The ping pong player

What do advertisers come up with to get large advertisers to place an ad in a newspaper like WoZ? For example, sending a mailing to the advertising managers. Or create an ad. Or something completely different. For example, send a spokesperson out onto the street and have passers-by read out the ads from Migros, Coop, SBB and the like, film the whole thing and send it to the companies. With the note: "We advertised for you for free. Next time it will cost you." In other words, the price of the ad. This is advertising in a way that addressees do not expect. And that is exactly what Johannes Raggio expects from his work. Advertising ideas should go beyond the obvious. "Of course it's cool to be briefed to realize a beautiful film. But excellent advertising often finds its way to consumers in ways they don't expect." When the creative talks about advertising, he leans forward and focuses on his counterpart with his bright gray eyes. "I really like my job. It's a wonderful way to make a living."

However, Raggio first had to find out that he was in the right place in creation. After high school, he began studying law. A subject that interested him alongside business. During his studies, however, it became clear to him that he would not find his home in law. Perhaps he would prefer architecture or medicine or even graphic arts? He was so volatile on the road that he wanted to at least have a degree in his pocket. "I thought, Finish something, then try advertising." He found advertising exciting as a consumer. Seeing the first Lovely commercials in theaters was something. He would have been interested in working as a graphic designer. But studying again after graduating was out of the question. So he became a copywriter. He "liked" the language and found the play with words funny. Raggio only really realized in retrospect that he had made the right choice. "Sometimes it steers you somewhere." Being guided is something the creative likes more than planning anyway. He enjoys it when things just happen, when things roll. An internship at Wunderman was followed by a temporary contract, and finally a permanent one. He then moved on to Advico Young & Rubicam, Jung von Matt/Limmat and back to Advico. Since spring 2010, Raggio has been with Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett SFLB as Creative Director. He still thinks of his law studies often - but without melancholy. "I'm extremely glad I'm not in law - and law probably is."

Playing ideas back and forth

Peter Brönnimann, with whom Raggio has been sharing the creative reins for a few months, sees the 37-year-old as the "perfect creative". "Johannes has amazingly good ideas and is a stand-up guy. He never lets up and always tries something new again." And Raggio himself also raves about his job. "The nice thing is that we work in a team-oriented way." Team-oriented, a word that is often used as a phrase because it sounds nice. Yet when you hear the creative talk, it seems right in place. "We meet again and again, discuss ideas, give criticism, develop yet another new idea. Everyone is involved. In the end, all that counts is finding the best solution to a problem."

Raggio is not someone who retreats into a quiet room to come up with ideas. His advertising ideas usually emerge in conversation. Of course, you can come up with ideas on your own, he says. But: "It's easier in a team." He bounces ideas back and forth with his creative partner Pablo Schencke, with whom he also shares an office at SFLB. "We ping-pong away. It's fun." One idea emerges, another comes along. And then everything is questioned again and something completely new is sought. "Let's still see if it can't be done differently. If you look at it completely differently." And the whole thing always in Spanish. Raggio, who grew up in Zurich, has Spanish and Argentine roots. And Schenke, for his part, comes from Chile. When the two work on concepts together, international flair comes to the Swiss advertising agency. "I like to see the two of them doing their ping-pong in Spanish fire. You only understand every tenth word," says Brönnimann. "It's almost like you've landed in a top Spanish or South American creative agency." Currently, the creative duo is busy working on a new campaign for Ovaltine. It's an amusing idea that a concept for a traditional Swiss brand is being created in "Spanish fire."

In his new job as Executive Creative Director, Raggio continues to work conceptually with Schencke and is involved in the development of campaigns. In the future, however, he will give birth to somewhat fewer ideas, but will assess those of his colleagues a bit more. Conversely, Brönnimann, who was previously the sole ECD, is pleased to have less to do with management tasks and "to be able to be more creative again as a creative." Taking on the boss role is a big challenge for Raggio. "Being a good boss is not easy. It takes tact. Everyone in the team rehearses, everyone has their ideas. And at the end of the day, everyone should be happy with what they do." The creative wants to be part of the team to come up with a good solution together. Likewise, as an ECD, he has to take the lead. "You have to be receptive to everything and still know what you want." As creative director, Raggio wants a good statement above all else. That's what he focuses on when conceptualizing. Are we making a good point? Advertising needs a relevant message, not only from the customer's point of view. Equally, the message must be meaningful to the consumer, he says. "I know that's not a new insight. The focus on the message is very pronounced with me, I think. In the first moment, I usually don't care what the implementation is. I just want to know: What are we saying? What might work?" It's a way of working that was further solidified by advanced training in screenwriting. Because, whether it's a 30-second commercial or a 15-minute film, the first thing is to describe what the idea is, what should happen in the film - without getting lost in the details.

Inspiration from Spain and the world

For his concepts, Raggio likes to look outside the box. "I look a lot at how advertising is done in other countries and get inspired." He wants to bring the international focus into his work. Also for SFLB's "Swiss" customers, which in addition to Ovaltine include Switzerland Tourism or Migros customers, among others. In the current campaign, for example, the chocolate creations of the Migros subsidiary Chocolat Frey are praised by Chinese and Mexicans as the best in the world. The strong reference to Spain also comes into play here and there. For example, in the name promotion for Micasa. SFLB was to realize a tag-on for the new catalog of the furniture store, at least that was the briefing. "We looked at the catalog and noticed that a lot of the furniture had people's names on it, and thought a promotion had to come out of that. If you find a piece of furniture that has the same name as you, you get it cheaper."

The idea quickly took hold that Spaniards, who traditionally keep the surnames of their mother and father and thus have at least three names in their passports, are promising candidates. In the spot, Antonio Orlando Julian Oscar Samuel Molina Salamanca, standing in front of the checkout with a fully loaded shopping cart, is looking forward to the fat discounts he is about to get. Despite international roots, Raggio has never lived abroad for any length of time. He did visit Spain an average of five times a year until his student days, but he never spent a Christmas there. A longer stay, on the other hand, "unfortunately hasn't happened yet." "I would have loved to do that," he says. "On the other hand, I also have the confidence that it will still happen." For the moment, at any rate, his place is with SFLB. The creative finds working with Brönnimann very rewarding. "I walk into his office, he walks into my office, we exchange ideas and bring each other new ideas. We benefit each other." And he also feels very comfortable at the agency in other respects. "The people here have their feet on the ground." That's something Raggio appreciates, describing himself as a down-to-earth, "grounded" guy. "I've found something like my home here. When you have people around you who make it fun, you have to stay."

Isabel Imper

In a nutshell

Johannes Raggio (37) grew up in Zurich and studied law after high school. The Swiss with Spanish and Argentinean roots got his start in the advertising world as a copywriter at Wundermann. Further stations were Advico Young & Rubicam and Jung von Matt/Limmat. Since spring 2010, Raggio has been working for the advertising agency Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett as Creative Director and, together with Peter Brönnimann, has recently been heading the agency's creative team as Executive Creative Director.