Roses for the Bernese advertisers
Paolo Tonti is set to join CD Contexta as its second member.
Paolo Tonti wants to strengthen Contexta as the second CD Now he can talk like he grew a beak again: Paolo Tonti spent his primary school years in Bern after coming to Switzerland from Italy with his parents in 1964. His dialect was "extremely Bernese German" until his secondary school days. When he studied graphic design at the School of Applied Arts in Zurich in the 1970s and gained his first experience as an advertiser in the city on the Limmat, his speech sounded different.Paolo Tonti still lives in the Mecca of fast-talking advertisers. However, he now commutes back to the city of leisurely people every morning at six o'clock in his mobile SBB office. "Bernese people are not slow, but more relaxed. They have an almost Mediterranean feel and a very lively culture," he has already noticed in his first two weeks as a new CD at Contexta. Tonti therefore wants to find a new apartment as soon as possible in addition to his new job in Bern.
Professionally, this change was "simply a very good fit". Tonti had long felt that a change of scenery at work would be good. The fact that Contexta wanted to reorganize its management following the departure of CD Hannes Weber finally brought the two right people together. "He fits in with us," says co-owner Bernhard Abegglen at Contexta. The choice of ADC-award-winning Zurich-based designers who wanted to move to an agency in the federal city was not exactly small.
Paolo Tonti gained his first references at Advico. Two examination experts, including the then Advico CD, had already made him a job offer during his final exams at the School of Arts and Crafts. "Those were the wild seventies," recalls Tonti, who first wanted to live out his creative side as a designer at the Museum of Decorative Arts for a year before giving in to the wooing of Advico's advertisers.
His second agency was the newly founded Lesch+Frei in 1978. Tonti was also taken on again here when he returned from a five-year stay in Asia in 1989.
His wife at the time had been working in Bangladesh as an aid worker on behalf of Switzerland. As an "accompanying husband", as the Swiss government officially called it, he was not allowed to work in Dhaka. At least not for money. So Paolo Tonti painted stage sets for a Bengali theater. He decorated Bert Brecht's "Threepenny Opera" in the style of the large-scale "Bollywood" posters.
He also trained local graphic designers and even founded a small advertising agency with a local friend, which is now part of the JWT network.
After Lesch+Frei, Tonti enjoyed advertising for clients such as SBB, Shell, Swissair and Tages-Anzeiger at GGK Zurich. He won several prizes, but "like many" never for work that he himself liked best. He became ambitious and finally moved to Lintas for the first time as a CD. However, as their international clients "didn't want anything creative", he returned to GGK once again. However, this was soon followed by liquidation, which today "everyone involved remembers a little differently". Tonti escaped the agency split by working as a freelance designer for the following years. He did less advertising and more design. At the end of the millennium, however, he was drawn back: Tonti accepted an offer from Remy Fabrikant.
At Contexta, Tonti believes he can now find something like the agency spirit of his early advertising years again. Contexta is owner-managed, but employs 60 people, some of whom have been working for clients for many years. Tonti: "This testifies to the quality of the agency."
He could imagine putting down roots in Bern again - well, there would still be a bit of commuting, as his new partner doesn't want to live in Bern all the time for professional reasons. Conversely, Paolo wants to continue to cultivate his newly discovered gardening skills in Zurich. Growing roses has now become his great passion.
Paolo Tonti has become a passionate rose grower in his spare time.
Andreas Panzeri
Professionally, this change was "simply a very good fit". Tonti had long felt that a change of scenery at work would be good. The fact that Contexta wanted to reorganize its management following the departure of CD Hannes Weber finally brought the two right people together. "He fits in with us," says co-owner Bernhard Abegglen at Contexta. The choice of ADC-award-winning Zurich-based designers who wanted to move to an agency in the federal city was not exactly small.
Paolo Tonti gained his first references at Advico. Two examination experts, including the then Advico CD, had already made him a job offer during his final exams at the School of Arts and Crafts. "Those were the wild seventies," recalls Tonti, who first wanted to live out his creative side as a designer at the Museum of Decorative Arts for a year before giving in to the wooing of Advico's advertisers.
His second agency was the newly founded Lesch+Frei in 1978. Tonti was also taken on again here when he returned from a five-year stay in Asia in 1989.
His wife at the time had been working in Bangladesh as an aid worker on behalf of Switzerland. As an "accompanying husband", as the Swiss government officially called it, he was not allowed to work in Dhaka. At least not for money. So Paolo Tonti painted stage sets for a Bengali theater. He decorated Bert Brecht's "Threepenny Opera" in the style of the large-scale "Bollywood" posters.
He also trained local graphic designers and even founded a small advertising agency with a local friend, which is now part of the JWT network.
After Lesch+Frei, Tonti enjoyed advertising for clients such as SBB, Shell, Swissair and Tages-Anzeiger at GGK Zurich. He won several prizes, but "like many" never for work that he himself liked best. He became ambitious and finally moved to Lintas for the first time as a CD. However, as their international clients "didn't want anything creative", he returned to GGK once again. However, this was soon followed by liquidation, which today "everyone involved remembers a little differently". Tonti escaped the agency split by working as a freelance designer for the following years. He did less advertising and more design. At the end of the millennium, however, he was drawn back: Tonti accepted an offer from Remy Fabrikant.
At Contexta, Tonti believes he can now find something like the agency spirit of his early advertising years again. Contexta is owner-managed, but employs 60 people, some of whom have been working for clients for many years. Tonti: "This testifies to the quality of the agency."
He could imagine putting down roots in Bern again - well, there would still be a bit of commuting, as his new partner doesn't want to live in Bern all the time for professional reasons. Conversely, Paolo wants to continue to cultivate his newly discovered gardening skills in Zurich. Growing roses has now become his great passion.
Paolo Tonti has become a passionate rose grower in his spare time.
Andreas Panzeri
