Marc Van Buggenhout apologizes for the noise at Duval Guillaume's Brussels headquarters as he searches for a quiet place to talk on the phone.

"We don't have separate offices," he explains. "Management sits between everyone. We don't do departments. There is no hierarchy between people; we do not work with titles. Departments only make people fight with each other instead of working together."

Trained as a print house manager at Higro College in Ghent, the 47-year-old is a living example of the fluidity of responsibilities at the agency. He oversees everything from print, direct marketing and TV campaigns; he gets his hands dirty as an agency producer when clients are particularly insistent.

As a testament to Duval Guillaume's philosophy of working on its own terms, before our interview, Van Buggenhout had wrapped up a meeting in which he explained to 25 clients his company's protective attitude towards the creative process. "I don't want the creatives to be in boring marketing meetings where we talk about scene-by-scene marketing objectives," he says. "I go into those meetings and bore myself to death. I do not want the director to know the marketing strategy. I just want him to make a good movie."

Van Buggenhout also recounts how a client once mailed a director a scene-by-scene marketing treatment the night before a shoot. The director stayed up reading it in a hotel room. He calls the resulting spot a "totally strange, bad product." He doesn't much care for storyboards either. "We write it down instead. The idea should be good enough to be told in a few lines. If you have to be talented and gifted to explain the idea, it's probably not good enough." As for show reels: "I don't give them a lot of importance because a good director can direct anything."

The agency, which made international waves with its Cannes Gold win for Medecins Sans Frontiers "Human Ball" last year, likes to encourage employees to branch out. Van Buggenhout himself started out as the print production manager at TBWA Brussels in the late 1980s and evolved into the role of creative services director.

"He's a very curious man who likes to learn and read," says Andre Duval, founder and CEO of Duval Guillaume. "Very soon [after he joined] he took on board all the IT development [at TBWA]."

When Duval left TBWA to form a new agency with Guillaume Van der Stighelen 11 years ago, Van Buggenhout was quick to follow and moved into the role of creative overseer.

Duval says he admires Van Buggenhout's ability to empathize with the creatives while thoroughly understanding the finances and technical aspects of a production. If a project turns into a make-or-break situation with a big client, he'll sleep easy at night knowing Van Buggenhout is on the shoot.

"The client can ask him very touchy and nasty questions like, 'why will this camera setup take two hours?' and he'll know the answer better than the production company," he says.

A year and a half ago, the agency opened a full-service New York branch. The office was off to a slow start, but scored a high-profile hit with a cheaply-produced viral for Topps. The food giant wanted to reposition its Bazooka Joe bubblegum brand without spending a ton of money. The agency found a hook for the campaign when a Topps executive picked his daughter up from summer camp. She informed him she'd just learned an old, forgotten Bazooka Bubblegum song and dance.

"They didn't know it but they were sitting on gold," says Van Buggenhout. "We decided immediately to make it into a viral."

The agency rewrote the song with a New York City-area quartet called Tha Heights, recorded a video, posted a downloadable version online and encouraged children across America to make their own versions. There are now at least 94 Bazooka Dance videos listed on YouTube.

While Van Buggenhout admits some grown-ups loathe the insanely upbeat jingle, the DIY dance video concept is going over well with the six- to 14-year-old target audience.

As a European producer, he's used to working in a small country with small budgets. But he doesn't believe online is the only way to go. He believes the future of TV advertising isn't million-dollar spots, but rather full-length programs. The idea harkens back to the days when Unilever and Procter & Gamble bankrolled soap operas. Duval Guillaume has recently hired three producers with backgrounds in talk show and game production.

"Branded entertainment is the big thing," he says. "For big, big clients I have been presenting TV formats to advertisers in Belgium and then we go to TV stations and offer it. As producers we have to be open-minded and learn more about TV."

Although he won't reveal the status of any full-length productions, he brims with excitement discussing the prospects - he's also a little self-deprecating.

"I say the same stupid things I did 20 years ago," he jokes. "But now people will believe me because my hair is gray. I think they call it confidence."

AGENCY BRIEFS
Agency producing is to my wife as Chinese is to a Zulu. Write a haiku about cost consultants. No time for a rhyme, sorry!
Who is your dream director? Daniel Kleinman (for now).
Who should play you in Advertising: The Movie? Jack Nicholson.
Which could you go longer without: Your Blackberry or toothpaste? Toothpaste, of course.
In five words or less, describe the perfect conference call. Short, fun, spot on!
The commercial you remember the most from your youth. Mona Toetjes (Dutch)
The buzz word or term you are sick to death of hearing. Oh, yes... It's urgent.
What's your nickname? Buggy.
Describe your first cell phone. A 10-pound Motorola with a battery in trunk of the car.
In one word, describe your hair. Trying.
In one word, describe your relationship with creatives. Respect.

Duval Guillaume http://www.duvalguillaume.com