Why Olivier Apers Played Bartender on His First Day as CCO of Serviceplan Paris

Muse chats with Olivier and agency CEO Thomas Derouault about battling uniformity in the age of AI

A few weeks ago, on his first day as chief creative officer of Serviceplan Paris, Olivier Apers put his mixology skills into practice at a party welcoming him aboard.

“To break the ice, I stepped behind the bar and played bartender,” he recalls. “’A drink in exchange for your first name?’ For me, it was a natural way to start. Because human connection is essential in this business.”

That small gesture speaks volumes about the executive’s willingness to work collaboratively and forge the best possible work with all team members making key contributions.

“You never create great campaigns alone,” he says. “You need to know how to surround yourself with the right talent, bring different strengths together and unlock everyone’s potential. The best work is always the story of a collective that wants to push beyond standards together.”

Apers spent two decades at BETC Paris, where he ultimately led one of the most respected creative departments in Europe. During his tenure, he helped guide efforts for Canal+, McDonald’s, Leroy Merlin and more.

Now, he joins with Serviceplan Paris CEO and partner Thomas Derouault to drive growth with creativity as a driver across all platforms. And he’s willing to put his ego aside in the quest for superior results.

“I don’t care about being right,” Apers says. “What matters is having the best idea, no matter where or who it comes from. Thomas and I share that same human approach. We both deeply believe that talent multiplies when people come together.”

Below, the pair briefs Muse on their (Service)plans moving forward at the acclaimed independent network.

Olivier, Did they court you? Did you already know Serviceplan well?

Olivier Apers: Yes, I already knew Serviceplan. What creative person doesn’t? I’d also had the chance to cross paths with Alex Schill, global CCO of the Serviceplan Group, on various international juries. We got to know each other, got along very well and realized we were on the same creative wavelength.

Then the years went by. I continued my journey at BETC. I will be forever grateful that the company helped me grow and fulfill myself. But at a certain point, I felt ready for a new adventure. I wanted to gain more independence, to challenge myself. What if I could take the lead and build an agency the way I truly want it to be?

And then I met Thomas Derouault. Or rather, I re-met him. We first crossed paths at BETC 20 years ago. And now, he had just taken over as CEO of Serviceplan Paris. He offered me the chance to become his partner as CCO.For someone like me, who doesn’t want to live with regrets, it felt like one of those rare now-or-never moments in life.

What made Olivier such an appealing hire?

Thomas Derouault: First, Olivier is much more than a highly respected creative. Twenty years at BETC, campaigns that have left a mark on our industry—he has genuine international legitimacy. But our business has plenty of talented people. What particularly interested me was his personality, his high standards, his ability to rally talent and help other people’s ideas grow. I was looking for a partner, not just a CCO. Someone to share ambitions, convictions, decisions and probably a few creative arguments along the way. We both have enough experience to have very little left to prove individually. But we still have a lot to build together. And that is infinitely more exciting.

How do you view this collaboration working day to day?

Olivier Apers: We are going to divide responsibilities according to our respective strengths. Leading an agency means being there for your clients and your people, running a successful business and, above all, creating the conditions for great creativity. To deliver on all of that, you need to play to the strengths of each leader. Thomas is, and remains, a great, talented creative. But he also understands business, client relations, budget management and how to structure an agency, so this will be his focus.

On my side, my role is quite clear: To make creativity more impactful at every level and every stage of the agency. With our talent, with our clients, across every campaign, regardless of format. I’m going to put my experience and high standards to work for Serviceplan Paris and help build the agency we want it to become, in the creative spotlight.

In materials announcing Olivier’s hire, you mention battling “uniformity.” Can you expand on that?

Thomas Derouault: I find it fascinating that our industry, which sells differentiation all day long, sometimes has such a hard time differentiating it. We use the same tools, the same methods, the same references. We watch the same campaigns, attend the same festivals. And sometimes, we end up producing ideas that look strangely alike. AI adds another dimension to that. When everyone has access to the same technology, it becomes very easy to produce more of the same, faster. But the technology itself isn’t the problem.

Uniformity happens when tools start replacing creative direction rather than amplifying distinctive human perspectives. The problem isn’t a lack of talent. It’s probably a lack of risk-taking. By trying to reassure everyone, you end up surprising no one.

Our job isn’t to produce campaigns that simply look like good campaigns. It’s to create work that feels distinctive, relevant and genuinely right for the brand and that connects with people in ways they didn’t necessarily expect. That requires the courage to question the obvious answer, explore different directions and sometimes challenge our own certainties. And that’s something we have to do together with our clients and colleagues: Creating the trust and space that allow more original ideas to emerge and giving the brave ones a chance to become great work.

Can agencies remain truly distinctive in the age of AI?

Olivier Apers & Thomas Derouault: We believe that AI will make originality and distinction even more important, not the other way around. As access to the same tools becomes universal, technology itself ceases to be a differentiating factor. If everyone can generate more content, faster and cheaper, simply producing more will not help an agency or a brand stand out. Quite the contrary: AI can multiply mediocrity just as efficiently as it can multiply great work.

What gains value are the elements that are much harder to standardize: original ideas, creative judgment, cultural understanding, emotional relevance, and—perhaps most importantly—the courage to do something that looks unlike anything else. This is one of our core convictions at Serviceplan: AI multiplies production, but creativity multiplies value.

Our role is therefore not to compete with machines on production volume. It consists of using their capabilities to give more space to distinctive human ideas. That is also why we view AI as a tool meant to amplify creativity rather than standardize it.

A recent example within the Group is the “Comment Coupons” campaign for PENNY. The idea started from a very human cultural observation. On TikTok, the funniest and most creative content isn’t always the video itself, but what users add in the comments. So, rather than creating even more branded content, PENNY rewarded the people who were already making the platform more entertaining. An AI-based system identified and evaluated these comments at scale by analyzing context, humor and community reaction, and then translated those scores into shopping vouchers. Over 4,000 comments were rewarded with €45,000 in coupons.

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How do you define success?

Olivier Apers: Our future (and hopefully near-future) success will be to attract new clients who trust Serviceplan Paris and understand what makes us different, the value we bring and the impact we can have on their brands. From there, it becomes a virtuous circle: great clients attract great talent, which in turn attracts great clients. The real success will be to make Serviceplan Paris as desirable and sought-after as it deserves to be. As for awards, I see them as a bonus, a reward for great work, great campaigns and strong partnerships with our clients. Awards should never be the objective in themselves. Success comes to those who deserve it.

Thomas Derouault: The most satisfying successes are not necessarily the ones that bear your name. To me, it’s the ones you made possible for others. Successful clients, happier colleagues, a better agency. For me, there’s no greater feeling than helping others thrive and knowing you played a part in making that possible. If Olivier and I can look at Serviceplan Paris and tell ourselves we built something sustainable, brought new talent to the surface, and produced ideas we are genuinely proud of, that will be a great success. And if all parties involved had fun along the way, that would be even better.

You have 2 minutes facing the industry. What’s your hot take?

Olivier Apers: I hate anything that is mediocre. Either it sucks, or it’s good. Who wants a mediocre idea?

Thomas Derouault: It’s time to put creatives, in the broad sense, back at the center of our industry. Not just on the org charts. In the decision making. Because you need a functioning process, especially in times of AI and international scaling, but what will stay with you forever is the big idea.