The Platinum Egg 1997: Bo Rönnberg.
Bo “Bosse” Rönnberg was born in Skellefteå in 1944. After a “typical” childhood, he went to Uppsala University, took a Master of Social Science degree and went to work at Gumaelius as a media strategist. But he was more interested in working with ideas than numbers. The kitchen equipment manufacturer Metos gave him the chance. After buying a media strategy, they needed advertisements. “I can do that for you,” said Bosse. The campaign received a positive review in the advertising magazine Resumé, which led to his being hired as a copywriter at HLR.... Which in turn led him to Schjaerven, where he met Peter Kandimaa, and later to JWT, where he encountered Lars Liljendahl. Together with Stefan Holte, they founded Rönnberg & Co in 1983. The agency – with Bosse at the helm – quickly gained a reputation for going their own way. If others were writing, “We take responsibility from start to finish,” in the annual agency guide Byråboken, they wrote, “We provide advertising for everything but caravans and aluminium panels.” If others hung up the phone when Resumé called, they welcomed the attention. If others were ashamed of earning money, they made profit part of the business plan. Bosse was not only the agency’s public face, for many years he was the whole industry’s leading figure. Which of course had everything to do with Rönnberg’s being extremely successful. In 1989, for example, they won almost half the awards at the Golden Egg Gala. Bosse played a part in many memorable jobs for clients like Swedish State Railways, the post office, Expressen and Eurocard, but it’s hard to ignore Viking Line, for whom he and Lasse Liljendahl cut the logo down to size, giving the shipping line a unique identity. Much of their success, according to Bosse, resulted from his “daring to hire creatives who were better than I was”. In 1989, the agency was sold to McCann. Bosse stayed longer than any of the other principals (“It’s my name on the door, after all”), finally leaving in 1999 to found Collaborate. After over 50 years in the business, Bosse is still active as a copywriter.