„I prefer people who have an attitude.“

You regularly undermine traditional marketing strategies and bring conventions into question. What is the secret behind that provocative attitude?

People’s spam of attention is very limited these days. Everyone watches tv while surfing the internet in their phones. You are bombarded by ads in multiple channels all the time. I don’t think one will cut through this type of environment by following the rules and sticking to old formulas and conventions. You need to have a provocative attitude. You need to trigger a reaction, to cause emotion, to spark a smile (or sometimes a tear). That’s why we try to constant innovate and to do things differently as much as we can.

You need to have a provocative attitude. You need to trigger a reaction, to cause emotion, to spark a smile.

Do big companies act as role models when it comes to attitude?

Depends on the brand and company. I don’t think size should define what level of attitude one has. Surely many big companies are more afraid to lose than eager to win. But that’s not necessarily a rule one needs to live by. Nike is a dominant player but I feel that it does have attitude and pushes the boundaries when it comes to creativity. Same for The New York Times and many other brands out there.

„He’s got attitude“. Is that a compliment or an insult in your ears?

Probably a compliment. But it depends on the tone people say it. And it also depends on whether that is something valued or not in the environment it is said. What I can tell you is that I prefer the people who have an attitude than the ones who don’t.

If you love creativity, go all in.

What do young creatives have to do, to get into the right mindset to compete in the world of marketing?

I think you need to love what you do and be obsessed about it. Life is too short for you to work on something that you don’t truly love. And if you love our industry, if you love creativity, go all in. Eat One Show books for lunch. Know every single black and yellow D&AD pencil by heart. Make the Cannes Lion your favorite animal. And follow the Art Directors Club. Develop your criteria. Surround yourself with people who know creativity. Get the job that will help you develop yourself the most. Work hard. And if you really love this, you will also have fun while doing all that.

Fernando Machado ist einer unser Speaker beim ADC Creativity Summit am 24. September im Rahmen der DMEXCO @home. Mehr Informationen zum Event, Speakern und Ticketkauf hier.