Dan Frinculescu (Publicis Romania), between reading the stars and street view tests
Dan Frinculescu, Group Creative Director at Publicis Romania likes bird watching, moonwalking and, by night, is an arm-wrestling instructor for senior citizens. 2015 was a big year for Dan, he just received the Grand Prix in the Digital category for the campaign Street View Test and he continues to ‘read the stars’ every week with his favorite astrologist – Madam Stela.
Because AdHugger asked more about Dan’s projects and opinions on today’s advertising, he gave us answers, which you can read below.
Q. You work on many projects every day. What campaigns are you most proud of?
A. Pegas – Internet of the People, ACR (The Automobile Club of Romania) – Street View Test, Pegas – Urban Color.
AdH:
Q. How do you find today’s advertising campaigns as opposed to the ones from 10 years ago?
A. I think the good ones are mainly the same as they were back then: they all start from a really strong idea, but now they’re developed in more mediums and the audience is directly involved in the campaign.
Q. Advertising is everywhere, we’re being surrounded by it. Which, do you think, is the good side in all this? For the creatives and for the audience, as well.
A. There’s not necessarily a good side for the audience. In Romania, much stuff is done chaotically and it looks bad. Advertising sometimes just yells at people. To me, the good part is that there are people around who still pay me for doing this.
Q. How did advertising change (and it continues to change) in the digital era?
A. See above. As soon as new technologies appear, advertising immediately gives them a warm welcome. And that’s not bad at all, somehow it keeps our wheels spinning.
Q. Street View Test. How did you come up with the idea?
A. Over a coffee that was already getting cold. Miruna Macri, my art director, and yours truly were thinking of ways to do a new project for the Automobile Club of Romania. I still super thank her for not leaving the café earlier 🙂
Q. How did the collaboration with ACR start?
A. Like any good collaboration. With a phone call.
Q. How was the campaign welcomed nationally and internationally?
A. Very good. People get excited when they hear the idea and the feedback we received so far is positive. I think that’s a pretty good sign that we did a good job here.
Q. You recently received 2 Golden Drums and a Grand Prix for Street View Test. What do these awards mean to you?
A. A couple more kilos on the shelf in our office, plus more attention from those interested in this kind of projects.
Q. How long did it take to do the research on Google Street View?
A. Can’t remember exactly how long it took. Circa one month, something along these lines.
Q. Do you think in the future you’ll manage to totally change the driving school tests?
A. That’s not our purpose. It’s ok to have a more relevant digital version of the tests, in addition to the traditional method.
Q. What do you think is the main strength of Street View Test?
A. It shows real situations, which are updated all the time by the Google cams. And it can be adapted to any city with streets and drivers already mapped on Street View. I guess we have lots of those.
Q.Did you have difficulties in developing the idea and turning it into a useful thing for the driving school students?
A. Not really. The guys from ACR took care of implementing the tests in the school.
Q.And how did the students welcome the campaign?
A.With open arms.
Q.What’s next in the Street View Test story?
A. We’re hoping for some more weight on the shelves and for the tests to soon be adopted in other countries.
Q.There’s another project that caught our eye: Doamna Stela. How it all started? How big is the team behind this weekly horoscope?
A. It started with a draft in which I was mocking the horoscope, inspired by one done by The Onion. We’re 3 guys writing the jokes, a web designer, a designer and a few friends contributing to the project.
Q.Are there some future plans for Doamna Stela?
A. She has many plans. She’s just trying to find the time to make them happen.
Q.How important is in 2015 for a campaign to be also useful, and not only inspirational?
A. It depends on the purpose. It can be both or each one at a time. But today, it’s always better if what you’re doing is going to help someone, in some way.
Q.How are the campaigns with practical use influencing the advertising industry?
A. Well, it’s good when advertising is not only about shallow mascots and actually offers some helping hands. So the really good projects can only shed some good light on the whole industry.