About

Helmut Stekl is a multiple national and international award winning creative director, conceptionist and copywriter.

He heads The Helmut Stekl Collective, a network of freelance creatives and consultants. Together with Alexandra Ehrlich Speiser, he also leads the renowned creative team Ehrlich aber Stekl, which specializes in employer branding and has developed long-running multi-market campaigns. 

Since 2001 Helmut Stekl has written and directed a number of short films and commercials in Austria and abroad, including national and international award-winning projects.

Helmut Stekl leads the band Saved By A Song and produces music and sound design for advertising productions. His song “Fall Into The Wave” with Saved By A Song was featured in nation-wide Austrian TV campaign.

  • Advertising since 1997, freelance copywriter, conceptionist, creative director and director since 2000

  • 18 awards and 8 nominations at the Creative Club Austria (CCA).

  • Cannes Shortlist, New York Advertising Festival Silver, Moscow International Advertising Festival Silver

  • 2x Gold and 1x Bronze WebAd, Print Oscar, Effie, State Prize Austria nomination

Clients & Partners

Over the course of his 25+ years career, Helmut Stekl has worked for agencies in Vienna and London, as well as directly for leading national and international brands.

Brands & Clients

A1, Austrian Airlines, Brieflos, bwin, Caritas, Coca-Cola, Danone, Erste Bank (8 markets), Erste Group, ERSTE Stiftung, Generali, Gusto, Herold, Jeep, Kapsch, KFC, Lotto, Lucky Day, Mazda, McDonald’s (Employer Branding), Media Markt, OBI Baumarkt, Oesterreichische Kontrollbank, Oesterreichische Nationalbank, ÖGK, OMV, Puntigamer, Spar, Sparkassen, Der Standard, Triumph, Uniqa, Verbund, Vier Pfoten, Viktoria Versicherung, VW Versicherung, Wien Museum, Wiener Staatsoper, Woman

Agencies

BBH, Dasuno, DDB Vienna, DDFG, FCB Neuwien, GGK Mullenlowe, Himmer Buchheim & Partner, JWT Vienna, McCann, Ogilvy, Springer & Jacoby Vienna, St. Stephen’s, Wirz, Worldwriters

Selected Milestones

  • Creative director B2C and B2B communications, creative consultant including change communication, purpose- and strategy development for WOMAN Magazine & Media, WOMAN Balance, WOMAN Elevate and GUSTO Magazine & Media

  • At GGK Mullenlowe and FCB Neuwien: Creative Director for Casinos Austria, KFC, Lotto, OMV, Verbund and Vier Pfoten

  • For Himmer, Buchheim & Partner: CCA Venus in Bronze for online films of the campaign “20 Years of the Euro” for the Oesterreichische Nationalbank

  • For Himmer, Buchheim & Partner: “Unfake the news” campaign for derStandard.at, awarded silver by the CCA in the Digital Online Ads category, silver in the Innovative Media Use category and bronze in the Innovation category as well as gold by WebAd in the category Creative: Best Online & Mobile Advertising and bronze in the category Media: Best Digital Campaign

  • With Ehrlich aber Stekl: creation and execution of Erste Group’s international employer branding campaign “A deeper meaning” for 8 markets in Central and Eastern Europe

  • Freelance creative director for bwin: development of new campaign look for all media and channels, creative consultant for bwin international

  • With Ehrlich aber Stekl: KURIER, integrated offline, online & social media campaign “Redakteure To Go”, awarded WebAd Gold in the online media category

  • ProduktbeschreibungFor S&J Vienna with Ehrlich aber Stekl: development and execution of bwin international campaign

  • Freelance creative director and director of shortfilms and commercials

  • From 1997 copywriter for DDB Vienna, Bárci & Partner and Young & Rubicam

    From 1999 Creative Director at Young & Rubicam for Erste Bank Hungary, Erste Bank Czech Republic and Erste Bank Croatia