Top 10 Creatives in OOH 2024: Mike Sukle

by Amber Larkins, OOH Today

This is part of a series where OOH Today will be sharing more information about each of the selections on our list of the Top 10 Creatives in Out-of-Home 2024, and how they have impacted the OOH industry.

Today our spotlight is Mike Sukle, Owner, Sukle Advertising & Design

A humble man, his eponymous website’s ‘about us’ section describes his clients rather than himself. Some of the work he is most proud of includes campaigns with Denver Water, Noodles, Wyoming, and GOCO. The One Show, Communication Arts Advertising, Design, Typography Annuals, The Radio Mercury Awards, Graphis, The National Addy’s, The Venice Festival of Media, Lüzer’s Archive, and the OBIEs have acknowledged his company’s work.

Sukle Advertising & Design uses sales to help clients solve a problem. 

“We never try to “sell” a client on something by forcing or tricking them into it,” Sukle said. Their work that has won the most awards has also generated the best results for their clients. “When you think about it, if an awards show judge can understand the benefit of a product or service from the ad, and that ad stands out in the environment that’s all ads, then you probably have a good idea. And a real person, in the real world, will see the same.”

Sukle Advertising & Design has won 3 OBIEs in the Best of Show category and was inducted into the OBIE Hall of Fame for its ‘Use Only What You Need’ campaign for Denver Water.

Those at Sukle Advertising & Design love OOH because it is a giant palette and an opportunity to create art. Sukle thinks it is the perfect medium to make a big statement. But he also believes simplicity is paramount.

Sukle’s version of simplicity echoes Coco Chanel’s famous quote, “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take at least one thing off.”

“A great idea born from substance is key,” Sukle said. “We keep removing design elements until you remove one more, and it changes or hurts the idea.”

Sukle was trained in classic Swiss design based on proportions and patterns found in nature that humans find pleasing, but other designers manage to create simply beautiful things.

“We’re not that talented. Our designs are all based on a strong idea; the design supports and enhances the idea, always being cognizant, not letting the design overpower the idea,” Sukle said.

Sukle’s shop has done consistently entertaining work for a long time and has a wonderful touch. They have embraced new tools, including AI, to create images, seed concepting, generate copy directions, and research and strategy. Sukle finds the outcomes interesting.

“It isn’t at the point of replacing humans yet, but you can envision where it could for certain aspects of our business,” Sukle said.

However, he would also say that argument has been going on for decades. Typesetters have evolved, as have dark rooms and cutting the film in edit rooms. These tools were all replaced by better tools that have led to better work.

“Our task as creatives is to push our potential with these tools and embrace our humanity with all of its flaws and beauty,” Sukle said.

Though the robots are coming, Sukle strongly believes in the importance of authenticity and a human touch.

“Ideas must be based on a human truth,” Sukle said. “An insight that penetrates the heart and the brain. When you combine those two things, magic happens.”

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