[Interview] Matthieu Elkaim, President and Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy Paris

Ogilvy Paris is known for blending cultural insight with global resonance, producing campaigns that are both bold and meaningful.

At the helm is Matthieu Elkaim, President and Chief Creative Officer, who champions 'creativity with purpose', ideas that are culturally relevant, socially impactful, or simply entertaining enough to spark genuine conversation. Under his leadership, Ogilvy Paris has delivered standout work for brands like Dove, Coca-Cola, and L’Oréal, balancing storytelling craft with the smart integration of emerging technologies such as AI. He spoke to Marketing Report.

As a leader known for bold, strategic ideas, how do you define 'creativity with purpose'? Are there any campaigns that illustrate this point.

For me, creativity with a purpose simply means thinking about ideas that are culturally and socially relevant, that express a clear point of view, useful ideas or, at the very least, entertaining ones. I'm thinking of the Michael CeraVe campaign (L'Oréal), the Dove Crown initiative we launched years ago, or, more recently, the film we created for Coca-Cola in partnership with Star Wars: pure entertainment, full of easter eggs and references dedicated to fans of the franchise.

In a sea of same, if we don't come up with ideas that stand out, interest and engage people, and spark conversation, we're just adding noise to the crowd. When I worked at BBDO years ago, we used to say, ‘The world is noise, make music.’ We wrote it on mugs. It's still true today. Our challenge is to compose an original track that suits the tastes of the client and their audience. It's not that easy. Because this piece has to capture the audience's attention, surprise them and ultimately please them from the very first listen.

What’s unique about the creative culture within your Paris office compared to other global Ogilvy hubs?

As true Parisians, we have strong personalities, but we remain very open to the world. I think that's what the agency's culture is based on: unique strategic and creative ideas that speak to everyone. In France, we have a very strong history and cultural references, but we are also very curious, open to others and, ultimately, universalists. This is reflected in our work.

Storytelling remains at the heart of advertising. How do you see storytelling evolving in a world increasingly dominated by short-form, fast-moving content?

I strongly believe in long form in the future. Brands will be producers of their own content through feature film, TV shows, documentary… It’s already the case in some markets, especially the US. We see some good examples in France but it’s only the beginning. I was a jury in the Entertainment category this year at Cannes Lions and we can clearly see that very soon it won’t be a simple trend anymore. Brands need to tell stories. And they cannot do it in 6sec bumper ads.

AI, immersive media, and data-driven personalization are transforming advertising. What excites you most about these tools, and what keeps you cautious?

Obviously in term of content production, AI is transforming the way we craft, especially when we need to produce at scale: faster, cheaper, better? We'll see.

In parallel I observe that Gen AI tools open up a world of possibilities and allow us to test many creative directions very quickly. It's very exciting and useful. AI artists don't think the same way as traditional creative minds. Their creativity seems limitless, borderless. It reminds me of the arrival of Pixar Studios.

Suddenly, anything was possible. As a creative mind, I think that's fantastic. And I want to believe that hybridization will be the future: humans powered by AI. If our clients want to replace creative people with AI software, I fear that the sea of same I mentioned earlier will become an ocean.

How is Ogilvy Paris integrating technology with traditional creativity to craft campaigns that resonate?

Humans powered by AI is our mindset and the way we work. And it can make miracles. That's why we encourage our creative and strategic people to use the tools, test them at least. And we organize training sessions almost every week. We don't want our talent to miss this train. The difficulty is that everything goes and evolved very fast. A cool trend one week becomes out dated the next.

So, we need to be careful and use technology wisely. Surfing permanently on the wave is not the right way to do according to me. We are currently producing a campaign for a global leading chocolate brand where AI will enable us to ultra-personalize the content and create a unique ad dedicated to each individual. That is not a simple trend. It will allow us to create a better and original experience for the audience.

We’re in a time of heightened consumer skepticism. How do agencies like Ogilvy earn and maintain trust for the brands they represent?

We need to consider that our job is a serious one. We need to listen carefully our audiences and think twice before to communicate. When you create content for people, when you have the power to target them and reach them, you have a responsibility. This is something we need to keep in mind every day. I think this is how we can maintain trust with the brand we work for.

www.ogilvy.com

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