Amir Kassaei is Coming Back to Burst the Advertising Bubble

“I’m back.”

So reads the entirety of Amir Kassaei’s announcement, proclaiming his return to the advertising and marketing industry. After four years of retirement from advertising, the former global chief creative officer is back at Omnicom, as the global chief brand officer for Volkswagen.

The role came about after a conversation with VW CMO Sussane Franz, who had worked with Amir when he was at DDB, turning around the SEAT in Spain and inventing the car brand Cupra together. From there, he spoke with Omnicom CEO John Wren, and everything fell into place.

On returning to the Omnicom fold, Amir says that despite the inevitable changes in personnel across the organisation, it’s also been familiar in a really positive way, particularly in his collaboration with John Wren.

“I’ve known John Wren for 20 years, so we respect each other. I think we share the same admiration for each other… I retired because [it was] decision and it was a nice goodbye for everybody, but I had contact with Omnicom in the last couple of years, briefly,” he continues. “Now that I’m back, it doesn’t feel strange or awkward or different. Yes, there are a lot of people who are gone, and there are new people coming in, but as I’m working closely with John, it hasn’t changed a lot on that level.”

It is, however, a big change for Amir, who has been out of the industry for four years, living in Ibiza where he’s been experimenting with new creative ventures such as architecture and design. Having been out of the industry bubble, he feels that he returns refreshed with new perspectives.

“Being out of the bubble for four years helps you a lot, seeing things in a completely different light. Especially if your job is to use creative business solutions to elevate the brand, getting inspired by the real things out there and not being in the advertising bubble helps a lot for sure,” he says. The irony that we’re discussing this idea of an adland bubble during the week of Cannes Lions is not lost on Amir.

On his return to the wider industry, Amir is raring to shake things up. So how does he feel about jumping straight back in?

“I think it’s about time, because the whole marketing communication industry and advertising industry has never been so without substance, without any meaning, without any relevance as it has been in the last couple of years. And I think they are lost. They’re completely lost because their business model is not really working. They have to reinvent themselves, but they don’t know how. And if you look at brand communication worldwide, it doesn’t build any kind of relevant relationship to the people anymore,” he says, characterising the general output as ‘blah, blah, blah, blah, blah’.

He says that a desire to lead the charge and rally the industry is the big driver behind his return.

“I think I have a responsibility as somebody who was working in the industry for 30 years to try to, at least, do my part to try to turn things around for the better. So that’s the motivation,” he says. “I don’t need to do it. I don’t need it for material or career reasons. I don’t need it for ego reasons because I retired for good. But, if I look at the situation of how this industry is imploding, somebody needs to do something, and I will try my best.”

Amir has a lot of history with the VW business from his time at DDB and he’s got big ambitions for the impact he and the team will be able to have. And if it comes together, he hopes that it will provide inspiration for the rest of the marketing and advertising world.

“I see it as my last dance and I think if we are doing the right things and I can elevate this iconic brand, it’s not only something for the category, but it’s also something for the whole world of marketing communication, to give the belief back that you can actually be socially relevant and you can have a cultural impact like we used to have in the industry years and years ago.”

The specific structures that will support Amir and VW have not yet been disclosed, though Amir says that it’s been really important to get those right. The initial conversations occurred a couple of months ago and now he is already right in the thick of work. “It’s not a small game, so I’m fully ‘in’ already and in working mode,” he says.