)
Five Questions from Quarantine: Gilles Fichteberg
)
Co-Founder of French agency Rosapark, Gilles Fichteberg, laments his lack of outdoor space, thinks hard about potential lockdown cellmates, and believes advertising will need to be responsible when the crisis eventually passes.
What's your self-isolation set-up at the moment?
I’ve stayed in Paris, so I don’t have a garden to do yoga, woods to walk the dog, or beautiful countryside to look at... As I don't know whether I'm infected, I didn't want to risk sharing the virus with my mother, who lives in south west France and has a garden, woods and beautiful countryside.
It's lockdown; aside from your family, which four people, past or present, would you most like to be quarantined with?
Scorsese: I would love to have long chat about his love for movies, his love for his mother and his love for The Clash, in my opinion the most important rock band in history. Drinking whisky with Martin, listening to London Calling and talking cinema; who could ask for more?
Scottie Pippen: My favourite NBA player. I would ask him to tell me all about the Chicago Bulls and what Michael [Jordan] was really like. I want to know every single detail about the most amazing team in the history of sport… and we could have a fantastic one-on-one in my apartment. No rules. Poor neighbours.
I want to learn a new language, so I would invite Rosario Dawson to quarantine with me. I’d ask her to teach me some words in Klingon, as I know she's fluent, I read it in an interview she gave. It's a difficult language to learn, but lockdown gives you time. To be honest with you, I've been in love with her for a very, very long time... and I'm not a big fan of Star Trek.
A baby tiger. I love tigers. I would bottle feed him and play with him, avoiding getting bitten or badly scratched is great exercise. We could watch The Lion King together on Netflix… Great bonding moments. At the end of the lockdown, I would go out with my tiger, just him and me, walking together with no leash, it’s the perfect way to social distance.
+ membership
Access the world's largest advertising database. With an intuitive toolset that helps you explore, present and collaborate more effectively.
Learn More
We need entertainment, what's your favourite short film?
Why a short film? We have plenty of time! I would recommend Uncut Gems on Netflix, the latest Safdie brothers movie. A frenetic rhythm, focussed on Adam Sandler, a NYC jeweller on vitamins (or other illegal stuff). It’s a real tribute to the Scorsese and Abel Ferrara films of the 90s. Bewitching… totally awesome!!!
Somebody I love a lot recommended I watch Tales from the Loop on Amazon Prime. Big blast! It’s a series inspired by the paintings of Simon Stâlenhag, a young Swedish painter, set in Scandinavian landscapes, where robots and hovercrafts live among people. A little sci-fi masterpiece.
You've completed Netflix. And Amazon Prime. And Disney+. It's on the hard stuff; board games. What do you pick?
Definitely RISK! It’s a strategic game I used to play when I was a kid. What better feeling than conquering the world from your couch? During the lockdown, it would also give me the opportunity to travel a little bit.
On a serious note, how do you think this situation will impact you individually, and the industry as a whole?
Every ad agency in the world has been affected and the independent ones, who have less security than the big groups, are going to be the first to suffer and might not be able to bounce back when the market picks up. People are going to have to make tremendous efforts to make up for losses once the virus is behind us, and I’m afraid that might require huge sacrifices.
The current situation also poses the obvious question of our role in society. What can we propose to profoundly impact the transformations to society brought about by this crisis? We are going to need to accompany our clients on their journey into this new world, to help them understand it and to become a driving force of this transformation. A new world with new behaviour, countless new habits and insights, major changes in our private lives and the acceptance of an intrusion of technology to prevent new epidemics. We’re going to have to be extremely responsible in every respect.
