It only took him 29 years, a few detours as professional garbage separator, telephone agent and butcher to finally become what he always wanted to be.
Since starting out in 1998, he has lent his creative skills to agencies including DDB, Saatchi & Saatchi, TBWA Paris and Serviceplan, to name just a few. Some became quite successful and famous. And, surprisingly, some of them do still exist.
Over the years, he has had the pleasure of working with some of the loveliest and most creative minds in the industry, including Dave Droga, Alhasdir McGregor Hastie and Till Distel — people who probably left a bigger impression on his career than he did on theirs. But that’s another story.
His client list includes Lufthansa, Uber, Heinz, Henkel, Stabilo, Bauhaus, Miele, Deutsche Telekom, O2, Nissan and many, many more.
Some of his projects received recognition at Cannes Lions, D&AD, The One Show, New York Festivals, Epica, ADC, The Clios and yet he is still open for an Academy Award (just sayin').
After almost 30 years, Stefan is still around in the biz — trying to make agencies, clients and award shows happy, while somehow making a living from it.
oder aber Uber
Saving sunbeds, washing the car on Saturdays, arriving five minutes early … ze Germans have a lot of traditions. The same goes for their mobility habits. How to change that? With three little words: oder aber Uber.
Awards pending. Optimism ongoing.
The Travel Etiquette Collection
Almost everyone has something to say about how people behave on board. Except airlines. They usually remain politely silent — apparently, turbulence is easier to handle than a shitstorm. But there's really nothing to be afraid of. If you do it right.
Awards pending. Optimism ongoing.
Highlight the remarkable
Women disappear too often behind men and their stories remain untold. Stabilo is about to change this. This campaign highlights historic women and their achievements.
Cannes Lions 3× Gold, 1× Silver
D&AD 2× White, 1× Wood
Epica Grand Prix, 2× Gold
Eurobest Grand Prix, Gold
ADC Gold
Every story starts with a Yes.
300 passengers on a plane. 300 different lives. 300 different stories waiting to be told. And every single one of them once started with a “Yes”. Here are some of them, brilliantly told by Marcus Ibanez.
D&AD Wood Pencil
The One Show 1× Gold, 3× Silver
Clio Silver
ADC New York 3× Silver, 1× Bronze
New York Festivals 1× Silver, 3× Bronze
ADC Gold, Silver, Bronze
Ding Dong
Ding dong! The meter reader. Somehow, he never shows up at the right moment. In future, though, you can spare yourself the awkward visit by having Techem's remotely readable heat cost allocators installed.
LIA 1× Silver, 1× Bronze
Epica Bronze
CommAwards 1× Silver, 1× Bronze
ADC Germany 2× Bronze
Campaign Big Global 2× Winner
100 years
You can’t tell 100 years of Lufthansa without telling 100 years of German history. The story of a country and its airline, closely connected through good times, difficult times and everything in between. Told in one film and narrated by Wim Wenders.
Awards pending. Optimism ongoing.
All it takes is a yes.
Sure, you can think about your trip forever, weigh up the pros and cons, then think about it some more. Or you can simply say yes. Sometimes, that's all it takes to give your life a whole new twist. A global film, beautifully filmed by Nicolas Larsson.
Clio Silver & Bronze
New York Festivals 3× Bronze
LIA Bronze
ADC Europe 2× Bronze
ADC Germany 2× Silver, 6× Bronze
Epica Silver, 2× Bronze
Turn First Class into Art — Sho Shibuya Loungewear
How do you capture the unique play of colours above the clouds in a way that impresses even First Class passengers? Why not ask a world-renowned artist: Sho Shibuya.
ADC Germany Gold
LIA Silver
ADC Europe Gold
Epica Bronze
Showing only the good work is great, but it's only half the truth. So here it is: the worst thing I ever had to make.
Content warning: This film contains material some viewers may find disturbing. Anyone sensitive to strange behaviour may prefer to look away.