Best ads of all time: Forsman & Bodenfors creatives

Susanna Fagring, CEO, Forsman & Bodenfors Singapore

Most iconic campaign of all time

Dumb Ways to Die because it’s a simple way of grabbing people’s attention.

Campaign you wish you’d worked on yourself

I have to say one of our own: the epic split.

Favourite campaign from your own agency

I love Moments, which is what we did for Volvo. It really grabs me emotionally as I'm clearly the target audience.

Creative talent you look up to across any industry

Astrid Lindgren.

Best use of creativity outside advertising and marketing

I would say technology. If you just look at smartphones or the computer industry at the moment, it's extremely innovative and creative.

Favourite source for creative inspiration

My kids. They have a pure way of looking at problems and the world in general. They are completely clean in their minds.

---

Douglas Lin, CEO, Shanghai

Most iconic campaign of all time

The Hire for BMW Films.

Most overrated campaign of all time

Anything on the Super Bowl.

Campaign you wish you’d worked on yourself

Burger King’s subservient chicken.

Favourite campaign from your own agency

SK-II’s Marriage Market.

Creative talent you look up to across any industry

Haruki Murakami. You never know what you're getting when you open a book, and after you read it, you're a different person.

Best use of creativity outside advertising and marketing

I would say TV. Current TV scripting and storytelling – there’s a renaissance happening right now.

Favourite source for creative inspiration

Museums. China has quite a good modern art scene and a lot of these are bringing in world-class exhibits that are outside of what traditional art would be considered. So they bring things in like architecture or perfume exhibits; they inspire you in different ways.

Who’s your dream client?

Hasselblad. They’re a Swedish super high-quality camera.

---

Anna Qvennerstedt, global executive chairman & copywriter

Most iconic campaign of all time

Apple’s 1984 campaign.

Campaign you wish you’d worked on yourself

The Kenzo World film by Spike Jonze. That impressed me a lot.

Campaign that should never have existed

Maybe the Shopee ad with Ronaldo.

Most overrated campaign of all time

I think the Dove beauty sketches. It won a lot a few years ago. I think the intention of the campaign was to empower women somehow, but it all stems from the notion that women are very much focused on how they look. And I think that in order to actually empower women, we should move away the suggestion that all women are insecure about their looks. I kind of feel that there must have been a man involved in that.

Favourite campaign from your own agency

The Volvo Eva campaign.

Creative talent you look up to across any industry

Beyoncé. She’s an artist in so many ways. When she did the Lemonade films, there were so many layers to that in the poetry and styling. She’s also commenting on the world in a way that is really powerful.

Best use of creativity outside advertising and marketing

The music industry. I think there’s something very unbounded with the way the modern artists are communicating with their audiences.

Who’s your dream client?

H&M, but I already work with them. Even though it’s fast fashion which is not very sustainable in itself, I think it’s a company that really tries to take responsibility. And because of their scale, they have the power to democratise sustainable fashion.  

---

Guy Hayward, global CEO

Most iconic campaign of all time

I’d Like the Teach the World to Sing by Coca-Cola.

Most overrated campaign of all time

I’d say John Lewis.

Campaign you wish you’d worked on yourself

It’s Halftime in America for Crysler for the Super Bowl.

Campaign that should never have existed

Any sports betting campaign in the UK. They seem to be targeted at hooligans.

Favourite campaign from your own agency

The Volvo Eva campaign because it’s about a client doing something and not just saying something.

Creative talent you look up to across any industry

Dan Wieden. I think what’s he’s done with Wieden+Kennedy has been relentlessly brilliant and creative. And they’re also relentlessly independent for us to be an inspiration.

Best use of creativity outside advertising and marketing

Right now, it’s got to be new TV. I think we live in the golden age of TV. I think the content being created in TV formats is just awesome.

Favourite source for creative inspiration

Reading books. I’ve got two favourites. Gabrielle Garcia Marquez because he creates a world which is so unreal and yet is real and fundamentally human. And I love Albert Camus – he changed my life.

Who’s your dream client?

I’ve got no particular one, but I’ve got to say a client who is not yet global but would like to go global.