On the point
Peter Rettinghausen takes over responsibility as the new CD at McCann Erickson. He is aiming high.
Peter Rettinghausen takes over responsibility as the new CD at McCann Erickson. He is aiming high.
The offer was tempting: Peter Rettinghausen, then a junior advertising assistant, was to spend three months in New York. A training place in a workshop had been booked for him at Young & Rubicam's headquarters. The course should have made him an internationally qualified consultant. But New York took place without the young advertiser from Switzerland. "I knew that I wanted to become a copywriter," recalls Peter Rettinghausen at that moment of decision between consulting and copywriting. That was in 1987, but the Big Apple still got to know him, as Rettinghausen's ideas won several international awards.
The commercially trained Rettinghausen first became interested in this world of advertising when he worked temporarily as a chauffeur at a printing company. He always looked at the printed matter he delivered to advertising agencies and thought: I can do that too. He applied for a job as an advertising assistant at Young & Rubicam, did the Sawi and worked as a junior consultant for three years before switching to creative work.
After the merger with Advico
Rettinghausen also moved to Gockhausen, where he became a copywriter under the wing of Hansjörg Zürcher and André Benker. This was followed by an intermezzo as a freelancer, then he became a copywriter at Wirz Werbung. When this era came to an end, the now sought-after creative in the industry found his way back to his roots at AY&R. "I have a lot to thank Mr. Zürcher and Mr. Benker for in terms of advertising and, of course, Roland Scotoni and Martin Spillmann, but they also owe a lot to me," says Rettinghausen, who has now been appointed CD at McCann Erickson for the first time, summing up his almost 14 years as a copywriter.
As the newly crowned manager has barely managed to come up with a headline for McCann Erickson during the interview, Rettinghausen tries to explain his ideas of good advertising once again using his previous reference work as an example. The otherwise sensitive thinker is proud of his macho slogans for the IWC watch, for example. He likes "Der Uhr" very much, although this idea in particular is not his own. Instead, he shaped the campaign from the outset with his series of headlines in the style of "More and more women are wearing this watch. What have we done wrong?" - Apparently nothing, at least in the advertising, because the campaign was even discussed in detail by Spiegel magazine.
Rettinghausen is also proud of his Kuoni claim "Holidays where you forget everything". The overall campaign has been awarded gold and silver by the ADC and has won the most international awards for Switzerland to date.
With all these ideas, it is important for him that there is a strategy as a basis. "It must be clearly defined what needs to be said." Then he concentrates on finding the idea in a quiet room. One of Rettinghausen's trademarks could be that his slogans, such as "Never give up" for Ovomaltine, are basic ideas that can be used as a basis for a wide variety of subjects.
Rettinghausen thinks it's okay to do an ADC bronze mailing for the hairdresser around the corner. He himself strives to realize good ideas on large budgets. He now hopes to be able to pull this off at McCann Erickson, because this agency has clients who make it possible to take care of their communication issues over the long term.
After such a long time, Rettinghausen wanted to "take a step" and start something new again. He would never have wanted to "sit in a made nest". He was attracted to an agency "that had a basis that could be expanded". McCann Erickson is the third-largest agency in Switzerland "and has huge potential. It's a rewarding challenge."
What Rettinghausen likes most about advertising, apart from the creative work, is "getting to the heart of the matter". For him, advertising has to be intelligent and surprising. "You don't always need a joke at the end," he is convinced. You have to master the whole spectrum between message and entertainment.
Rettinghausen regularly finds relaxation in Naples. Even before his job change, he spent several weeks in southern Italy, where he was allowed to use a friend's apartment. Buying fish, reading and going to the islands are his favorite things to do in Naples.
In his private life, he has "become quite familiar" and enjoys spending time with his son, his partner and their children. He loves to recharge his batteries in this circle. He also enjoys biking in the countryside, but "strictly for sport and not to find ideas".
CD Peter Rettinghausen is in the starting blocks: "McCann Erickson has huge potential."
Andreas Panzeri
The offer was tempting: Peter Rettinghausen, then a junior advertising assistant, was to spend three months in New York. A training place in a workshop had been booked for him at Young & Rubicam's headquarters. The course should have made him an internationally qualified consultant. But New York took place without the young advertiser from Switzerland. "I knew that I wanted to become a copywriter," recalls Peter Rettinghausen at that moment of decision between consulting and copywriting. That was in 1987, but the Big Apple still got to know him, as Rettinghausen's ideas won several international awards.
The commercially trained Rettinghausen first became interested in this world of advertising when he worked temporarily as a chauffeur at a printing company. He always looked at the printed matter he delivered to advertising agencies and thought: I can do that too. He applied for a job as an advertising assistant at Young & Rubicam, did the Sawi and worked as a junior consultant for three years before switching to creative work.
After the merger with Advico
Rettinghausen also moved to Gockhausen, where he became a copywriter under the wing of Hansjörg Zürcher and André Benker. This was followed by an intermezzo as a freelancer, then he became a copywriter at Wirz Werbung. When this era came to an end, the now sought-after creative in the industry found his way back to his roots at AY&R. "I have a lot to thank Mr. Zürcher and Mr. Benker for in terms of advertising and, of course, Roland Scotoni and Martin Spillmann, but they also owe a lot to me," says Rettinghausen, who has now been appointed CD at McCann Erickson for the first time, summing up his almost 14 years as a copywriter.
As the newly crowned manager has barely managed to come up with a headline for McCann Erickson during the interview, Rettinghausen tries to explain his ideas of good advertising once again using his previous reference work as an example. The otherwise sensitive thinker is proud of his macho slogans for the IWC watch, for example. He likes "Der Uhr" very much, although this idea in particular is not his own. Instead, he shaped the campaign from the outset with his series of headlines in the style of "More and more women are wearing this watch. What have we done wrong?" - Apparently nothing, at least in the advertising, because the campaign was even discussed in detail by Spiegel magazine.
Rettinghausen is also proud of his Kuoni claim "Holidays where you forget everything". The overall campaign has been awarded gold and silver by the ADC and has won the most international awards for Switzerland to date.
With all these ideas, it is important for him that there is a strategy as a basis. "It must be clearly defined what needs to be said." Then he concentrates on finding the idea in a quiet room. One of Rettinghausen's trademarks could be that his slogans, such as "Never give up" for Ovomaltine, are basic ideas that can be used as a basis for a wide variety of subjects.
Rettinghausen thinks it's okay to do an ADC bronze mailing for the hairdresser around the corner. He himself strives to realize good ideas on large budgets. He now hopes to be able to pull this off at McCann Erickson, because this agency has clients who make it possible to take care of their communication issues over the long term.
After such a long time, Rettinghausen wanted to "take a step" and start something new again. He would never have wanted to "sit in a made nest". He was attracted to an agency "that had a basis that could be expanded". McCann Erickson is the third-largest agency in Switzerland "and has huge potential. It's a rewarding challenge."
What Rettinghausen likes most about advertising, apart from the creative work, is "getting to the heart of the matter". For him, advertising has to be intelligent and surprising. "You don't always need a joke at the end," he is convinced. You have to master the whole spectrum between message and entertainment.
Rettinghausen regularly finds relaxation in Naples. Even before his job change, he spent several weeks in southern Italy, where he was allowed to use a friend's apartment. Buying fish, reading and going to the islands are his favorite things to do in Naples.
In his private life, he has "become quite familiar" and enjoys spending time with his son, his partner and their children. He loves to recharge his batteries in this circle. He also enjoys biking in the countryside, but "strictly for sport and not to find ideas".
CD Peter Rettinghausen is in the starting blocks: "McCann Erickson has huge potential."
Andreas Panzeri
