In Adland, “Make the Brain and the Heart Get Along”
“Creativity must be fed in every possible way,” says Scholz & Friends’ senior art director Matteo Pozzi. His feeding began at a young age, making up board games by inventing rules, characters and backstories, getting everyone around him involved. Eventually, this creative drive would land him his start in the industry at BBDO in Milan, and it all unfolded from there.
“In Germany, [the work] it is more cerebral and in Italy, it is more heartfelt,” Matteo explains, sharing his learnings from working across the two countries. And speaking of learnings, every role has taught Matteo something different. At BBDO, he learnt how important it is to capture the beauty of work. At DDB, he learnt how significant it is to consider strategy. And here at Scholz & Friends, he’s combining everything he’s learnt to create beautiful, strategic work which captures both the brain and heart.
To hear more about this, Matteo speaks to LBB’s Nisna Mahtani.
LBB> When did you first decide on a career in the creative industries? Were there people around you who inspired you, did it stem from a personal passion or was it something else?
Matteo> When I was in my teens, I used to play pranks on teachers at school. Harmless but creative jokes. My classmates were my clients: they asked me for new pranks every day. Between laughs, I realised that I liked coming up with ideas, and I was also quite good at it. So, at the end of high school, I took a new path: advertising.
I must thank all my classmates for being wonderful ‘clients’ and great friends. However, I apologise to the teachers. But I know they had fun too.
LBB> In terms of your own creativity, how did it transpire in your younger years? What were some of the mediums you used and enjoyed creating within?
Matteo> As a child, I was passionate about board games. When I couldn't afford them or couldn't find them, I would recreate them. I would invent the rules, the characters, and the whole game. The same for comics, films, and books: If I couldn't have them, I would imagine them and write the plots. There is nothing that stimulates creativity like trying to achieve something you cannot have.
LBB> How did you hone your skills and find your first job in the industry?
Matteo> Choosing the right advertising school is a good way to start. But I made the wrong choice. It was a good school but not the right match for me. So, I found myself cut off from big agencies and faced a lot of closed doors. One day, I participated in an advertising competition promoted by the Italian ADC, and it went quite well. The doors of the agencies opened a bit, but not completely. Those were the years of the economic crisis, and everyone was worried about the future. So I had to wait a little longer in front of the light of those half-open doors.
New year, new competition. And again, it turned out well. Finally, the half-closed doors opened wide. And I decided to enter the brightest one for me at that time: BBDO.
[Ikea - 'The Lift']
LBB> You started at BBDO in Milan, then Armando Testa and DDB Italy before you moved to Germany. What was the most valuable lesson you learned in the early days?
Matteo> At BBDO I learnt how important beauty is in our work. Every corner of the agency was filled with posters, drawings, and photos: absurd but inspiring pictures. Art was everywhere. Every colleague was a source of inspiration too. I absorbed all that beauty and put it into my work.
The key is also what I learnt at DDB: the importance of strategy. This is also thanks to the exceptional client Ikea, for whom strategy, creativity, and craft live under one roof. The results of the campaigns I did in those years were crazy and they allowed me to get into the homes and lives of many people.
LBB> Working across two different European countries, what did this teach you about the industry and how ideas translate in different markets?
Matteo> The approach is very different: in Germany, it is more cerebral and in Italy, it is more heartfelt. It is good to manage both and make the brain and the heart get along: also, because the mouth, which symbolises communication, is right in the middle of these two.
LBB> What has been the most significant piece of work you’ve done in your career so far?
Matteo> My fav piece is ‘Happy Ramadan’ for McDonald's Germany. I like this campaign because it has all the ingredients to be a special piece of work: the product is big, plus there is the price on top, but the story behind it is an emotional one. We show food, but we talk about people. And to people. These are the campaigns that, in my opinion, work for everyone: clients, target audiences and people in our industry.
[McDonald's - 'Happy Ramadan']
LBB> Are you able to share a few other pieces of work you’re proud of?
Matteo> I’m proud of ‘The Lift’, an Ikea commercial. Also, in this case, the products are the stars and they become the vehicle to tell a human story. In contrast to ‘The Lift’, I could mention another McDonald's campaign: ‘Happy Eyes’. Here the product is absent, or nearly so.
Another project I care about is ‘Water of Africa’, done for the client Action Against Hunger. I did it in between Jung von Matt and Scholz & Friends. I had a month's break and decided to focus on this project. No agencies were involved. The team was very small: Paolo Bartalucci, Francesca Montrucchio, Valentina Amenta and me. Despite that, we brought the project to the main Italian TV news, involving major personalities and even reaching the European Parliament. Unbelievable!
LBB> What does creativity mean to you and how do you hone your thought process when it comes to work? Do you prefer brainstorming ideas, having conversations, using existing work to prompt you, or is it something else?
Matteo> Creativity must be fed in every possible way: sometimes with a moment of silence and concentration, sometimes by exchanging ideas with a partner or checking out what's going on in the world. Sometimes by watching ‘The Goonies’ for the hundredth time. In any case, it is best to try them all, some will definitely work. One of the best ideas I ever had came at the exact moment I woke up one morning; probably, creativity needed to be fed with dreams that day.
LBB> Do you have any creative inspirations, either who you know or whose work has had an impact on you?
Matteo> I am influenced by everyone around me. Everyone always has something special to share. When I was a child, my mother used to tell me stories she invented. In one of them, a little green Martian ended up in a dishwashing soap. Maybe that was my first advertising inspiration.
Speaking of creative inspirations, my first creative crush was Dove ‘Real Beauty Sketches’ – a campaign that made my mouth and mind open wide. And then many others, right up to ‘The Last Photo’ by adam&eveDDB: a punch in your stomach and in your face. And the extraordinary simplicity of ‘World Cup Delivery’ by GUT.
[Action Against Hunger 'Water of Africa']
LBB> In your free time, what are some of the hobbies and interests which occupy you?
Matteo> I’m an art director, but I write a lot. My stories are all disconnected from each other but with one common thread. If you want to know which one: wait for my book to come out!
LBB> What’s something that people may not know about you?
Matteo> I like to say that I got married in Iceland, in front of a waterfall.
