AAD KUIJPER INDUCTED IN ADCN HALL OF FAME

On Thursday the 29th of March, creative icons Aad Kuijper, Krijn van Noordwijk, and Wesley ter Haar were inducted in the ADCN Hall of Fame. In the Jimmy Woo in Amsterdam, the trio was ceremonially honoured for their exceptional creative contributions to the development of advertising and design in the Netherlands. Since these heroes each deserve their own moment, this article shines light on the many faces of Aad Kuijper, read the piece on Wesley ter Haar here, and the one on Krijn van Noordwijk here.

After graduating from the gymnasium Aad Kuijper studies French language and literature at the University of Nijmegen. After that he goes on to become a jack of all trades. In 1987 he takes his first steps in advertising as a junior copywriter at DDB Amsterdam under Paul Meijer and Wim Ubachs. After 6 years and 2 other agencies (PPGH/JWT with Frank Pels and ARA/BBDP with Hans Goedicke) he becomes the Netherlands’ youngest creative director for Euro/RSCG at 29. Two years later, together with Pieter van Velsen, he embarks on a long career as partner at Lowe Kuiper & Schouten.

After Lowe’s fusion with Lintas, France beckons. In 2002 he is asked to become creative director at Lowe/Alice Paris. During that time he also works as international creative director for Lowe Amsterdam. There he sets up an international hub for various Unilever brands, together with Marcel van Wing. In addition, Aad was a member of the Cannes Lions film category jury twice, member of the Effie jury 2008/2009, chairman of the ADCN and he frequently appears in trade magazines.

In April 2007, together with Patrick de Zeeuw and Marcel van Wing, he starts his own agency: Alfred. Three years later Alfred is voted agency of the year. Together with Patrick, Aad makes crowned and renowned work for, among others, Rivella, Andy, Mona, Verkade, Grolsch, C1000, Jumbo en Calvé. Aad has won many prizes, among which Lamps and Lions, 4 golden Loekies,Effies of all colours and in 2006 a European Effie for the work he did for Sun together with Patrick de Zeeuw. His work is featured 3 times in the top 10 of best commercials of all time.

Lodewijk van der Peet on Aad Kuijper

His face suddenly pops up in the doorway. The look in his eyes betrays that he’s about to let me in on a secret. He strides toward me and stops just inches away from my aura. The left corner of his mouth slightly curls up, as he continues to stir his coffee. Like a frivolous little boy, Aad conspires with me. I am honoured and touched. “We get to make a film for Dommelsch for their umpteenth anniversary. Check this out Lo…”, with a perfectly timed pause he commands my attention. “Two archaeologists have dug up a bunch of little skulls. They’re neatly aligned, side by side. They discover that they all have a similar defect; a part of their front teeth is chipped. One of the archaeologists wonders out loud what might have caused it, while the other opens a Dommelsch bottle with his front teeth. He says, ‘No idea!’” After his own burst of laughter, he carefully observes mine.

AAD, THE MARKET RESEARCHER

Where the average creative hates reviews (after all, someone may say something mean about your new-born child) Aad likes to look them up. And no, not just from the like-minded and colleagues. The cleaning lady’s laughter probably is worth more to him than that of a copywriter. He’s not afraid to be vulnerable, which makes Aad very amiable.

AAD, THE APPLAUSE MAGNET

Aad is blessed with a multitude of talent. When you stand out in so many things, you get compliments. In his case they flood in daily. Bucket loads of them. Boy, does he enjoy that. He can’t get enough of it. Indeed, it seems to be his raison d’être. I sometimes ask myself why someone with so much stature still feeds of the acknowledgement ofothers. So I started looking for an explanation.

AAD, THE JOOP OF ADVERTISING.

Joop van den Ende loves musicals. They’re made for the people, not the elite. That’s why the people adore Joop. Joop is a man of the big picture and at the same time realises that God is in the detail. The internal struggle of the protagonist, the scent of the soap in the bathrooms of his theater, the body height [of the font] on the flyers, Joop is in charge of everything and misses nothing. The man’s almost worked himself to death. Despite all this, his big wish, to be regarded as an important contributor to our cultural heritage by the NRC-readers as well, is yet to be granted. Despite his million dollar donations to high culture. That still bothers Joop. Aad Kuijper loves advertising. Something that same elite wipes its wrinkled ass with. Advertising, after all, also is for the people. Things may look a tad more laconic with Aad than with Joop, but he too is driven by a deeply rooted Calvinist labor moral. Nothing escapes Aad’s attention either.

A frowned eyebrow of the CMO during a presentation? He’s spotted it and won’t rest until he’s ironed it out. The perfect actor hasn’t been found for a commercial yet? Aad postpones the shoot. Casting is his secret weapon. He maintains warm relationships with cast and crew. And that pays off. Aad can fill Estelle Cruyff’s walk-in closet with all the awards he’s received. Golden Loekies displace the Lions, Effies and Lamps. While the elite watches and grinds its teeth, the people put Aad on a pedestal.

AAD, THE CENTIPEDE

Where a triple graduate strategist with 150 sheets struggles to come to some sort of essence, Aad often only needs one sentence. That one little sentence often is right on the mark. The strategist in him comes out there.When Aad did the campaign for De Telegraaf (one of the best campaigns from his body of work) the poet and songwriter in him came out. As it turned out, he’s not only funny, but he can also write enviably beautifully. The apparent ease with which he conjures words is as deceptive as the ease with which Messi juggles a ball. His first novel appears around the vernissage of this book. I was allowed to read some passages. Trust me, it’s of a high literary level. To top it off, he will soon start directing movies as well. There’s no doubt in my mind he will be flooded in compliments for that too.

AAD, THE CHAIRMAN

As chairman of the ADCN he was one of the few who could give a speech in the Stadschouwburg’s great hall without everyone blabbering through it. I would kill to be able to do that. That chairmanship was his way of giving back to the profession he so loves.

Now, by inducting him into the Hall of Fame, he (finally) gets the elite’s acknowledgement. Even Uncle Joop hasn’t managed to do that. And so, Joop gets to say a lot of things, but not that he’s advertising’s Aad Kuijper. Of course, I hope this doesn’t mean Aad thinks he’s reached his goal. Aad; carry right on!

FRAMEWORK

Aad Kuijper: copywriter, strategist, creative director, chairman, poet, casting director, writer, motivator, orator, songwriter, people person, elocutionist, manager, humanist, actor, philanthropist, director, wine connoisseur (long and different story), bon vivant and friend.

The ADCN Hall of Fame recognises and honours creative leaders whose life’s work reflects and inspires creative excellence. Other members of the ADCN Hall of Fame include designers Christian Borstlap, Max Kisman and Dick Bruna, film makers Diederick Koopal, Johan Kramer and Matthijs van Heijningen Jr., and advertising creatives Erik Kessels, Hans van Walbeek and Alvaro Sotomayor.

These men have all enriched the Dutch creative industry with their bright ideas and characteristic creations, which have been awarded with ADCN Lamps countless times. So if you want to be (among) the creative leaders of the Hall of Fame of the future, you have to be at the ADCN Awards, 17 April 2018 at National Opera & Ballet in Amsterdam. Purchase your tickets today.

Photography: Nina Albada Jelgersma, portrait photography: Bas de Graaf