A 16 year veteran of the creative industry, Flip Soree now works for an international leading creative agency Avantgarde as Chief Creative Officer. His career led him to China from Lowe/Draft, KesselsKramer, Clockwork, BeyenMeyer and DDB, in Amsterdam, Berlin & London… Before joining Avantgarde in Shanghai, He was previously CIG Interactive in Beijing for two years as Global Creative Director.
Soree has worked extensively with high profile brands such as Volkswagen, BMW, Audi, Mini, Seat, Coca Cola, KLM, Sony and Durex, and is continually pushing the envelope in his creative pursuits.
新近入职国际品牌体验公司——前卫咨询公司的首席创意官Flip Soree，是一个拥有十六年广告创意经验的行业老手。Flip的职业生涯从家乡阿姆斯特丹开始，到柏林以及伦敦，由LowLowe/Draft，KesselsKramer，Clockwork，BeyenMeyer走到DDB中国，开展了他在神州大地的事业。在加入前卫咨询公司前，他曾在CIGInteractive北京公司担任全球创意总监两年实践。
Soree服务的品牌多不胜数，包括大众、宝马、奥迪、迷你、西亚特等汽车品牌以及可口可乐、荷兰航空、索尼、杜蕾斯等。无论是电视广告的视觉效果设计，还是好莱坞电影在商业推广的应用，Soree都可以巧妙地结合传统影像处理方法与新式技术（例如：虚拟现实和全息形象），为客户带来前所未有的惊喜。
1.Tell us a bit about yourself and what brought you into the creative industry?
请问你是如何进入创意行业的？
Actually, it's a complete coincidence that led me to the creative industry. Initially I actually went to the Technical University for Aerodynamic and Aerospace Engineering with a plan to build and design airplanes and spacecraft. After one year I dropped out to give my life another direction. Since I had no idea what I wanted to do, I chose an education that was as broad as possible and hoped to figure it out somewhere along the path. That's why I enrolled in the University of Communications.
After my first internship I had to choose a direction as my major for the last 2 years of the study. Out of the 3 choices, International PR Development or Internal Corporate Communication didn't seem like my cup of tea. So that only left me with the choice of Creative Concept Development. This seemingly random choice turned out to be the lucky start of my career. It actually took the economic depression following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001 to fully commit to a career in advertising. I was planning on traveling the world as a diving instructor for 3 years before taking a real job. But while a lot of people were being fired around me, I got a job offer after my second internship at a famous advertising agency in Amsterdam.
实际上，进入创意行业完全是一个巧合。高中毕业后我去了航空与航天工程技术大学，梦想建造和设计飞机以及宇宙飞船。但一年后因为不喜欢那种单调无聊的技术男生活，我辍学准备寻找另外一种人生方向。老实讲当时也不知道我想要的未来到底是什么，所以选择了一门尽可能扩展我知识视野的教育，从此我的人生履历上有了被传媒大学录取的记录。
大学最后两年在第一次实习结束后，我面临着步入社会的关键选择。当时我有三个选择机会，国际公关部或公司内部沟通部门似乎都不是我想要的那盘菜，剩下的机会只有创意概念部。这个看似随机的选择成为我职业生涯幸运的开始。当时正值2001年九一一恐怖袭击事件后的经济大萧条，广告行业还不是一个最佳选择。我计划以潜水教练身份环游世界三年，然后再考虑一份真正的工作。但当时实习的第二家公司因为种种原因解雇了很多员工，我顺势收到了这家公司的工作邀请，是阿姆斯特丹一家知名的广告公司。
2.What’s your greatest career achievement so far? And why?
你认为到现在为止最大的职业成就是什么？请说明原因。
To be very honest, I'm actually never satisfied with the results of my work. I'm quite a perfectionist, and always see flaws and things that could have been better. I'm most proud of achievements from when I just started to work for a new brand, a new agency or in a new country. It's easy to create something nice while you're in an environment you know and are comfortable with. But if you step outside of that comfort zone and try something new while still achieving success that always feels special. One of the things I'm most proud of is launching INNITT. , a location based social media app that makes every branded event more interactive and sharable.
老实讲，我从来不是特别满意我的工作成绩。某种程度上我是一个完美主义者,我总能看到某些原本可以做得更好的不足部分，尽管我的很多产品也获得了各种各样的国际奖项。我最自豪的成就感始于我准备要合作的每一个新品牌，新机构，或者在一个新的国家。当你在一个熟悉的或感到舒适的环境中做好一件事情还是相对容易的，但如果你走出舒适区，尝试新事物并同时获得成功，那种感觉总是很特别。当然最令我骄傲的一件事情还是我推出了属于自己的应用程序INNITT，一款基于位置的社交媒体软件，可以让每个品牌事件拥有更多的互动和分享。
3.I see you have worked with a lot of automobile brands, what inspires you to produce such amazing digital scene? Can you give some examples?
我注意到你曾与很多汽车品牌合作，那些炫酷的数字景象让人震撼。请问这些创意灵感从何而来？能给我们一些案例分享吗？
Over the past 16 years I have worked for almost every brand and industry imaginable: Fashion, food, banks, airlines, Hollywood movies and many automotive brands. It's hard to say where the inspiration comes from. I'm quite lucky that I'm very curious by nature so I see inspiration everywhere around me in daily life. For every concept that I work on, I try to figure out who the brand is addressing and what I can create that touches and excites them.
在过去16年我几乎为每个行业的品牌工作。时尚、食品、银行、航空公司、好莱坞电影以及其他很多汽车品牌。因为每个产品都是不同的,我的每一个活创意都是独一无二的,很难说创意灵感到底是从哪里来的。我很幸运，我对一切事物充满了好奇，所以我在日常生活中能看到灵感无处不在。每一个创意思路的出笼，我都很努力去寻找品牌想为受众群所要表达的理念，然后用自己的作品去感动他们，激励他们。
Some examples:一些案例：
Awarding Wining Advertising Lamborghini Aventador 兰博基尼Aventador旗舰超级跑车广告片
Awarding Wining Advertising BMW M 宝马M系宣传广告片
Golf R-Line Advertising 大众高尔夫R-Line上市宣传片
其他案例观看地址：
My first TV commercial in China
在中国开始的第一个甲壳虫汽车电视广告：
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNDYwOTc1NDgw
Some funny but fishy viral work
大众汽车旅行轿车搞笑宣传片：
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjYyMDk5NzEy
Global campaign from Ordos
2015款福特野马，摄自鄂尔多斯：
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjY1NzY1MjM0NA
A glimpse into a brighter future
一个光明的未来：蔚来概念车Eve：
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjcwMzU1MzAxMg
Some viral work with Star Wars
达斯维达公爵为TOMTOM GPS录音-幕后故事：
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTg4MTg2ODg0
4.How does a Creative Director/Creative Officer serve his role when working with a big brand like Mercedes-Benz?
在与类似奔驰这样的大品牌合作时，创意总监/创意官是如何发挥他的作用的？
As the Chief Creative Officer for brand experience agency Avantgarde in Shanghai, many international automotive brands as Mercedes-Benz request our services. Currently China is the most important market for the majority of premium car brands and so it’s important to understand the local market without losing track of the international tonality, combining the best insights from both of these worlds to create the best possible creative campaign. That's essentially what I have done with every brand or product I've ever worked for. It doesn't matter if my client is the CEO of one of the biggest brands in the world or the founder of a local startup, I'll always try to help them in the best possible way. That's what I love about my job.
前卫咨询公司是一家国际化的营销代理公司，注重品牌一体化的体验，我们的客户包括很多国际汽车品牌如梅赛德斯-奔驰、保时捷、劳斯莱斯等。中国作为这些汽车品牌最看重的重要市场，如何与本土化更好的结合，又不失国际水准，是作为一个首席创意官需要重点考虑的部分，当然，以前曾经合作过的品牌或产品也需要这样。无论我的客户是全球知名品牌的CEO，还是本土初创公司的创始人，我总是尽可能用最好的方式去帮助他们。这也是为什么我喜欢这份工作的原因。
5.You’ve worked in the creative industry for many years, what’s the most important thing you’ve learned?
在创意行业工作这么多年，你学到的最重要的东西是什么？
Always be open-minded and ready to learn. You need to have an eye for the right details and understand what will motivate or excite people. Half of creativity is definitely having the right talent or a great idea. But the other half comes down to smart strategy or perfect execution. If you have a fantastic concept or idea, it can be ruined by the wrong execution or implementation. With perfect execution, you can turn even a basic concept into something that's absolutely amazing. For my projects I find people with the same drive and ambition to truly create something outstanding. It's almost impossible to be successful on your own, you need like-minded and talented people around you to inspire you and push you to a higher level.
保持开放，随时准备学习。你周围的每个人都可以有一个好的思路或想法启发你，你需要具备一双观察的眼睛去理解某些可能会启发或激励他人的细节。有一半的创造当然需要一个合适的人或伟大的想法，但另一半则依赖于非常睿智的策略或者完美的执行。如果光有一个好的概念或想法,但有可能毁于错误的执行或实施。但是如果执行到位，有时甚至可以把一个基础理念转变成惊人的成就。这就是为什么在我的项目合作中，我总是找到与我有同样动力和雄心的人一起，去真正创造一份杰作。光凭自己一个人去追求成功是不可能的,你需要周边那些志同道合的人，互相启发，一同进步。
6.How do you define the development of creative industry in China? How does it compare with the western world?
你如何看待创意行业在中国的发展?你认为如果和西方世界比较呢?
The Chinese creatives that I have had the pleasure to work with were true artists. They work extremely hard and have a great eye for every detail. However, when it comes to fresh ideas and being an open-minded creative thinker it becomes a totally different story. Based on my experiences so far, it seems that advertising creatives in China find it hard to break out of traditional ideas, often looking for references from other brands and work that has been done before elsewhere. If people are afraid of making mistakes, it's very hard to create anything new. I always try to stimulate my creative teams to make mistakes, to fail harder. Only when you try something crazy and unconventional, can you truly be innovative and groundbreaking. When you know how to value creativity, there are no bad ideas. Every unsuitable concept has some great spark or insight somewhere in it. I always ask for some “stupid” thoughts and “insane” plans when brainstorming to distill the best big ideas from. These big ideas are actually the foundation for every concept or campaign I've ever made. All of them started with some creative lightning bolt with a fantastic idea somewhere inside. This way of working is actually perfectly phrased by a famous Dutch saying: you can tame a wild horse, but a tamed horse can never be made wild again.
曾和我一起工作过的中国创意人士是真正的艺术家。他们工作勤奋，对每一个细节都有独特的眼光。然而，当涉及到新鲜的点子以及开阔性的创意思维来说，那就是另外一回事了。根据我的经验，中国的创意广告人员很难摆脱传统想法，他们经常从其他品牌曾经做过的一些活动或作品中寻找思路。如果人们害怕犯错误，其实很难做到创造出新的东西。我总是试图刺激我的创意团队去犯错误，经历一些大的失败。只有尝试过一些疯狂的或非传统的东西，你才能真正创新和突破。当你了解创意的价值，就不会有差的创意。每一个即使不合适的点子里都有些很棒的火花或独特见解。这就是为什么我总是在小组头脑风暴时收集一些“愚蠢”的想法和“不清醒”的计划，然后过滤出最佳最具有可行性的创意。人们容易在一些有创意的想法里想入非非，这种工作方式印证了荷兰一句非常有名的谚语，“你可以驯服野马,但驯服的马再也不能成为野马。”
7.In your opinion, how has China’s creative industry changed in the last five years?
你认为与五年前的创意行业相比，中国经历了哪些变化？
When the global advertising agency I worked for in Amsterdam asked me if I would like to work as the creative lead in their Beijing office, I said yes because I was amazed by the unique energy that I had felt during my working visit in China. Even after I left my first job in Beijing and got other offers from all over the world, I never considered leaving China as this is absolutely the fastest developing creative industry in the world, an evolution which hasn't slowed down in the last five years. I would say that it's actually speeding up. Nowhere in the world would a fresh technology or business idea be embraced and improved upon as fast as in China. The creative industry is no exception, you simply will be left behind if you don't adapt. I've seen creatives become much more daring and outspoken than before: Not only in marketing or advertising, but throughout the whole creative industry. Architects, fashion experts, interior stylists, industrial designers, painters and writers all are becoming exponentially more impressive.
当我工作的阿姆斯特丹全球创意广告公司问我是否可以到它们的北京公司工作时，我立马答应。之前我在中国出差的过程中已经感受到了这里与众不同的能量。即使我后来离开了我在北京的第一份工作，收到了来自世界各地其他公司的工作邀请，我也从未想过离开中国。中国绝对是世界上创意产业发展最快的，而且在过去的五年发展从未减速，实际上甚至是加速的。地球上没有一个其他国家像中国这样，能够如此快地去拥抱一项新的技术或商业思路。创意行业也不例外，你不去适应这一点就会被远远抛下。我看到越来越多的创意人士比之前变得更加大胆和直言不讳：不仅仅体现在市场营销或广告，而是贯穿在整个创意行业。建筑师、时尚专家、室内设计师、产业设计师、画家和作家等创意人士的迅速增长尤其令人印象深刻。
8.How do you unwind? Any favorite hobbies or avocations?
你一般怎样休闲？任何爱好或者度假方式？
Unfortunately I've got too many hobbies and too little time. My main passion is the need for speed. I love racing motorbikes and cars. Snowboarding, riding downhill mountain bikes and off road motor cross are also passions of mine. Besides that, scuba diving is still something I love to do. It really takes me to a different planet when I'm submerged for an hour at a coral reef or shipwreck. Besides that, I would say traveling is my biggest hobby. As a curious person by nature, I try to see as much of the world as possible to experience different cultures and get inspired by the wonder that the world has to offer. But sometimes it's best to just stay at home with some great movies and good food, unwinding fully. After that fresh energy will give you new perspective.
不幸的是我有太多的爱好,可是时间太少 …：)我主要的激情来自于对速度的追求。我喜欢摩托车和汽车比赛。滑雪、山地自行车骑行和越野汽车穿越都是我的爱。除此之外，潜水仍然是我喜欢做的事。如果可能我会让自己淹没在珊瑚礁或海底沉船一小时。除此之外，我认为旅游是我最大的爱好。我天生对自然界充满了好奇，我想看看更多的世界，体验不同文化以及大自然带给我的无穷启发。当然有时我只是待在家里，看电影吃美食，让身心彻底放松。
9.Describe yourself in 3 words.
用三个词形容下自己
Hard, soft and mellow.
难以相处的、温和善良的、成熟圆润的。