Mario Loncar is a creatives’ creative, a writer who began his career as an art director and is an artist on the side. With a career in three of Germany’s leading agencies, Jung von Matt, Tribal DDB and now Leo Burnett, he has accrued a depth of understanding in that it is that makes work stand out and work that makes a difference. In 2022, he was part of the creative team that produced The Spider and the Window for Samsung, the story of Sam, the spider who fell in love with a Samsung phone. As an audience, you feel his ardour, his pain and then his joy. And this ability to connect with audiences with an idea so different from the category norm led to acclaim across the awards circuit.

You were a Final Jury member at MAD STARS this year – with a special perspective – you live and work in Germany. What struck you most about the work from APAC that you were judging?

Mario Moncar: As someone who is generally very interested in creative works from around the world, I was already familiar with creative cases coming from APAC. While judging the work at MAD STARS, I appreciated that many works had a unique sense of humour and incorporated innovative ways of thinking and storytelling. Additionally, it was fascinating to see how different the work was compared to the examples from my home country.

What are the challenges of assessing work that is designed for a local audience. How did the MAD STARS judging process make it easier?

Mario Moncar: Assessing the work required a focus on research to understand the situation or problem that the case addressed better. This often led to gaining a completely different understanding of a work compared to the initial impression. The presence of judges from different countries on the juries at MAD STARS was beneficial as we could seek additional information about a case from their respective home countries.

Are there universal “rules” for great advertising. What determined which work you thought was worthy of a major award?

Mario Moncar: I believe that advertising can be impactful when it is based on a genuine human insight that the audience can relate to. It became evident to me which works were deserving of major awards as they left a lasting impression and truly captivated me. Additionally, the assessment considered whether the work achieved its intended purpose and how original and fresh the idea behind it was.

Should effectiveness be counted in creative awards? 

Mario Moncar: Effectiveness is already a component of the judging process in creative awards, as entrants are often required to showcase results in various areas when submitting work to different award shows. It is important to acknowledge and value the impact of a work, such as generating sales, a strong PR effect or influencing audience behaviour.

Getting great (brave) work through the system is not easy? What do you think are the most important “ingredients”?

Mario Loncar: It requires openness, mutual trust, and determination from both the client and agency to bring innovative ideas to fruition. Additionally, it helps if the concept still carries the brand’s DNA while exploring new creative territories.