Pelle Sjoenell Discusses His New BBH Role

With yesterday's announcement that BBH LA's executive creative director, Pelle Sjoenell, has been promoted to BBH's worldwide chief creative officer, Sjoenell talks to shots.net about the promotion and the road ahead for him and the agency.

Did you need long to think about whether or not you’d take the position?

I’ve wanted this job since I saw my first Levi’s commercial in a freezing cold cinema in Sweden when I was a teenager. Fell in love with advertising, fell in love with BBH.

How hard do you envision the role, or any worldwide role, being?

It all depends on the people you have around you and we have an incredible body of talent around the BBH world. And I have Sir John Hegarty as a mentor.

Will you still be based in LA and will you continue the role of ECD of the LA office?

Yes. I will be based in LA. But we are about to announce our new ECD hiring. I’m very happy about that.

You’ve been at BBH for nine years; is there a particular BBH ethos, a way of working that you can define that separates it from other companies?

You quickly get a real sense of history when you work here. Our founding principles that are still the same. Our work ethic. The body of work that precedes you. BBH standards. We pursue a higher benchmark than anyone else in the world. We strive harder and further. We are black sheep after all.

And we are quite unique as a network in that we actually know and like each other. Other networks compete between their offices or don’t even know who their colleagues are, or care. This is an incredible advantage I believe I can help to protect and grow.  

Though Sir John is now part time, will you be utilising his insight and experience in the coming months and years, and how valuable will that be?

Invaluable. There is nothing he hasn’t seen or done so having him at the end of a phone is amazing. He understands how to protect and nurture creativity and challenge people to try harder to get better ideas. My job is to make him proud of us.

What challenges does the agency network - and agencies in general - face in the immediate future?

There is only really one agency model of the future, and it’s one that can change. One that is nimble and adaptable. But what doesn't change, is that the work is everything. It’s why we get up in the morning. It’s what makes us happy. Our creativity must go way beyond the work itself and beyond the creative departments.

Every department is, and should consider itself, a creative department. A true creative company doesn’t departmentalise creativity. It grows it and nurtures it in all aspects of its business. My job will be to ensure that creativity remains at the heart of everything we do. That the black sheep remains black.

As worldwide CCO, what are your priorities for the year ahead?

I’m most looking forward to spending time with people in our offices and of course partnering Neil Munn, group CEO [below].