I've found myself several times lately in situations where I'd be explaining to people what I do (and why) as a psychologist in the world of advertising. It had come to the point where I’d start answering questions regarding what I do for a living by clarifying, in advance, my opinion on manipulation and ethics in advertising, even without being asked to. I’m grateful to everyone who did ask for my opinion, because it led me to engage in a deeper study of the topic and reach the conclusion that it is possible to work in this industry ethically and without manipulation, no matter how demanding it may sometimes seem.

Why does someone, who is not a creative by vocation and probably doesn’t have a lot of affinity for creative work (if we disregard helping out their kid with the occasional art class assignment), feel the need to revise things done by some of the best experts in the Croatian advertising industry (Señor team <3). Let’s not kid ourselves, the conclusion is as simple as it is disheartening: they don’t trust us. 

Nina Trumbić is a Project Manager for a very diverse range of clients – from Hrabri telefon and Jägermeister to Iskon and Atlantic Grupa. She also takes care of the most demanding client – Señor. She is said to have a nose for industry trends and knows about every possible app there is. If they were to print new business cards, Nina’s title, they say, would be The Coolness Consultant. In her spare time, Nina successfully DJs at Radio 101 and at parties under the name Nifty Nina. Regardless of whether you are looking for a recommendation on how to make a kick-ass digital campaign or are trying to find the best place to go clubbing, Nina is your girl.

After we were named the best agency in the region at BalCannes, HURA decided to sit down and have a chat with our very own Very Creative Director Vanja. In the following paragraphs find out what they talked about, what does he think about awards and how did we turn this promo article into Señor’s little ‘critique’ of award festivals. Oh and… don’t forget to tell us what award did you get.

The saying goes that a picture is worth a thousand words. We know a couple of copywriters that swear on their awards that it ain’t so. But, the same copywriters would surely agree that Damir’s illustrations speak a hundred languages. That’s why, when he, instead of writing a blog, submitted a selection of his work - there was nothing else for them to do than admit: silence is golden. 

When you try to picture creatives in an advertising agency, you probably imagine them as something between Hunter S. Thompson and Jackson Pollock, guys rolling joints while frantically typing up scripts for your favourite shampoo. And right you are - that is exactly what a regular day at Señor looks like. But besides coming up with creative concepts and communication, there is an additional part of the process that precedes these two and that, in my opinion, is the most interesting.

Iskon and Señor returned home from the recent Days of Communication festival with five awards in the bag: gold and silver in telecommunications, a bronze Effie, Campaign of the Year and the Advertiser of the Year title. Perhaps this result would have come as a surprise if it wasn’t a continuation of the ongoing dominance in the telecom category over the last few years. This collaboration is also a phenomenon of sorts. So far, each joint campaign of Iskon and Señor has won awards. Along with the gold and silver awards at IdejaX, we should add last year’s Golden Effie, a special recognition for best copywriting and BalCannes. This was our motivation to investigate how creative solutions come about and discover all the secrets of this successful creative-business relationship.

Have billboards really run their course? Is there space in the media mix for street banners or only online ones? And where have we come to when the Grand Prix at MIXX goes to outdoor campaigns! There's been a lot of misguided debate lately about online versus offline: which is better and where to allocate budgets? “Say it out loud” by Señor agency is an excellent example of how the public inhabits both of those worlds and how campaigns – in order to be successful – have to successfully merge the two. 

Leading up to D-Day, the festival of creative communications which is taking place at a different time this year, in a different format and as part of a totally new context, which you’ll read about at Vizkultura soon, we’re introducing some of the authors who won awards at the festival – picked up ‘the D-day’ medals. We’re starting with Vanja Blumenšajn, copywriter and creative director, who at the first D-Day took home no less than three awards, including the ‘most important one’ – for Creative of the Year. In addition to the aforementioned awards with independent shine, Vanja can brag with an enviable number of awards from all spheres of the advertising industry (IdejaX, Red dot, Goldendrum, Eurobest, Festo, Effie,…).

Vanja Blumenšajn has been in advertising for more than a decade, most of that time in Imago ad agency as creative director. He was on the jury of Croatia’s biggest advertising festival for seven years, two of those at its helm as president. He won almost all the national and a decent number of international advertising awards (Festo, idejaX, Effie, ADCC, Outward, ADCE, Red Dot, Golden drum, Eurobest, MIAF, SEMPL…). Of all those, he is most proud of - on top of several for the campaign of the year - the award for “creative of the year” at the inaugural D Day and the award for “agency of the year” that he won together with his colleagues at Imago. He realizes that he needs new challenges in life and launches Señor, who wants to make others happy and be happy.