On My Radar: Noël Loozen

What’s the best ad campaign you’ve seen recently?

I’m kicking off 2018 in Norway, to work on my first feature film in the woods. So naturally I’ve been snooping around the Norwegian creative scene and came across this commercial from Bacon Norway’s Matias and Matias. Brilliant concept and very well executed. It’s the sense of nonsense that strikes me in this kind of absurdness. It’s relatable, and communicates the message in a surprising, fun and identifiable way.

What website(s) do you use most regularly and why?

I think I like search engines the most. I enjoy getting lost in the unfolding world of images and URLs. It creates some kind of strange chaos that works for me. There doesn’t need to be a specific reason behind the search, it’s wonderful to just disappear, to discover, learn and get inspired. It’s like taking a walk without using a map, just wander, get lost and look around. The Internet is a crazy but oh-so-fascinating place.

What’s the most recent piece of tech that you’ve bought and why?

I am not really into techy things but the latest piece of tech I bought was a laser printer. I love to print.

Facebook, Instagram or Twitter?

I am thinking of quitting Facebook because of all those angry 45-year olds. They make me feel sad. I am wondering when somebody will launch a event app like Facebook has but without Facebook then I would switch immediately.  Twitter is already off my radar. Instagram it is then!

What’s your favourite app on your phone and why?

The good old camera and the screenshot function (but that’s not really an app).

What’s your favourite TV show and why?

I like slow TV a lot. In the Netherlands, we have this senior television station with super simple concepts, like: 20 elderly people go on an organised holiday with their new caravans. Twenty minutes of parking all those caravans. I love it! Just watched the new season of Twin Peaks. MIND-BLOWING.

What film do you think everyone should have seen?

P’tit Quinquin by Bruno Dumont. It’s not really a movie, but a mini-series. I watched it in a cinema in Amsterdam that did a special three hours version. Beautiful, sweet and a great Clouseau-like comedy about a kid called P’tit Quin Quin in a small Northern French village. This film makes me want to make more films. A must watch!

Where were you when inspiration last struck?

Oslo, Norway.. reading about Vikings.

What’s the most significant change you’ve witnessed in the industry since you started working in it?

The role of the director, and the production company, is fast changing and in an exciting development. Our industry is redefining who does what and where, which is interesting to be part of.

If there was one thing you could change about the advertising industry, what would it be?

Well, I think we’re seeing a shift for sure, but to treat the consumer and audience as the independent people they are. You’d think by 2018 we would be able to make ads they’d actually want to watch! And more fearlessness, always.

What or who has most influenced your career and why?

When I look at the works of installation/video artist Roman Signer [below], I always feel like making things myself. His way of thinking and sense of nonsense appeal to me. His work was actually one of the driving-forces inspiring me to go to art academy.

Roy Anderson is also a big influence, I admire how his fiction and commercial work always is true to that same recognisable cinematographic and storytelling quality. When myself moving into commercial directing that’s something I’ve kept in mind, to keep a strong visual trademark and identity.

Tell us one thing about yourself that most people won’t know.

I find a lot of pleasure in observing my fish. I have an aquarium, and it’s all the zen I need!

And most people outside of the Netherlands might also not know that I once made a 24-hours non-stop complaining pop-up. Dutch people like to complain, so I made a little cabin, a sort of pop-up, in the middle of Amsterdam. Through Facebook I invited people to complain at my 24/7 office, and when I first opened my ‘office’ that morning there were a line of people wanting to take part. I actually had to call for reinforcement, and (without sounding too smug), it actually went a bit viral! I would turn the complaints into visual expressions, spinning negative thoughts into positive, colourful photography. Shortly after I got a regular column in one of our biggest newspapers where readers could send me complaints and I would picture it.