As part of an ongoing series highlighting young talent in the industry, Branding in Asia presents “One Under 30” – a special feature that focuses on up-and-coming talent in the ad world, one person at a time.
This week we talk to Nuris Sungkar, a copywriter at FTW Jakarta – Future Creative Network in Jakarta, Indonesia
Over the course of our conversation, he talks about how he got his first break in the industry, what he loves about the work, what he doesn’t like about it, and more.
The Basics
Name: Nuris Sungkar
Age: 24
Agency: FTW Jakarta – Future Creative Network
Position: Copywriter
Hometown: Jakarta, Indonesia
Current Location: Jakarta, Indonesia
Education: Universitas Prof. Dr. Moestopo, Bachelor of Communication
Seven Questions
How did you get your first break in the industry?
In 2018 when I had an internship at McCann Jakarta. Prior to that, I wanted to sign on for a journalism minor in college. I’ve always loved writing and playing music, so I thought being a music journalist would get me free tickets for concerts. As simple as that.
Then I changed my mind when I studied the basics of advertising and started listening to funny radio commercials. It led me to dive deeper into copywriting and realized there’s more playfulness and freedom in advertising than journalism.
It’s more stimulating to the mind. So instead, I took a minor in advertising. I joined Iris Jakarta after graduation and now I’m in FTW Jakarta, an agency of Future Creative Network.
What is your personal mantra?
Every action is driven by emotion.
Pushing a certain ’emotional button’ in someone would make them do a certain action. That’s how powerful emotions are. So It’s important to master our emotions and be considerate of how others feel.
From what person, place or thing have you drawn your greatest creative inspiration?
How humans behave. Insights are generally based on human behavior. I enjoy observing people and figuring out how they think and feel, finding out what makes them tick. It’s the initial part of my creative process; starting out with thinking of the creative insights first before coming up with executable ideas.
The second most inspiring to me is a figure of speech and wordplay. I think it’s one of the foundations of copywriting and storytelling.
What do you love about the job?
The uncertainty. There’s no exact theory or formula of creativity and it’s a blessing. Everyone is appreciated to have their own way of thinking and crafting.
What about your job are you not so crazy about?
I’m aware that I’ve always reached my breaking point when there’s too much workload. Tight deadlines are okay, but having too much on your plate would give less time to think and less focus on maintaining the creative outputs.
What is some work you’ve done that you’re most proud of?
GoPay – The Greatest Actress of All Time
It’s my directorial debut and I’d never thought of being a director whatsoever. Until a friend of mine, Faisal Hibatullah, told me there’s this Young Film Director category in Citra Pariwara. It’s a brief from GoPay, Indonesia’s e-wallet brand.
I submitted my presentation deck just for fun and forgot about it. A week later, they announced that I was one of the finalists and had a chance to produce the idea. I felt glad and panic at the same time.
I had zero knowledge and experience in directing, but I met a great production team who helped me a lot. It’s been a fun learning experience to write an idea from scratch and execute it throughout the whole production process.
If you had to choose another career what would it be?
Probably playing in a punk rock band.
