Romanian creatives to watch for in 2018
After last year we presented you the creatives we believed were ready to set the tone for creativity in 2017, it’s time for the 2018 prognosis to be revealed. In no particular order, here are the creatives we believe we’ll influence the creative field considerably this year and the ones to come.
Raluca Matei, Head of Art Jazz Communication
She was awarded the title of Art Director of the Year, by ADC Romania, during a ceremony held this February, for taking part in the campaigns “Together #formagichome” (also awarded Idea of the Year), “LaMinut, the Romanians’ nr.1 Mustard”, “Time from your time”, Avon (the last one also winning her the second place in the “Best Use of Video” category at Webstock 2017).
She also has in her portfolio a Gold Lion at Cannes Festival, a Gold Effie, a Gold at PR Award 2016, a Gold at Fibra Awards 2016, a DIPLOMA – Internetics – Interactive campaigns – Digital component of an integrated campaign Social campaigns, Political & Awareness Messages,etc for the campaign “Save Our Songbirds”.
Miruna Dumitrescu, Group Creative Director Jazz Communication
With more than 7 years of experience in advertising, gathered in agencies such as: Brandstalk, Senior Interactive, MullenLowe Profero, Leo Burnett, Miruna Dumitrescu was chosen Copywriter of the Year by ADC Romania, for her contribution in 2017 in the campaigns Provident – “Experiment“, La Minut – “The number 1 Romanian’s Mustard” and “Together #formagichome”.
Ioana Zamfir & Alin Sirbu, Group Creative Director & Art Director McCann Worldgroup Romania
Responsible for campaigns such as Fundatia Renasterea – “Brave Cut”, ROM Autentic – “ROM ANTHEM”, ROM Autentic – “ROMBOT” and Mega Image – “Veggie Heroes”, they were declared Copywriter of the Year and Art Director of the Year at FIBRA Awards 2017.
Mihai Vasile, Copywriter McCann/MRM Bucharest
Graduated from the Alternative School For Creative Thinking and the University of Journalism and Mass Communication, he is one of the creatives responsible for the success of the campaign “Romania’s Next Big Vlogger” for Coca-Cola that earned 3 Gold Awards at Internetics 2017 in Culture – Online Branded Content, Communities – Brand Associated Communities and Social Media – Online PR Special Projects, 1 Gold PR Award in Social Media and 1 Silver PR Award in Digital PR.
He is also part of the campaign “Rombot – The first virtual ambassador of a country” for the Rom chocolate bar, Kandia,that won several important awards in 2017: two Silver Drums at the categories “Digital” and “Activation Programme” at Golden Drum, 1 Silver in Internetics, an award in Media at Eurobest 2017.
Campaigns That We Admire : Together for MagicHome
Today we start a new series of articles that will go under the umbrella of “Campaigns That We Admire”. We want to bring in front of you ideas that were outside-the-box, that brought emotion, that changed something or that at least tried to. Campaigns on never-seen before ideas.
Therefore, we start with the great MagicHome campaign created by Jazz.
The context
2,500 children in Romania are currently treated for oncological illnesses and 550 cancer cases are diagnosed every year. Children suffering from cancer require medical care at pediatric oncology clinics, which are usually located far from their homes.
However, over 70% of the children come from families with limited financial means, which makes the costs of transportation and accommodation the main cause for children being diagnosed late, treatments or examinations being postponed or interrupted, dramatically reducing the chances of healing.
The idea
On the 3rd of November 2017 MagicMakers, the founders of MagiCAMP, decided to show the parents of ill children that they are not fighting cancer alone. They wanted to show everybody how they live. Literally. Therefore, they launched a fundraising campaign, with a very creative idea that came from the Romanian Cannes awarded agency Jazz and did, alongside all a long list of great personalities and people, what the parents do every day, for months, and even years. They sat. On a chair, next to a hospital bed. “We promised we won’t get up until we would raise the money for Magic Home, a 700 square meters building, next to the biggest oncology hospital in Bucharest. A place they so very much need. To cook. To take a shower. To cry,” says the statement on the campaign’s website.
What it is
MagicHOME is a real chance to treatment, a shelter that can help both parents and their children to keep going by offering them decent living conditions throughout the treatment: bathrooms with showers, the possibility to wash and dry their clothes, free meals, inside and outside playgrounds, psychological support and art therapy.
“It’s a campaign that got me emotional, that moved me and that reminded me of why I am working in advertising. It became viral, successfully surpassed its objective and brought us all that GOOD that we needed like air,” said Bogdan Vintila, group creative director Graffiti BBDO & ADC Romania member.
The Jazz team was formed of Raluca Matei, Roxana Cozaru (art directors) and Andreea Ghenoiu, Alina Varlanuta and Miruna Dumitrescu (copywriters). The campaign was declared Campaign of The Year at the ADC*Ro Awards.
The PR agency Rogalski Damaschin got involved to help push promote the campaign to the local media and key influencers.
Results
- simple and powerful great idea
- total dedication from all the parties involved
- emotion put at its best
- unforgettable and with great results
- strong message, carried out voluntarily by over 660 people
- the best proof that creativity and a great idea can change the world for better
The Top Romanian creatives setting the tone for 2017
For some years now Romania is setting the creative beat in the CEE, by winning almost all the editions of the Golden Drum Festival and by giving the CEE countries some very talented creatives and client service persons. We are also seeing a breakthrough at Cannes Lions and other important international festivals.
Therefore, we decided to offer you the name of the people we consider to be the next names to watch out, the future Creative Directors, the ones that are actually setting the tones of the recent campaigns. In no particular order, we give you:
Andreea Ghenoiu (Group Creative Director Jazz Communication)
Passionate copywriter, in love with advertising, ideas and people, Andreea gathered so far almost 10 years of experience, big projects, both national and international, awarded in competitions such as: Cannes Lions, Golden Drum, Golden Hammer, Effie Awards, ADC Awards, Internetics, Webstock and PR Awards. She is always thirsty for good work and great ideas. She is responsible for having the great idea of the “Save Our Songbirds” campaign that brought Romania the only Gold Lion in Cannes in 2016 and that made it one of the only 15 campaigns in the entire world to have won both a Lion in Cannes, proving the creativity, and a Gold Effie, demonstrating the efficiency. A result that received a presence in The Gunn Report.
Sebastian Olar (Group Creative Director Publicis Romania)
Sebastian is a marketing graduate, Nicholas Cage doppelgänger and probably the first ticket inspector ever to become a copywriter. After quitting public transportation in 2008, he graduated the Art Director’s Club School and started copywriting for McCann Bucharest. That’s when he started winning metal statues in most of the national and international advertising festivals, including One Show, Cannes Lions, Clio, Eurobest and New York Festivals. That also got him “The Young Professional of the Year” title at the IAA Excellence Awards. After one year of being the Creative Director of UNTOLD, Europe’s best major music festival, as of October 2016, his business card says Creative Free Spirit Graffiti BBDO, working mainly on the Pepsi account.
Miruna Macri (Senior Art Director at MRM // McCann Romania)
Soon after she graduated from Miami Ad School, Miruna started her career as an Art Director at Publicis Bucharest. From there, her focus went in the digital field and joined MRM//McCann Bucharest. Throughout her career, she has worked for brands like LIDL, Renault, Nissan, Visa, Nestle, Coca-Cola, KFC, OMV, Uber, The Automobile Club of Romania, Paul, etc.
Her work has been recognized at Cannes Lions, D&AD, Eurobest, Golden Drum, New York Festivals, Fibra, Creativity International Awards, Applied Arts Magazine, Summit International Awards, ADDY’S, Young Guns, Internetics and many more. The FIBRA Awards jury named her “Art Director of the Year” in 2016. She is part of this year’s New York Festivals’ Grand Jury, in the Design category.
Sandra Bold (Head of Copy MRM// McCann Worldgroup Romania)
Sandra started her walk on Advertising lane by quitting her architect job and trying on the copywriter dress. She is very happy to work on both regional and global projects for which she has been shortlisted 5 times in the last two years at Cannes Lions Festival. Her list of awards starts with Creativity awards, Golden Drum, and the first Gold at Eurobest for a Romanian digital agency and ends with local shows. She was awarded the title of “Copywriter of the Year” at FIBRA Awards 2016. Sandra is also half of the pair that initiated the series of events ” Lady Steps“, supported by ADC Romania.
Simona Suman (Group Creative Director Jazz Communication)
Simona has been passionately crafting creative campaigns for more than 8 years, in agencies big and small, from FCB to Young & Rubicam, McCann and more recently Jazz Communication, in 3 different countries: Romania, Hungary and Czech Republic. She’s developed integrated campaigns, combined with smaller, soulful projects for international and local clients: Vodafone, MasterCard, Provident, Lay’s, Mega Image, Arctic, Grand Cinema and many more. Her work has been locally and internationally awarded in festivals such as Eurobest, Golden Drum, ADC Europe, Effie, as well as local shows. She is also part of the New York Festivals’ Grand Jury in the Outdoor / Out Of Home Marketing. Simona is the other initiator of the project “Lady Steps”.
Victor Oprisan (Group Creative Director MullenLowe)
Victor, aka “the Viking”, is a Group Creative Director with over 10 years experience in the idea business. He joined the MullenLowe Romania team in April 2013, after +6 years spent in local and multinational advertising agencies. Throughout his career, the Viking smashed the creative anvil for Romanian as well as international clients like Doritos, Carlsberg group (Guinness, Skol), Molson Coors (Beck’s, Stella Artois, Staropramen), Unicredit Bank,Bancpost, Groupama, Mercedes-Benz, Orange, Zizin, to name a few, winning several awards in creativity and efficiency festivals, including a Gold Effie for his national campaign Varu’ (The Cousin). In 2016, together with fellow GCD Andrei Munteanu (aka Beni), he qualified in the Semi Finals of the Global Doritos Crash the SuperBowl Contest, missing the million-dollar award by a thread. He is also part of this year’s New York Festival Grand Jury, in the category of Branded Entertainment.
