Since 1984, Lürzer’s International Archive has served as a creative resource for advertising professionals worldwide. Two representatives from Lürzer’s came this Wednesday to speak with first-year students, Austrian Hans-Peter Albrecht and his German colleague Charlotte Bufler. Their talk largely centered around the archive’s recent work in Sao Paulo, Brazil, which they hail as the world capital for creativity.

While in Sao Paulo, Hans-Peter and Charlotte met with the most powerful designers in the city, asking for their insights on why Sao Paulo is so full of creativity. Videos and print spreads featuring loyal fish-dogs, dancing ponies, and tracking devices for children were shown to us as examples of how advertising can invoke a sense of wonder towards the world.

When asked what he liked best about the talk, first-year student Mitch Johnson said he appreciated Hans-Peter’s dark humor. An ad series from Freddo Ice Cream featured children who’d fallen in contorted poses on the sidewalk, the ice cream in their hand perfectly protected. This kind of absurd, macabre advertising technique certainly captures a viewer’s attention!

Another classmate commented that the advertising world frightens her. She said people are constantly taking each other’s ideas and repackaging them. This is true – the advertising profession is highly competitive and divisive. But Hans-Peter doesn’t want “advertising” to be a dirty word. Rather, he hopes that the humor, absurdity, cleverness and creativity used in advertisements can be used to inspire creativity in others.

We were encouraged to think of how we might improve our own work by referring to the Lürzer Archive as a resource for future projects. Hans-Peter and Charlotte were very generous to leave a large number of the Archive’s print publication with us at the studio.