"At times, I feel mentally younger than some people in their mid-thirties."
Better safe than sorry: Twenty years after his first victory, the expert jury has once again named him Advertiser of the Year: The 2003 Egon Award goes to Ruedi Wyler.
Double
Stitched is better: Twenty years after his first laurel wreath, the
the jury of experts once again selected him as Advertiser of the Year: The Egon 2003 goes to Ruedi Wyler. The question is obvious when you look at him:
Is life a shopping mall? More precisely: Is Ruedi Wyler a
Shopping addict? Far from it, although the distinguished, 60-year-old
creative with his work for almost two decades, among other things, the
Image of the two largest Swiss shopping centers pictorially strong
has helped to shape. Wyler's humorous advertising style in the campaigns for the
Glatt shopping center and for over a year for the Shoppi &
The Tivoli in Spreitenbach is not only in the local advertising and
poster forest. Wyler's work has also raised the bar internationally.
for creative advertising recalibrated a few times, for which the Lucerne
has been honored with awards countless times. Last time two
months, at the largest retail trade convention in the USA.In the election for the
Advertiser of the Year, more than one in five votes went to Ruedi Wyler.
With this, the owner of the small agency of the same name in the
Zurich's District 6 a comfortable lead over the runner-up.
It is telling that in the economic downturn, not a racy
strategist who was chosen with
spread marketing phrases
demonstrative optimism, but rather a creative person who is
has made a name for itself with consistently high quality.
The politically correct choiceThe
new advertiser of the year, who amused the same title in 1983 with
"Prince Carnival" paraphrased, is happy about his high popularity.
However, he has a modest explanation for the renewed
Title win: "I hurt no one and take nothing from anyone consciously
away. In that sense, I'm the politically correct choice," he says.
"Of course I'm honored by the award. But I don't feel like an authority."
At most his age could suggest such, he says
mischievously.
He's not thinking about quitting for a long time yet. "Sometimes I feel
I feel younger mentally in many ways than some people.
In my thirties. Now I want to really step on the gas again." The quiet
Maker, who is fond of serious music, played drums in his youth
and together with AD Andreas Konrad own hypnotic ambient or
Sampling house tunes doesn't have to play it juvenile. The balance
to the job he does not find at networking industry events, but rather
While strolling in Paris or walking in nature. "When I
find peace after a quarter of an hour, open my ears and eyes properly,
I recognize many details that are otherwise easy to overlook. Earlier
the best things came to mind. Today, when I see a beautiful
landscape, I usually resist thinking about advertising.
think."
No urge for self-promotionEven
otherwise Wyler's quiet manner does not fit into the usual pattern of the cool
Werbers. "I'm not ashamed to live a semi-normal life.
lead," he says casually. In an industry where the unrestrained
The urge for self-expression dominates just as much as the
existentialist black, do the gracious modesty and
Wyler's honesty good.
The conceptual designer only loses his composure
then when his sense of justice is violated, as in the case of
dubious jury decisions. The fact that the multiple decorated
to put water on their own mills in such situations.
is self-evident. Unlike many of its
Ruedi Wyler has never been too pleased with his awards.
peddle. "I just can't do that," he admits and assesses
this behavior as "naive" from an economic perspective. But one
should never say never, he quips. Also on the unwritten
Code of honor of the creative advertisers, according to which one should neither
employees nor may steal customers, orders or ideas, has
Ruedi Wyler always held.
Lean Production for 24 yearsSo
discreetly behave only people who know about their talent. Stand
Orders not in accordance with his principles, the gentleman has
among the advertisers also sometimes declined with thanks. "But mention
not do that, it sounds a bit arrogant," Wyler's request said. He does not want to
as a moralist just because, for example, he does not disassociate himself from political parties.
who politicized against minorities. And he says that
not only as an advertiser, but as a human being.
His ability to even
critically scrutinizing award-winning work has so far prevented him from
the dangerous tendency to self-quotation. And so he always peels
the core messages for a wide range of customers - from the
from the cultural magazine Du to the computer science school Digicomp to
to the jewelry store chain Beldoro -, on it he sets these with
independent concepts and witty campaigns. Not for every
price shock, but with calculation, apt punchlines and
reduction from the masses - this would be a good way of
his recipe to the point.
While its business model
of the small agency is proving to be a model for many new start-ups.
"the advertising industry is like an atom that is continually splitting,
even though the advertising pie has been shrinking for months" -, Wyler acknowledges
his work not only trend-setting. "Advertising can set the zeitgeist
reflect at best anyway," he says modestly.
Its
He has always been able to convince clients that it is necessary for good
Advertising does not need courage, only for bad and interchangeable.
In addition, "billboard sites such as ad pages are always accurately
equally expensive, whether you want to use a hackneyed or surprising
Switch advertising motif. But if the audience is already watching advertising
must, then it should at least be decently made." Quiet, but
but unmistakably he gives vent to his anger about the bad
Advertising that can be seen everywhere at the moment. Whether he then exemplary
can name examples? That, he says, is even more difficult. "It can be - even
not always be everything top-notch," Wyler admits.
Medium
Advertising according to the same uninspired pattern is to him
but anathema. Mainstream annoys him just as much as marketing managers,
which in high switching frequencies and thus in the range the sole
The company sees this as the ultimate instrument for conquering the market. It is probably
ignorance rather than despondency, which leads to the fact that "many
excellent creative make good advertising only for restaurants, in
where you can eat spicy food, for the Condomeria or a bookstore."
says Wyler with ironic understatement. As a gut person, he believes in the
mystical-emotional hoopla surrounding advertising not much.
"The only thing that's important is the ambition to do good advertising - and, if possible
Not missing penalties."
The reduction was one, the
agency size the other constant in his career. More appropriate
would be to speak of smallness, because he rarely had more than three
employees. Which does not mean that he is a loner.
is: "I'm maybe not the relationship type," admits the
unmarried Ruedi Wyler. "But I had to be a team player just
des-because I have always worked with outstanding people
I've worked with," says the newly crowned Advertiser of the Year and
hands the credit to his staff, Christine Guarnieri,
assistant and consultant, art director Andreas Konrad and his
freelance copywriter/conceptual designer Beat Egger, continues.
Ruedi Wyler's guardian angels live on the ceiling of his agency: He was voted "Advertiser of the Year" for the second time.
Ruedi Wyler celebrates advertising Christmas for the second time in 2003.
Ruedi Wyler: Multiple award winnerThe
Lucerne native attended the School of Arts and Crafts and graduated from the
Fritz Kaltenbach completed an apprenticeship as a graphic artist. He then moved to Zurich, where
he worked as a studio manager at the Biland agency. The following
Stations of his career were the flagship agencies Wiener &
Deville and GGK, Basel. This was followed by almost five years at Advico as CD
with Bruno Widmer, whereupon he went into business for himself in 1979 and in
Zurich Wyler Advertising was founded. Just four years later, he was taken over by
was voted Advertiser of the Year by the readers of WerbeWoche. He supervised -
and in some cases still does today - customers such as Tamedia, Du, Das
magazine, the Zurich Theater Spektakel, the Glatt shopping center or
Shoppi & Tivoli, the Aargauer Zeitung, the Museum für
Communication, Digicomp and others more. For its consistently good and
Ruedi Wyler has been awarded several prizes in Germany and abroad for his successful advertising.
awards. Measured in terms of the number of awards per employee, the
For years, Wyler Werbung was the most creative advertising agency in Switzerland.
Four times he was nominated for Advertiser of the Year after 1983. Twice
he made it to the honorary rank. Now, for the fourth time, the
Thoroughbred advertiser with the Egon again awarded as advertiser of the year.
(la)
Irene Hiltpold about Ruedi Wyler "Ruedi
Wyler is an exotic figure in the advertising industry. For decades he has been realizing
as a "lone wolf" unconventional, clever and witty campaigns.
His wry humor, his amiably complicated nature recall
reminds me of Woody Allen, and in my opinion, he's brilliant! Ergo: In
America, Ruedi Wyler would be a superstar."
...
Stitched is better: Twenty years after his first laurel wreath, the
the jury of experts once again selected him as Advertiser of the Year: The Egon 2003 goes to Ruedi Wyler. The question is obvious when you look at him:
Is life a shopping mall? More precisely: Is Ruedi Wyler a
Shopping addict? Far from it, although the distinguished, 60-year-old
creative with his work for almost two decades, among other things, the
Image of the two largest Swiss shopping centers pictorially strong
has helped to shape. Wyler's humorous advertising style in the campaigns for the
Glatt shopping center and for over a year for the Shoppi &
The Tivoli in Spreitenbach is not only in the local advertising and
poster forest. Wyler's work has also raised the bar internationally.
for creative advertising recalibrated a few times, for which the Lucerne
has been honored with awards countless times. Last time two
months, at the largest retail trade convention in the USA.In the election for the
Advertiser of the Year, more than one in five votes went to Ruedi Wyler.
With this, the owner of the small agency of the same name in the
Zurich's District 6 a comfortable lead over the runner-up.
It is telling that in the economic downturn, not a racy
strategist who was chosen with
spread marketing phrases
demonstrative optimism, but rather a creative person who is
has made a name for itself with consistently high quality.
The politically correct choiceThe
new advertiser of the year, who amused the same title in 1983 with
"Prince Carnival" paraphrased, is happy about his high popularity.
However, he has a modest explanation for the renewed
Title win: "I hurt no one and take nothing from anyone consciously
away. In that sense, I'm the politically correct choice," he says.
"Of course I'm honored by the award. But I don't feel like an authority."
At most his age could suggest such, he says
mischievously.
He's not thinking about quitting for a long time yet. "Sometimes I feel
I feel younger mentally in many ways than some people.
In my thirties. Now I want to really step on the gas again." The quiet
Maker, who is fond of serious music, played drums in his youth
and together with AD Andreas Konrad own hypnotic ambient or
Sampling house tunes doesn't have to play it juvenile. The balance
to the job he does not find at networking industry events, but rather
While strolling in Paris or walking in nature. "When I
find peace after a quarter of an hour, open my ears and eyes properly,
I recognize many details that are otherwise easy to overlook. Earlier
the best things came to mind. Today, when I see a beautiful
landscape, I usually resist thinking about advertising.
think."
No urge for self-promotionEven
otherwise Wyler's quiet manner does not fit into the usual pattern of the cool
Werbers. "I'm not ashamed to live a semi-normal life.
lead," he says casually. In an industry where the unrestrained
The urge for self-expression dominates just as much as the
existentialist black, do the gracious modesty and
Wyler's honesty good.
The conceptual designer only loses his composure
then when his sense of justice is violated, as in the case of
dubious jury decisions. The fact that the multiple decorated
to put water on their own mills in such situations.
is self-evident. Unlike many of its
Ruedi Wyler has never been too pleased with his awards.
peddle. "I just can't do that," he admits and assesses
this behavior as "naive" from an economic perspective. But one
should never say never, he quips. Also on the unwritten
Code of honor of the creative advertisers, according to which one should neither
employees nor may steal customers, orders or ideas, has
Ruedi Wyler always held.
Lean Production for 24 yearsSo
discreetly behave only people who know about their talent. Stand
Orders not in accordance with his principles, the gentleman has
among the advertisers also sometimes declined with thanks. "But mention
not do that, it sounds a bit arrogant," Wyler's request said. He does not want to
as a moralist just because, for example, he does not disassociate himself from political parties.
who politicized against minorities. And he says that
not only as an advertiser, but as a human being.
His ability to even
critically scrutinizing award-winning work has so far prevented him from
the dangerous tendency to self-quotation. And so he always peels
the core messages for a wide range of customers - from the
from the cultural magazine Du to the computer science school Digicomp to
to the jewelry store chain Beldoro -, on it he sets these with
independent concepts and witty campaigns. Not for every
price shock, but with calculation, apt punchlines and
reduction from the masses - this would be a good way of
his recipe to the point.
While its business model
of the small agency is proving to be a model for many new start-ups.
"the advertising industry is like an atom that is continually splitting,
even though the advertising pie has been shrinking for months" -, Wyler acknowledges
his work not only trend-setting. "Advertising can set the zeitgeist
reflect at best anyway," he says modestly.
Its
He has always been able to convince clients that it is necessary for good
Advertising does not need courage, only for bad and interchangeable.
In addition, "billboard sites such as ad pages are always accurately
equally expensive, whether you want to use a hackneyed or surprising
Switch advertising motif. But if the audience is already watching advertising
must, then it should at least be decently made." Quiet, but
but unmistakably he gives vent to his anger about the bad
Advertising that can be seen everywhere at the moment. Whether he then exemplary
can name examples? That, he says, is even more difficult. "It can be - even
not always be everything top-notch," Wyler admits.
Medium
Advertising according to the same uninspired pattern is to him
but anathema. Mainstream annoys him just as much as marketing managers,
which in high switching frequencies and thus in the range the sole
The company sees this as the ultimate instrument for conquering the market. It is probably
ignorance rather than despondency, which leads to the fact that "many
excellent creative make good advertising only for restaurants, in
where you can eat spicy food, for the Condomeria or a bookstore."
says Wyler with ironic understatement. As a gut person, he believes in the
mystical-emotional hoopla surrounding advertising not much.
"The only thing that's important is the ambition to do good advertising - and, if possible
Not missing penalties."
The reduction was one, the
agency size the other constant in his career. More appropriate
would be to speak of smallness, because he rarely had more than three
employees. Which does not mean that he is a loner.
is: "I'm maybe not the relationship type," admits the
unmarried Ruedi Wyler. "But I had to be a team player just
des-because I have always worked with outstanding people
I've worked with," says the newly crowned Advertiser of the Year and
hands the credit to his staff, Christine Guarnieri,
assistant and consultant, art director Andreas Konrad and his
freelance copywriter/conceptual designer Beat Egger, continues.
Ruedi Wyler's guardian angels live on the ceiling of his agency: He was voted "Advertiser of the Year" for the second time.
Ruedi Wyler celebrates advertising Christmas for the second time in 2003.
Ruedi Wyler: Multiple award winnerThe
Lucerne native attended the School of Arts and Crafts and graduated from the
Fritz Kaltenbach completed an apprenticeship as a graphic artist. He then moved to Zurich, where
he worked as a studio manager at the Biland agency. The following
Stations of his career were the flagship agencies Wiener &
Deville and GGK, Basel. This was followed by almost five years at Advico as CD
with Bruno Widmer, whereupon he went into business for himself in 1979 and in
Zurich Wyler Advertising was founded. Just four years later, he was taken over by
was voted Advertiser of the Year by the readers of WerbeWoche. He supervised -
and in some cases still does today - customers such as Tamedia, Du, Das
magazine, the Zurich Theater Spektakel, the Glatt shopping center or
Shoppi & Tivoli, the Aargauer Zeitung, the Museum für
Communication, Digicomp and others more. For its consistently good and
Ruedi Wyler has been awarded several prizes in Germany and abroad for his successful advertising.
awards. Measured in terms of the number of awards per employee, the
For years, Wyler Werbung was the most creative advertising agency in Switzerland.
Four times he was nominated for Advertiser of the Year after 1983. Twice
he made it to the honorary rank. Now, for the fourth time, the
Thoroughbred advertiser with the Egon again awarded as advertiser of the year.
(la)
Irene Hiltpold about Ruedi Wyler "Ruedi
Wyler is an exotic figure in the advertising industry. For decades he has been realizing
as a "lone wolf" unconventional, clever and witty campaigns.
His wry humor, his amiably complicated nature recall
reminds me of Woody Allen, and in my opinion, he's brilliant! Ergo: In
America, Ruedi Wyler would be a superstar."
...
Jean Etienne Aebi about Ruedi Wyler "How
no one else, Ruedi Wyler proves that even as a single mask, you can
decades can belong to the creative top. He has shown that there are
not how big the kitchen is, but who is at the stove.
stands. I particularly credit him for always being "sympa" and
remained honest and did not become an opportunist."
The campaignShopping center Glatt: Wyler Werbung set trend-setting standards for shopping center advertising.
Aargauer
Newspaper: The "Rüebliland" readers were also made aware of the fact that the advertiser of the year
humorously clear that minorities are an issue.
Shopping center
Glatt: One of the most important USPs of the shopping center are the 4500
Free parking, Wyler pointed out with a wink.
Digicomp:
A school satchel as a laptop: also reduced for the computer science school
the Zurich-based agency presents the core message in a strong and memorable way.
Image.
Shoppi
& Tivoli: Politically "incorrect", but very correct in advertising terms
Ruedi Wyler behaved with this poster for the "sell-out" at the
Spreitenbach shopping center.
Luca Aloisi
