes from Cannes

What the veterans say about the young women is one thing, but what do the up-and-comers say about the Cannes Lions? What’s it like to experience the Croisette in a state of excitement, to see the creative elite partying at events? m&k/Werbewoche was also there and asked some questions.

Samuel Textor, Best regards:

Someone recently said to us, «Why don’t you turn your agency into a school?» And they were serious. At Freundliche Grüsse, we see it as our core mission to nurture and train young talent. Here, even very young talents are given a great deal of responsibility and can make decisions on their own. Mara is a prime example of how this approach can be put into practice—and, above all, succeed. After all, it takes two sides: On the one hand, you need to have the trust and the willingness to delegate responsibility. On the other hand, you need the necessary self-confidence and skill set: the courage (even at a young age) to make important decisions, work independently, and bounce back from mistakes.

At just 25 years old, Mara is already extremely independent and manages large budgets.

At just 25 years old, Mara is already extremely independent and manages large budgets, pitches, and photo shoots as if she had 25 years of experience. She has direct contact with clients and delivers presentations with great confidence. She consistently impresses with her keen eye and proactive ideas. She sees opportunities where others see problems and finds inspiration in the everyday. She brings it all together with her impeccable sense of style. She finds inspiration everywhere: in pop culture, in art, in everyday life, and in the work of others. She picks up on international trends and effortlessly incorporates them into her own work. And she is a dedicated mentor to other (including older) colleagues.

Mara is indispensable

Mara is an absolutely indispensable part of our team. Working independently is essential for her—which, we’ve heard, isn’t necessarily the case for many of her peers at other agencies. We’re glad to provide the creative environment she needs. She is a member of ADC Europe and was recently invited by an international jury to present her work at the «High Potential» mentoring event. On her own initiative, Mara participates in creative competitions, such as the Young ADC, where she won gold twice in a row. Among other things, she came up with a strikingly simple idea for McDonald’s: the fast-food chain’s delivery time—which takes just a few minutes—is dramatized through short videos featuring images of fries or hamburgers that load slowly. As soon as she shared this clear concept, we knew: This is going to be something special. She has an unerring instinct for ideas and visual disruption, as well as a belief in advertising that creates meaning—including from a social perspective.

Philipp Skrabal, Farner:

Where should one begin when writing about the two ADC Young Professionals, Yves Marty and Gianluca Trezzini? How about with their close friendship? Or the fact that they’re both career changers who only recently completed their degrees in business and law, respectively? Or the fact that they’re not just creatives, but have also been co-founders of their agency, Marty/Trezzini, since 2018?

Where should one begin when writing about the two ADC Young Professionals, Yves Marty and Gianluca Trezzini? How about with their close friendship? Or the fact that they’re both career changers who only recently completed their degrees in business and law, respectively? Or the fact that they’re not just creatives, but have also been co-founders of their agency, Marty/Trezzini, since 2018?

The two of them consistently embody this philosophy in their everyday lives, driven by idealism. They seek to connect and engage with their generation, other agencies, and the ADC. They want to gather knowledge and bring talented people together. And they also want to contribute their ideas to the ADC and the industry—we’re happy to accept that, because if Yves and Gianluca represent the young generation of creatives, then we have a bright future ahead of us. Now the two of them have headed off to Cannes. I’m curious to see what kind of crazy ideas they’ve brought back from the Côte d’Azur.

If someone asks me why you two are such talented creatives, the answer is the same as it was 100 years ago. It’s that unquenchable hunger—or, to stick with the big cat metaphor for a moment, the hunting instinct. That’s exactly what’s so pronounced in both of you—to the point that we never have to motivate you; on the contrary, sometimes we have to protect you from yourselves, slow you down, and tell you that it’s absolutely okay to go home now. Your incredible inner drive to always go the extra mile—to absolutely want to take part in the next pitch, to absolutely want to tackle yet another briefing, and even to have a client’s birthday card ready before anyone else even knows it’s her birthday. That’s why the second word that comes to mind when I think of you is «on the side.» Because you joined us as juniors, you’ve inevitably had your fair share of messes to deal with. But just on the side, you’ve also won the Young ADC—and in categories that are rather unusual for you: the very, very digital Katha just happened to win in Poster, and the very, very text-oriented Alina just happened to win in Direct. And just by the way, you’ve been managing entire accounts here with us for quite some time now. And just by the way, you’re continuing to grow—and, through your approach, helping us grow too—every single day. These are the things that set both of you apart in equal measure.

What sets you two apart? One is probably the only vegan lioness in the world, and the other is probably the only lioness who needs a Red Bull before she goes hunting. One is perhaps a bit more like Mozart in her way of thinking, the other maybe a bit more like Ricky Gervais. One is the perfect conversation partner for discussing world peace and what it takes to achieve it; the other is the perfect conversation partner for laughing yourself silly, syllable by syllable.

So as I lie here on my rock in the sun, I really have only one wish: Stay in our pride, dear lionesses, and let’s keep hunting together.

David Hanselmann, Jung von Matt Limmat:

A selfie stamp? Yes, they exist. Two million copies are in circulation, designed by Nicole Jara Vizcardo. The Swiss Post and bachelor’s students in Visual Communication at Zurich University of the Arts were looking for an idea for a special stamp on the theme of «Letter vs. Email» as part of a competition. Nicole won over the jury with her design: a stamp with a silvery, reflective surface that depicts the selfie—a phenomenon that exists only in the digital world—in analog form.

Born in Peru, she developed a strong affinity for digital technology at a young age—her father worked at IBM. Driven by curiosity, she experimented with websites and taught herself how to use her first design programs. This was at a time when there weren’t tutorials for everything yet. After graduating from business high school, she started as a web production assistant. When the creative department recognized her keen eye for design, she was entrusted with more and more design tasks, and so she became familiar with new professional fields within the company. She was fascinated by solving client challenges or creative problems with innovative ideas and unexpected solutions. It was clear to Nicole: «I want to become an art director.» Always with this clear goal in mind, she began her studies in Visual Communication at ZHdK, worked part-time at Apple as a Customer Journey Specialist, at a fashion magazine, studied under Jessica Walsh in New York, and completed an internship at On as a Digital Brand Designer.

Lots of joy and self-motivation

Today, as tasks become increasingly complex and new challenges constantly arise, we need specialists from a wide variety of disciplines who, working closely together and with great passion, are constantly breaking new ground. It is precisely here—between a vibrant agency culture and the drive to build momentum—that today’s art director truly thrives. With great enthusiasm and self-motivation, she seeks out big ideas and excellent design. The desire to keep improving and to win—that’s what drives Nicole. We love that at Jung von Matt. It’s even printed as a motto on our agency’s own beer bottles.

Nicole and her team’s final project at the Ad School last summer was awarded a Gold Cube. And at Switzerland’s most prestigious competition for young creatives, the ADC Young Creatives Award, she and her teammate also won gold in the Cyber category.