The Fantastic Four

"Be curious and see an opportunity in everything".
Manuel Rohrer, 26, graphic designer at Contexta in Bern
Manuel Rohrer was born in Bremgarten (AG). After completing his graphic design apprenticeship at DDB Bern, he worked at Denon Publizistik in Rapperswil (SG) and Euro RSCG Zurich before joining Contexta two years ago. With his augmented reality ad, which is currently placed in around 100 Swiss media, Rohrer won the "Only an ad can do that" competition of the Swiss Press Association at the beginning of the year. His win hasn't yet earned him an executive parking spot, but it has earned him participation in Best YET 2010 in Leuven. "Drawing is not my strong point," Rohrer admits.
"To practice it, I always carried a pencil and sketchbook around with me a few weeks before the competition." Although he and his teammate Samuel Huber did not succeed in Leuven with their creative pencil work - but because Rohrer sees an opportunity in everything and is firmly convinced that you can always learn something, he did not return to Switzerland empty-handed.
Rohrer and Huber have known each other for a long time. "In addition to our passion for good advertising, what we have in common above all is our enjoyment of beer and table soccer," says Rohrer. With their love of barley juice, the two were in good hands in the brewing city of Leuven. "The nice thing about my job is that you never run the risk of falling into the daily grind. What I find annoying, however, is when you have to please everyone with a campaign, making it interchangeable and boring," says Rohrer, outlining the weal and woe of being a graphic designer. Rohrer is married and has a son who is just under one and a half years old. Louis is his favorite pastime. At least playing with him. As a young boy, Rohrer wanted to be a professional soccer player and a racing driver at the same time. Consistent as he is, he still dreams of racing in a Formula One car.

"Wherever you go - there you are".
Filip Wolfensberger, 27, graphic designer at Maxomedia in Bern
Filip Wolfensberger promised himself "a few types of Belgian beer and a trophy" from his participation in Best YET 2010. His hopes for various types of beer were fulfilled, but unfortunately the plan to bring home the coveted tickets for Cannes was not. But at least Wolfensberger and his teammate Dominic Zach's campaign idea made it onto the international jury's shortlist.
Wolfensberger was born in Basel. As a young boy, he first wanted to become an actor, then a policeman, and finally a stationmaster. Because he liked the cap and the red ladle so much. Today Wolfens-
berger is a trained designer as well as a teacher of drawing and handicrafts: from 2000 to 2004 he completed the preliminary course and the course in design at the Basel School of Design. He then studied teaching design and art at the Zurich University of the Arts. "During this time I worked on various art projects and played music at quite a few concert events," says the passionate drummer.
Wolfensberger has been working as a graphic designer at Maxomedia for two years. And nothing works for him without music. What does he have in common with his teammate Dominic Zach? "Fun creating and a healthy dose of self-irony," says Wolfensberger.
He enjoys his job most when he has enough freedom to make decisions and the team and environment are right - like at Best YET in Leuven. In his work, Wolfensberger swears by innovation, exchange and reduction. Because: "If too many ideas have to be reconciled in projects, they can't impress as a fitting message."

"When I'm down, down is up".
Samuel Huber, 27, student at Miami Ad School Europe in Hamburg, Germany
To keep himself amazed - that is Samuel Huber's greatest dream. To achieve it, he needs above all perseverance, enthusiasm and the talent to think what others don't think. Until mid-June, Huber will be learning the art of idea generation at the Miami Ad School Europe in Hamburg. After that, he is eagerly awaiting what the future will bring. After all, Huber's favorite (leisure) activity is "discovering life in all its diversity.
Huber was born in Munich and grew up in Bern. After school, he tried his hand at business school. But: "After just a few weeks, it was clear to me that bookkeeping and a copy machine didn't suit my daydreams. I wanted to be a graphic designer." Huber worked as a pizza courier until 2002, when he began his preliminary course in Basel. He completed his graphic design apprenticeship at Erdmannpeisker in Biel, then worked for a year and a half at Euro RSCG Zurich. Since the summer of 2008, Huber has been studying art direction at Miami Ad School. "As part of my education, I've had the opportunity to travel cities and get to know various agencies for the last nine months," he says. "I've been to Ogilvy in Paris, Lowe's in New York and Saatchi & Saatchi in Stockholm." And now, Leuven. Being at Best YET 2010 means a lot to Huber: "Switzerland is a piece of home for me. It has offered me many opportunities and forgiven some sins. I was happy to represent it." Huber traveled to Belgium well-prepared: "For two years I've been batting around concepts and ideas intensively. Preparation enough to intuitively do the right thing at the given moment."
Huber loves the playfulness of his job. And he hates it when he has to be compulsively creative. But that doesn't mean he doesn't enjoy pushing himself: "What I enjoy most is creating concepts and looking for ideas, always pushing myself to achieve unique results." That fits with Huber's motto in life: He's always up. And when he's down, down is up. Sometimes it doesn't hurt to see the world from the other side.

"I hate compromise"
Dominic Zach, 27, preparation for self-employment
Shaolin kung fu is Dominic Zach's favorite hobby. Zach also likes to go straight at work: "Any compromise that waters down the vision so that the final product is still mediocre and boring at best is a failure," he says. "I hate those miserable compromises." Even as a boy, Zach dreamed of becoming an assistant to Michael Knight or a ninja fighter. He retains that combative nature to this day.
Zach simply expected to win the Best YET. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough. But since Zach's main concern is to have fun in his job, his visit to Leuven was certainly worthwhile: "I always enjoy it when I have the opportunity to entertain people and contribute my own ideas."
Zach was born in Wengi bei Büren. He studied media sciences at the University of Fribourg and then slid into the advertising industry through a competition for an internship at Maxomedia. From February 2008 to April 2010, Zach worked at the Bern-based agency as a concept developer, producer and digital consultant. Now he plans to set up his own business in the online sector.
In Leuven, Zach competed together with Filip Wolfensberger. "Filip and I served side by side at Maxomedia, planning and executing various advertising campaigns," Zach says. That's what welds us together.
Zach's role model is a mix of Spongebob, Super Mario, Jerry Seinfeld and Gary Larson. Which raises the question of what an adventurous sponge, an Italian plumber from a video game, an actor and comedian and a cartoonist have in common. At the very least, the talent for not taking the world too seriously and meeting it with a pinch of irony. Humor and a relaxed approach to life's serpentines have still proven to be good advisors.

Anne-Friederike Wilhelm