After a successful run as a creative director at BBDO Paris, Jean-François Sacco co-founded Rosapark in 2012. The agency now counts 120 staffers and works for clients including Monoprix, ING, Skoda, Thalys, Europcar International, Decathlon, Ouigo, SNCF and TGV Inoui.
In 2018, Rosapark was named International Agency of the Year by Adweek.
We spent two minutes with Sacco—a member of the Direct and Experiential/Events jury for the 2019 Clio Awards—to hear more about his background, his creative tastes, and what he'd be doing if he weren't in advertising.
Jean-François, tell us...
The town where you were born.
Paris.
What you wanted to be when you grew up.
A comic illustrator.
How you discovered you were creative.
I loved to tell stories.
A person you idolized creatively growing up.
Raymond Loewy.
A moment from high school or college that changed your life.
Playing pinball at the café in front of my school. It was the best lesson of the day!
The first concert you saw, and your favorite band or musician today.
Bob Marley in Le Bourget.
Johann Sebastian Bach. You really can't beat Bach. 😊
Your favorite artist.
Henri Matisse.
Your favorite hero or heroine in fiction.
Ulysses from Ithaca.
The best book you've read lately.
14 Juillet by Eric Vuillard, about the four days leading up to the Storming of the Bastille. Quite brilliant!
Your favorite movie.
La Nuit Americaine by Francois Truffaut.
Your favorite Instagram follow.
My oldest daughter.
Your favorite creative project you've ever worked on, and why.
Setting up our agency with Gilles Fichteberg and Jean-Patrick Chiquiar. It was the ultimate creative act for somebody creative … and as it's never-ending, you have to reinvent your creativity every single day!
Your favorite creative project from the past year, and why.
"20" for Ouigo. Because it's a simple, poetic, funny and very insightful film.
Someone else's creative project that inspired you years ago.
Nike's poster: Jordan 1-Newton 0. Simple, direct, essential. Nothing to add!
Someone else's creative project that you've been envious of lately.
The latest New York Times campaign: The truth is worth it. Crafted, powerful and meaningful.
Your main strength as a creative person.
Being able to absorb chaos and turn it into energy.
Your weakness or blind spot.
I might be a little too impatient … Sometimes you need to know how to wait.
One thing that always makes you happy.
When I feel that the people I work with are happy, I'm happy.
One thing that always makes you sad.
The lack of respect in France for people who work in advertising. I think it's a noble profession. It's both interesting and accessible to many fields and is an industry where ideas are the most important raw materials.
What you'd be doing if you weren't in advertising.
A pianist in a jazz bar.
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