The Platinum Egg 2001: Lars Hansson.
Lars “Fille” Hansson was born in 1943 and grew up in Vällingby. An aunt who noticed Fille’s drawing talent suggested Svenska Telegrambyrån in Stockholm might be a good workplace for him. At 16 he got the job, and it became his university. Here he found colleagues, ideas and American magazines full of a new breed of advertising and graphic art.... “Telegrambyrån was where I established my two advertising lodestars: simplicity and working conceptually. No tricks. Strip away everything that’s unnecessary until you can see the foundational idea. If you can’t see it, start over.” Borne up by this insight, he headed off to Beckmans School of Design in 1962. Leon Nordin noticed Fille’s Golden Egg for Peugeot and offered him a job at Arbmans in 1967. Together with Jacob Isacsson, he took over what was probably the agency’s smallest account – BZ Dance & Restaurant. A series of clear, simple little ads with a stylish Romana typeface did wonders for the Restaurant. They made a film spot, too, which won a Silver Lion at Cannes. In 1971, he founded Falk & Partners along with Ulf Rådegård, Lars Falk, Ove Pihl and Magnus Åkerlind. Fille’s entire family were extremely socially conscious and believed that advertising could be a force for good in society. Based on these values, Hansson & Rådegård was founded in 1977, with the National Board of Health and Welfare as its major client. In 1987, Fille reunited with his old friends Lars Hall and Jan Cederquist. It was a time of change. Commercial television had come to Sweden. “Fille, you know TV advertising – you can take over Gevalia,” said the Hall & Cederquist CEO. The result was over 20 video spots with the already established concept “When you have unexpected visitors.” In his quest to simplify, Fille developed the concept beyond advertising spots and magazine ads, heading out into the real world. Suddenly, on city streets, people would encounter a real aircraft that had landed on the mushroom-shaped weather shelter at Stureplan. Or a submarine that had broken through the pavement, with water dripping out of the valves and the sounds of people inside. A new advertising medium was born: installations. The Gevalia campaign won awards around the world and became a legendary example of genre-busting. Lars Fille Hansson passed away in 2023.