An advertiser and a gentleman
The professionally polygamous freelance concept designer Markus Ruf is Advertiser of the Year 2001
"My professional role model is the truffle pig. I dig
at work like to delve deep into the subject to get to the most beautiful tubers,
or ideas," says Markus Ruf, explaining his success. His
sure nose for the good concept was gilded countless times.
He receives an award with the selection as Advertiser of the Year 2001,
that he was just missing - the Egon of WerbeWoche.Naturally
Markus Ruf is pleased about the honorable title. His modesty
allows this emotion only subliminally - the cavalier enjoys and
is silent. He defends himself against the label of an award winner in the industry.
"I see prices as a consequence of the work that I have to do," he says.
fun. Such a prize is of course a nice recognition
by industry people and very flattering. But you sit down to
To do a good job. Not to win an award."
Who
reputation, knows that the delicate 37-year-old freelance conceptual designer
from Schaffhausen also says this because he wants the spotlight of the
He shies away from publicity and is rather amused by the cult of personality.
Understatement and independence characterize his ego, contrary to
of the affected blasé and complacency that can be seen in the
The result is a product that we encounter more often than we would like in the self-absorbed world of advertising.
Its
Restraint is not rehearsed, his stylistic confidence is not
put on. Ruf knows what he wants. Distinguished like a gentleman,
courteous and kind - but he wears his heart on his tongue
and not infrequently attracts attention with pointed remarks. This
He owes his informality not least to the pleasant situation,
that he is an independent conceptual designer who works polygamously for several
agencies works, is accountable to no one.
Fair talk
and conformity are not part of his behavioral repertoire.
Self-critically, he remarks: "I can be quite sarcastic and as a
diplomat, I probably would have only made a career in Berlin." Precisely because of
his self-irony and his fairness, he is highly regarded by his colleagues in the industry.
such as Ruedi Wyler, Danielle Lanz or Markus Gut are appreciated - professionally
but above all because of his professionalism, the sense of good ideas -
and not to mention its originality.
Many white sheets are also often filled with nonsenseRuf's handwriting is often conceptual, his realizations are
unusual. Eye-twinkling elements of linguistic and visual
way, the stimulating play with the ambiguous and often with the
advertising medium itself, the occasionally irreverent wit and the sparkling
ingenuity result in a visual and intellectually highly
enjoyable mixture, which the viewer can not escape.
Requested
about his recipe for success, he replies with a grin: "If it's the
I certainly wouldn't tell anyone and I'd make my own market.
off." Only about his work technique he willingly gives
Information: Basically, he writes down everything he associates with the
topic comes to mind. It's not the way people from outside the industry imagine it.
imagine "that you're just sitting in a bar and suddenly a
the flash of inspiration hits". Inspiration has a lot to do with perspiration.
do. "I sit in the office and fill dozens of white sheets - often
even with nonsense."
As opposed to certain craft systems,
learnable, there is no sure path for Ruf to the
fantastic idea. For this you need instinct, bite and always also
a portion of luck.
In general, he notes a trend in his
industry: Concept designers are writing much less today than they used to.
Rather, they look for visual analogies with which the
advertising message can often be conveyed more quickly and surprisingly.
"Beautiful
Examples include Claude Cadsky's Nico Yearbook campaign,
the Hakle ad "Libra" by Advico Young & Rubicam or the
virus-infected computer from WHS for Open Systems. The advertiser of the
year 2001 prefers - quite a gentleman - to praise the work of others.
95 Percent Creativity as a Freelancer is Better than a CD JobEven in his outward appearances, Markus Ruf deviates from the
advertising cliché. From the existentialist black of many advertisers, he sets
with tailored suits made of fine cloth and in the classic English style.
Cut. His blazers - Ruf's only visible witnesses of his also
pecuniary success - he combines casually with jeans. Status symbols like
a house with a view of the lake or high-horsepower cars - the driving test managed
only on the third attempt - the creative person draws intangible assets such as
professional independence and self-determination.
How to manage
since 1994, when he started his own business as a freelance concept designer,
not only his customer orders, he also selects them himself or rejects
she politely declined all tempting CD offers, as she had done in the past. "As
freelance conceptual designer, the ratio between creative and
administrative work about 95 to 5 percent. We want to keep it that way",
says Ruf, who cares little for professional titles.
"A real
challenge, which I don't want to completely rule out, would be to
to go into business for yourself with your own agency. But if this
should happen, then it would have to happen soon, because even I don't
I'm getting younger," the Advertiser of the Year admits candidly.
Bet he could fill his store in the Hui with top people?
In the beginning was the word he lent to ErosActually, the son of an architect wanted to study to be
to become a journalist. Of all things, the dead language Latin made him
in the process. "The new language
Matura type did not exist in Schaffhausen at that time and the
mathematical one was out of the question for lack of talent," Ruf looks back today.
back.
Instead, in 1980, he decided to apprentice as
Typesetter, a venerable profession, but one that has suffered the same fate
was like the language he didn't want to cram.
Since he
but considered the apprenticeship only as a stepping stone into advertising anyway
and it also had the advantage "that my favorite subject, German, was the
half of my timetable and I studied at the Kunstgewerbeschule Zürich in
graphic was trained", the threatened unemployment existence could be
does nothing to diminish his self-confidence.
Until in the last
Apprenticeship year at various Zurich advertising agencies with work samples and
own ideas, the avid reader improved his knowledge of the subject.
teenagers supplement their meager apprenticeship wages with invented
amorous outpourings for Blick and Playboy.
In 1985 he started at
of the then Grendene + Lanz agency as a copywriter. "A stroke of luck,
because I was not abused as a coupon texter of the seniors, but
demanded of such fine customers as Ikea or the school magazine Spick
and encouraged." He therefore feels particularly indebted to Martin Lanz.
He was the one who gave him his start in advertising.
made possible at all. Claude Martin and Johannes Jost were him
later at Publicis professionally and humanly significant promoters.
When it threatens to get boring, Ruf waves it offSources of inspiration aren't just people, though. His
invaluable fund feeds on the intensive consumption of media,
his favorite hobby, movies, and travel. "The beauty of the job as
conceptualist is the fact that everything you do is actually
Continuing education is. The biggest junk can be useful at some point",
says Markus Ruf, who feels privileged not only for that reason.
As
another pleasant side effect of his work as a conceptual designer comes
added that this passion is also very "decently" paid.
However, he is not available for money alone. Because those orders where
to whom the writing of the bill is the only interesting thing, make
rich, but not happy. "Banking, insurance and
I don't do party advertising," he admits bluntly.
In the tourism sector, Ruf would like to advertiseNot for moral or ethical reasons, for example - at the
self-regulation of the Swiss advertising industry, he believes advertising bans
pointless anyway. No, Ruf rejects orders from such institutions
because original appearances are not possible in their convoluted instance paths.
mostly picked apart and leveled beyond recognition.
"Unfortunately
confuse such companies - with a few exceptions such as Mobiliar
- Boredom still likes seriousness," he adds. Very
However, he likes to work for media products, "because there on
client side often sit people who have a flair for good advertising."
Markus Ruf sees desirable customers in the currently vacant travel sector. "Where
Otherwise, can you think about the vacations with a clear conscience when you're working?"
He can also do it with filmed advertising messagesWhat is surprising is the fact that a film aficionado like Ruf
no longer conceives commercials. This is mainly due to its
customer portfolio together, he says. On the one hand, it is strongly
print media-heavy and, on the other hand, it consists of customers who are mostly
because of the advertising budget, exclude the spot as an advertising medium a priori.
But
Here, too, the imaginative conceptual designer has already achieved extraordinary
succeeded: He has impressively demonstrated that even with the cheapest of
produced spots to inspire viewers and win prizes
are. Because of his shocker commercial for the SSR language schools wanted to
already some moviegoers leave the hall in a hurry because the
fake warning indicated that the following Italian,
Spanish or Cuban film screened without German subtitles
would.
From Ruf's hope for more film assignmentsExemplary was also his piggyback idea for Manta Reisen, which
hijacked other cinema spots for its own benefit. The following caused a sensation
last year, as well as the observation camera series for Winner.ch, which he
together with Danielle Lanz from Guye & Partner. In
In the future, Markus Ruf hopes to be able to design film commissions more often.
That
he will also present first-class implementations in this category,
one's conviction and, above all, one's understanding of the
hardly want to cast doubt on the profession of advertising.
"I think,
that creative work brings more joy to everyone. For those who do it.
To those who see them. And to those who pay for them. Many campaigns that
are awarded by ADC for their creativity, will later be
also awarded by the Effi for their efficiency," says the advertiser of the
year 2001.
If anyone knows anything about it, it's Markus Ruf.
