The "Underdog" Appeal of Print and Radio Ads
As chief creative officer at McCann Europe and global executive creative director for McCann Worldgroup, Adrian Botan has led campaigns for brands from the most local and nuanced to the broadest and most mass-market. And as Eurobest’s jury president this year for two traditional media categories with enduring relevance – print & publishing and radio & audio – he’s intimately acquainted with how all sorts of brands can best put them to work.
Adrian spearheads Mastercard creative globally and has led the McCann creative community in Europe since 2016, and, under his tenure, the network has achieved multiple milestones in creativity, including the Cannes Lions European Network of the Year, Campaign’s Magazine Agency Network of the Year in Europe 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022. Most recently his team picked a Titanium and a Grand Prix win at Cannes Lions 2023 for Mastercard’s 'Where to Settle' project.
As he prepares for the jury room, LBB’s Alex Reeves speaks to him about this moment for print and radio advertising.
LBB> What is it about your jury categories of print and radio that really excites or interests you?
Adrian> When a category becomes the underdog it intrigues me. It appeals to my own underdog background, and this makes me look for those ideas that flip the assumptions we have about it. To my mind it’s been the case with both print and radio which were until lately overlooked by clients and agencies alike.
So, we were seeing in both categories a craft arms race, as the only way to differentiate and stand out. When this is happening I believe there’s an opportunity to disrupt and reinvent those categories, so I’ll be on the lookout for work that does just that.
LBB> Looking at last year's Grand Prix winners in your jury categories at Eurobest, what collaborations do you think will have been most important to ensure that they worked?
Adrian> I really loved the work that took the Grand Prix last year in Print & Publishing. A challenger brand advertising on a challenger budget, hijacking speed cameras to create their print campaign, then managing to create a national conversation about it. It’s subversive, resourceful, and creates business impact, but most importantly it innovates the category, proving that print is super relevant if used with an integrated mindset.
LBB> What is the relevance of print and publishing today?
Adrian> I believe we’re seeing print evolving from a 2D medium to a 3D, or even a multidimensional medium in order to stay relevant. The world is evolving and print has to catch up. I don’t like to be boxed in by any boundaries, so for me the best print work is integrated at the core and tells a story that goes beyond the sheet of paper it’s printed on.
LBB> What will you be looking (or listening!) for in the work when you're judging?
Adrian> Radio has been already transformed by the explosion of audio on multiple platforms and we are seeing a revival and redefinition of the medium, with an evolution into utility, integrated storytelling and experiences. Those ideas that advance the medium and the category deserve to be celebrated.
LBB> Beyond the Eurobest jury room, what issue or topic do you think the industry needs to find more alignment and unity on? And how do you hope we will get there together?
Adrian> I see the industry is really split by this debate purpose versus impact, but I’m worried it’s becoming a false dichotomy. After all, we live in a world where people expect brands not just to have a point of view, but act on the issues. We have lots of data from our own Truth Central division, telling us that 84% of people believe that global brands have the power to make the world better.
But… We have to make a distinction between work that attaches itself to a cause, inauthentically, at the expense of the core business the brand is in, and work that’s in alignment with the business purpose. In the end we are in the service of our clients and we can only stay relevant if we are growing our clients’ business. I believe we have to reward creativity that makes a meaningful impact in the world AND for the business.
There’s still time to enter into Eurobest 2023, visit its Awards page for more information.
