This issue’s expert and judge for Digital works is Luciano “Lulo” Calio, Executive Creative Director at FCB&FiRe in Buenos Aires. Argentinian advertising has always been very good at storytelling.
Lulo started his career in advertising at the tender age of 19. Michael Weinzettl caught up with the committed ad creative in the interview that follows.
Hello Lulo, many thanks for selecting the Digital content for this issue of Archive magazine. You started to work in advertising at a very, very early age. I read that you were just 19 when you got a job with Y&R while still studying graphic design, as well as image and sound design, at the University of Buenos Aires. How come you got interested in this field so early?
I was very lucky in that I always knew what I wanted to do. Since the time I was very small up until I turned 19, I always knew I wanted to work in advertising. I loved to draw and I was told there was a lot of drawing in advertising. That captured my attention immediately and got me interested in this profession. The more research I did about advertising and creativity, the more interested I got. It got to a point where I did not want to do anything else.When I finished high school, there was no way to study advertising at university. Very soon, I understood that I must combine different skills to develop as someone who could become an advertising man. I started with my two big passions: design and cinema. Even today, I still continue to study other disciplines, and indeed a lot more right now since the industry is changing.
Have there ever been regrets that you chose your career so early?
Not even having to work until 4am on the 1st of January made me regret that I chose this career. It’s sheer madness. For other people, it is difficult to understand because all an advertising man does is work for an idea to materialize. Feeling part of a group of crazy people that search for ideas is something very stimulating.
What would have been an alternative for you?
Maybe music. I studied some years but that was never more than a hobby. When I retire, maybe I will turn this hobby into a nice ad cliché: playing the saxophone in a jazz bar.
What were some of your earliest experiences when you became fascinated by graphic design – or even advertising? Do you remember any of these ads?
The first approach was my first interview in the mythical Argentinian agency Agulla & Baccetti. A long hallway with a reception that had a desk with a light inside, it seemed made of light. All the campaigns I remember from that time came from either that agency or PragmaFCB, my other favorite. I remember a big campaign for a new car Renault was launching, with Jesus Christ as the main protagonist. The campaign tagline was “New Renault Clio. Big inside.” Boooom! My mind was blown. Were you really allowed to do that? Could we dare everything and everyone? There, I discovered the limits to what we could do – and found that there were virtually none.Another great work was a film for Oreo named “Brothers.” Impressive and exciting. An older brother teaches the younger one with Down syndrome the “Oreo ritual.” In the middle of the film comes a mini-clip in Super 8 format full of memories of them as kids. Beautifully crafted. Everything can happen in this beautiful profession and that caught me.
Does your interest in digital media go back to the early days?
I have always been more interested in what was new rather than specifically in digital. If tomorrow digital were to be yet another thing that we do not know today, I would be interested. For that reason (as it is with many other people too), I am very alert to what is going on. I follow the new Mad Men such as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, or Jack Ma.
Could you give us a brief overview of your career from then to now?
As you said, I have a degree in Graphic and Audiovisual Design from Universidad de Buenos Aires. At the age of 19, my career began at Wunderman, where I worked for iconic brands such as AllStars, Citibank, and Ford, among others. During the next years, I spent time as an art director at Young & Rubicam, where we created different award-winning campaigns for global projects. In 2007, I joined DraftFCB, where I worked on Mondelez, Telecom, BMW, and other prestigious brands. Two years later, I was appointed Creative Director. In late 2012, I join David Ogilvy’s hotshop as Creative Director and worked on Coca-Cola, Burger King, and Staples, amongst others. I led global projects in collaboration with David in Brazil and Miami. I arrived at Santo (one of the three main agencies in Coke’s Global Creative Review) as Creative Director for Coca-Cola (Global Projects), Avon (Global Projects), Buchanan’s, Sony, and others.Nowadays, I’m ECD at FCB&FiRe Buenos Aires, where I lead the creative efforts for companies and brands such as Beiersdorf, LATAM, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Clorox, Fargo (Group Bimbo), Netflix, and Coca-Cola.I’ve been on the jury of many of the main International ad festivals and was Jury President at the 2017 El Ojo de Iberoamérica.
How has advertising in Argentina evolved? I remember a time, in the early 90s, when Argentina was chiefly known for excellent TV commercials, while all the top print work used to come from Brazil.
Argentinian advertising has always been very good at storytelling. I believe that is because they were so relevant in TV work. Today, digital is king, but we keep telling stories. With more liberty, of course. 5, 15, 120 seconds … it does not matter now, but the content must be relevant – otherwise the SKIP has the power.Argentina has been a country with incredibly easy adaptation to change, and because of that, what is coming is not resisted but embraced very easily.As for the print work from Brazil, as a graphic designer I have always been a great admirer. Two years ago, when I took creative leadership of FCB&FiRe Buenos Aires, the first thing I did was to hire Brazilian art directors. It is amazing what they can achieve within the short period of time they have. They have honed that skill over many long years of graphic leadership.
What were the most significant changes advertising have gone through since you first started – both in Argentina and more generally?
I can speak about the changes I have seen in my generation.One of the big changes has to do with Argentinian advertising in the last 15 years: it has effectively turned from local to global, telling us we have understood the kind of language the world speaks, and they have thus entrusted us with global projects without hesitation, searching out local talent. And, today, a lot of Argentinian talent successfully works in markets abroad.Another, more generally speaking, has to do with the day-to-day business. Every time the industry makes a movement, Argentinian advertising makes a move too. That has to do with a more aggressive approach than in other countries. We live in a crisis. We live in the change and that, whether we want it or not, makes us the agilest.
What were some of the criteria you used when selecting your 15 top digital works for this issue?
I’ve chosen this work as I feel the selections represent the best of our Industry today. They do use technology, they are data-inspired, they ran in innovative formats and platforms, they do explore new possibilities, and make us look at our day-to-day challenges in a new way. But, above all, they tell compelling stories that connect with the correct audience. We still are in the storytelling industry.
What are some of the campaigns you worked on that you’re proudest of?
Fortunately, we are proud of many, but if I had to choose some I could mention a project named “The Book That Can’t Wait.” It was a work that took us a year of development and we finished by inventing an ink unique in the world. Another of the works I enjoyed doing the most was a film for Zonajobs, the brand leader in job searches. With the same client, we did another film the next year that achieved global relevance at festivals and in the press (Zonajobs Granma).
What are some of the current projects you and FCB’s creative department are working on?
We have been working on all types of works lately: films, product design, and content for brands.A film that was very successful was one we did for a fabric fragrance named Poett Fraganza for our client Clorox. There is uncertainty and a little bit of darkness at the beginning of the story, where we manage to catch the audience and carry them right through to the very end of the content, a great goal for this new industry era.Another of our works was again for our client Zonajobs, the local leader for job searches. In this case, we wanted to create content that speaks to two generations: the millennials and the anti-millennials.Lastly, I would like to share a product design work we came up with for our client Mondelez and its product PEPITOS, the preferred cookies of teenagers.
What was the greatest challenge that has faced you over the course of your long career?
Clearly, the most difficult challenge I faced in my career was the project “The Book That Can’t Wait.” It was a process of continuous search to make it reality. I remember searching with the team for an ink specialist in the USA, and asking them: “Is there an ink that erases itself in 3 or 4 months?” First, laughter was heard at the other end of the phone line. After that, the guy told us that “ink is like the unicorns – everyone thinks they exist but nobody saw ever one.” That was the first step, so then we created a unicorn.
How do you get inspired for your creative work? What are the stimuli ad creatives cannot do without?
There is something I have believed for many years since I started working on this: sit in a chair for many hours and think. I found it hard to believe in inspiration, I believe more in lucidity, in keeping yourself current and lucid. Building a great strategy with a team for a client, and making that end in a brilliant execution, is not a product of inspiration but hard work, talent working together, and drawing it all in from everywhere.
Why are you creative?
It is very hard to find an answer to this, but I love the question. I believe it has to do with immaturity, which I use to my advantage. I try to surprise myself as a child in everything. I have never got along very well with the adult and serious world. In another type of work, I would have been fired long ago.
What are the main things, apart from checking out their portfolios, you look for when hiring young creatives for your department?
I do not want yes-men. I would like to be challenged in my proposals. I do not look for obedient robots, I am looking for individuals with clear points of view. In the first interview, the portfolio is what we talk about the least. I ask about politics, religion, and love to give or ask for examples.
