Jan Kempter is "Advertiser of the Year" 2026
The jury and the community vote have decided: Jan Kempter, Creative Director and Partner at Wirz, is the 2026 «Advertiser of the Year.» He succeeds Philipp Skrabal of Team Farner.
In the race for the title of "Advertiser:in of the Year" 2026, Jan Kempter beat fellow nominees Dominique Magnusson, Creative Director at Jung von Matt Limmat, and Pablo Schencke, Executive Creative Director and Partner at Thjnk Zurich.
It is his second nomination for the most prestigious personal award in the Swiss communications industry. Philipp Skrabal, Chief Creative Officer and Partner of Team Farner and "Advertiser of the Year" 2025, presented Kempter with the "Egon" at the Award Night on Tuesday evening at the Palais Mascotte in Zurich.
In his laudatory speech, Skrabal emphasized that the title "Advertiser of the Year" and Jan Kempter as the 2026 award winner could do a lot for the reputation of the creative industry. Jan Kempter, said Philipp Skrabal, is a perfect beacon for the industry with his trenchant and winning manner. He hopes that Kempter has now tattooed the motto "Creativity is pure value creation" on his chest, as promised in the nomination video.
Jan Kempter's path has taken him via Scholz & Friends Berlin, Jung von Matt and Publicis to Wirz, where he has been shaping the creative signature as Creative Director and Partner since 2021 and causing a stir with outstanding campaigns.
As one of the very, very few in the industry, he has not only been nominated for "Advertiser of the Year" once, but has also been featured in Schweizer Illustrierte. Not in a home story in the bathtub, but at least with Finn, the gnome with the googly eyes, according to Philipp Skrabal in his laudatory speech.
Our pictures from the Award Night at Palais Mascotte
About the Award:
The title "Advertiser of the Year" has been awarded to people from the advertising industry since 1977. Since 2001, the winner has received the "Egon" designed by Zurich artist Max Grüter. The three nominees were put forward by the m&k community and selected by the expert jury. The final decision on who would win the title was then made 50 percent by m&k readers via newsletter voting and 50 percent by the jury. Each jury member was allowed to cast one vote. m&k, as the organizer of the award, abstained from voting.
The expert jury:
The "Advertiser:in of the Year" expert jury is made up of former "Advertisers:in of the Year". The 2026 jury members (in alphabetical order): Andrea Bison (Thjnk Zurich), André Hefti (Switzerland Tourism), David Schärer (formerly Rod/Breitling), Dennis Lück (Brinkertlück Creatives), Livio Dainese (Wirz), Martin Walthert (Digitec Galaxus), Petra Dreyfus (Wirz), Philipp Skrabal (Chief Creative Officer and Partner at Team Farner), Regula Bührer Fecker (formerly Rod/La Stratégiste) and Thomas Wildberger (Prophet/ADC Switzerland).
You will find images from midnight in the following folder:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/16TWyIyZxJWQz18UmJd_SwKCLb4_D1-4p
You can find a list of all previous "Advertisers of the Year" here (will be updated after the Award Night):
https://www.markt-kom.com/de/markom/awards/die-hall-of-fame-alle-werber-des-jahres-seit-1977/
A winner interview with Jan Kempter will be published shortly on Markt-kom.com.
