The Scholz & Friends chief creative officer on why the singer- songwriter continues to influence his career as part of LBB’s My Creative Hero series.
Matthias Spaetgens, chief creative officer at Scholz & Friends, has cultivated a remarkable career dedicated to creative excellence since joining the agency in 1997. He leads the creative vision for one of the top agencies in the German-speaking region, overseeing the creative output of eight offices across Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
He is also a professor at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, where he succeeded Walter Lürzer as head of the department of communication design in 2010.
Matthias is one of the most awarded creatives in Germany. His work, amongst others for Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, McDonald’s, Mercedes-Benz, Montblanc, Berlin Philharmonic and Tagesspiegel, has been awarded 70 Lions in Cannes including two Grands Prix. Furthermore, he won 21 Grands Prix and 7 Best of Discipline awards at international festivals like The One Show, London International Awards, New York Festivals, ADC Annual Awards, Eurobest, Epica, Gerety and ADC of Europe.
In 2009 he was the best creative director worldwide according to the World Creative Rankings by The Drum. He was ranked the second most awarded chief creative officer worldwide in 2021.
Scholz & Friends is part of VML and Matthias sits on the group’s global creative board.
LBB> Who would you say is your creative hero?
Matthias> I have many creative role models that I have come to know and appreciate in my creative career. Most of them are not celebs, but they have influenced me a lot. I often ask myself during a creative process: what would this or that person say about the idea? This inner exchange with my ‘creative heroes’ helps me to develop ideas further.
One prominent figure who has greatly influenced me is Bob Dylan. An incredibly courageous creative mind who never sought to please others, stayed true to his path, and seemingly set standards driven by an inner force.
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