EUInterview 5-06.qxd 09.10.2006 12:12 Uhr Seite 1 Interview The best way to predict the future is to not have to. It was ––––––––– create the future obvious the “one” was Pinochet. It was Chilean-born Cristian Jofre is the Crea- a very creative envi- tive Director of MTV International in ronment in Chile at London. He is a unique motivator and the time but I think I fighter for creativity within the MTV prefer to be creative 2 64 85 85-60 network, and is as passionate about in a democratic en- social advertising as virtually any vironment than in a other leading figure in the media busi- dictatorial environ- ness. In 2004, MTV invited Hermann ment. Vaske to deliver a speech on creativity L.A.: So how did at the United Nations in New York dur- you get into the ing the first global conference on democratic and cap- AIDS organized by MTV. In 2006, Jofre italistic art of sepa- and Vaske made a joint appearance rating people from on stage at the Eyes & Ears confer- their money? How ence. In between speeches, Vaske and did you get into ad- Jofre found time for an interview. vertising? Cristian Jofre, Creative Director of MTV International Cristian Jofre: For L.A.: How did you get into the creative me, advertising was industry? How did you get into work- very painful. I didn’t enjoy it very much. Working for MTV in Latin America, I ing with ideas? I was very young, and you’re pretty started to realize the differences bet- Cristian Jofre: It was very tough, par- much always trying to please the client, ween Chileans and Argentinians, Peru- ticularly because Chile was a dictato- and in the end you have to act in a cer- vians, Mexicans, Venezuelans, etc. It rial regime, and Pinochet was in pow- tain way to please them by saying what was a big thing for me. I was not Chi- er throughout pretty much my whole they want to hear. In the four years that lean anymore. I was a Latin person. To youth. My first encounter with creativ- I was working in advertising, I don’t move and have a bigger view of Latin ity was through writing. I studied jour- think any of my ideas were ever exe- America was important to me. That nalism, and my first job was at a news- cuted. All the ideas ended up in the was my motivation. I left Chile to paper. One of the biggest creative drawer. In the end, the clients always reach a bigger audience, and to work projects I got at that time was to man- chose the most conservative ideas. On for one of the world’s most creative age the rebrand of Chile’s national the opposite end to that, it was still a brands, MTV. television station (TVN). For almost 19 very good way for me to practise and L.A.: What is so creative about MTV? years, it had been very closely associ- train my creativity, to come up with Cristian Jofre: It’s unpredictable. You ated with the Pinochet regime. When ideas from a brief, present them to cli- never know where it’s coming from, the democratic government came to ents, and to produce and execute them. and where it’s going to end. Inexperi- power, they really wanted to change L.A.: Do you think an idea that ends ence is also a key factor in MTV’s cre- the perception of the channel, so I was up in a drawer is a non-idea, and ativity. For a lot of people, MTV is hired with a team of young people to therefore not a good idea? their first job. The average age of our rethink the position of the national TV Cristian Jofre: I really believe that, in creative team is 20 to 22. MTV has a station. You could say my first ap- the end, ideas are not good ideas or very different approach to working proach to creativity was somewhat po- bad ideas until they end up in execu- with creativity than agencies do. It’s litical and with a deep social impact. tion. I have seen very good ideas very pretty much so that our team are the L.A.: Do you think totalitarian regimes badly executed, and very bad ideas ones who come up with the ideas. We kill ideas? very well executed. For me, the fun of don’t have big egocentric creative di- Cristian Jofre: I think pretty much this it is more in the execution than in the rectors with a team of people execut- is what it’s all about because, in the actual idea. ing their ideas. We work in the oppo- end, dictatorships and totalitarian re- L.A.: And how did your stream of site way. We want MTV people to have gimes are very oppressive, and you ideas take you from Latin America to ownership of their ideas and for them need to be very creative to put the the US? What was your motivation? to feel that the ideas in their heads message out without ending up in Cristian Jofre: Social communication is are the ones being executed. Most of prison. Everyone is watching you, all what I’m passionate about. I was only our creative directors work that way the media are controlled. I think, in doing advertising and branding work around the world. It is the young peo- Chile in particular, a lot of creative in Chile, and when they offered me the ple who are coming up with the ideas. people started to do stuff that wasn’t creative director position on MTV and L.A.: It’s a very fair, valid point be- so in the face of the people, because the chance to move to the USA to cause knowing agencies inside out the they were afraid. The creative commu- work for the Latin American market, way we do, we know that they go nity had to really think about how and to have the possibility to reach 22 shopping with other people’s ideas. they could do it smartly. I very well countries and to spread the message, Cristian Jofre: Coming from advertis- remember one newspaper headline at that was the big challenge for me. I ing, I get everything that’s the oppo- LÜRZER'S INT'L ARCHIVE – ADS, TV AND POSTERS WORLDWIDE [email protected] — PHONE: 0043 662 64 85 85-0 FAX: 66 Christmas that read, “Happy Christmas also realized I was a Latin person. Be- site to MTV in the end. Creative direc- to everyone except one.” They didn’t fore, for all of my life, I was Chilean. I tors are there to help execute the mention Pinochet’s name but they did never realized I was Latin American. ideas. They are not trying to come up ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1 ¢ ––––– EUInterview 5-06.qxd 04.10.2006 15:36 Uhr Seite 2 Interview promo will last just one week on air ––––––––––– and then it disappears. The other thing is that we don’t need to buy the air- time, so we can produce spots of dif- fering lengths – unlike traditional ad- vertisers, who have to produce spots of either 15, 30 or 45 seconds. We can make spots of 28 seconds or two min- 2 64 85 85-60 utes, and I think the viewers notice that difference in formatting. We want to make that distinction because the MTV ads sit within the same ad time as, say, a Levi’s commercial. We want our viewers to know they are watching an MTV promo. Video clips and ad- vertising look very similar. They take ideas from each other. In the case of MTV, our big exploration is art. We do not watch what advertisers are doing. We look more to the art scene, and what is going on in that environment, rather than trying to copy videos or Stills from various MTV trailers produced as part of the 2004 MTV Art Break. This one is from “Bun- advertisers. nies” made by Studio Soi/Germany. L.A.: What do you think of Miami as a place for media and advertising? Is there a bit of an awakening in creativ- with the ideas. And execution is where dreds of thousands attached to a spot. ity going on down there? experience is needed. You can help We have a very high volume of execu- Cristian Jofre: I think Miami has in young people come up with the right tions. We make so many spots per some way turned into the capital of plan to execute the idea, show them year. It’s not like an agency that has an Latin America. I think there was a melt- how to come up with a budget, how output of, say, 25 commercials a year. ing pot of every Latin American coun- to shape their ideas in a more realistic L.A.: How many spots do you do per try there, and MTV started at the right way. MTV creative directors from year? time (1994). I still think it is an amaz- around the world work like that more Cristian Jofre: Every channel does ing time for creativity in Miami. than anywhere else. And we also don’t more than 300 or 400 spots per year – L.A.: What agency did you work at take ourselves too seriously. We know from 10 seconds to 90 seconds, from when you were in Miami? that we are a music channel, and that graphics to live action.