Q&A with Karl Wolfgang Epple, executive creative director, THJNK and 2018 Mobius Awards judge

Karl Wolfgang Epple (left) is executive creative director for WPP’s German shop THJNK across 10 agencies in Germany, Switzerland and the USA. Here are his replies to questions Mobius Awards asked him about creative work.

Mobius: What do you look for first when assessing a creative work?

Epple: I always look for creative ideas that have a) a deep cultural understanding or b) a strong cultural impact. I truly believe that advertising doesn’t matter at all if it doesn’t have any cultural relevance. This doesn’t mean that creative work has to be a mirror people’s lives (We have memes for that). And it doesn’t mean that you’re not allowed to call a product “Pocari Sweat,” just because English speaking people find that funny. It means that 9-year-old boys on football pitches all around the world take up Ronaldo’s trademark stance and pull their shorts up before free-kicks. Because this kind of behaviour matters to them deeply. This is the kind of brand communication I look for.

Mobius: You have said: “I rate current advertising with good, bad and no matter.” Can you elaborate on that?

Epple: I started judging advertising on my Twitter account for fun and decided to keep it simple. If a piece of work is really relevant for the people, helpful for the brand and inspiring for the industry – good. If it’s not relevant — no matter. If it harms the brand — boo! Continue reading on Mobius Awards’ website…

The 2018 Mobius Awards competition is now open with the deadline set for Monday, October 1, 2018.

Entries must have been developed, introduced and/or reintroduced between Oct. 1, 2017, and Oct. 1, 2018.

Questions should be directed to Kristen Szabo, manager, entrant relations and operations, at KristenSzabo@mobiusawards.com.

Please visit www.mobiusawards.com to get more information on the competition. Winners are announced in January 2019.