Mat Mroszcak, pedigree AdMan trotting the globe

• M. It sounds silly, but I've always wanted to be in advertising. When I was twelve, I wasn't interested in playing football in the park. On Saturdays, I would stay at home with my dad. We would watch VHS tapes by Lürzer Archive, featuring the best new commercials of the moment. We would sit together, talk about it, analyse what I saw... I also remember going along to London for a post-production job he was doing there. I was in love with it all.

Your dad is a big part of the reason why you’re doing what you’re doing?

• M. Absolutely. There has always been competition between us. I was determined to do better than him, to win more awards... At the same time, he's my best friend. Everyone in Belgium who knows me, knows him. I bring him along to every award show and party. However, the AdMen line stops here. My son is twelve and has already decided to become an engineer and work in Formula 1.

What’s the most important lesson your dad taught you?

• M. The concept is the most important thing. Your campaign will live and die by it. A good idea is essential.

That sounds like a very Belgian thing?

• M. Exactly. Belgian reclam often starts with a beautiful, strong idea. I think this is our strongest suit as a scene. We start out with something humble that can grow into something huge without aiming for that scope. I really like that. I also think there are parallels between the Belgian ad scene and the surrealists. There’s a similarity in their absurdity.
• For me, that’s the Belgian advertising identity. At least, that’s what it used to be. I feel like we’ve lost that a bit. I remember the early days of Duval, Mortier, LG&F and Happiness… That generation was so influential. We had a load of tricks up our sleeves. Now, the rest of the world has discovered those as well. What used to be a Belgian trademark is now global.
• (pauses) I’m often worried about coming across as an arrogant prick. I don’t mean this in a judgmental way; it’s just how I feel.
• Don't get me wrong, I still adore Belgian advertising. I've been abroad for a while now, and I miss the culture of our agencies: misfits thrown together with a certain sense of anarchy. And that still ends up in fantastic campaigns, even though they don't necessarily feel Belgian as such.

Turning to Asia, where you’ve been working for about 7 years. What’s that like?

• M. I love it. It's beautiful, fascinating, and difficult all at the same time. The brand campaigns we make are often aimed at a larger Asian region. That can include Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, China, India… Those are huge countries with very different cultures. The risk is that you'll end up with campaigns revolving around vague general truths, lacking in depth. It's a challenge to add the right nuances to make it work in the various markets.
• It takes a while to understand that. In that sense, being Belgian is very helpful. We're good at being chameleons, adapting to the circumstances, being humble, learning... I've seen a lot of big-mouthed expats over the years. They are not well liked and usually don't last long.

You’ve worked in Poland, Belgium, New York, Vietnam, Singapore... What’s next?

• M. I'm not sure. We're living a great adventure, especially with the kids. Now we're thinking about a possible next step. Maybe Thailand or Japan? Australia also seems nice. Our travel story isn't finished yet. I miss my friends, but I don't think we'll return to Belgium soon. We still have some discovering to do.