Creative Close-Up: Luis Paulo Gatti, BBDO Germany, Senior Creative

Creative Close-Up (aka: CCU) is our new column featuring various people from the international field of creative industries. We're trying to get to know their backgrounds, their inspirations, their takes on creativity, on advertising, on "life" – and other mundane things. We hope these articles are going to be instructive, educational and fun to read. And yes, these texts will be in English, for certain technical reasons (i.e. convenience and practicality mixed with laziness to translate them into Hungarian).

In this episode we've talked to Luis Paulo Gatti, director/screenwriter.

Luis Paulo Gatti is a Senior Creative and an advertising instructor.

A graduate in advertising and post-graduate in digital design, he began his art director career in 2007 in Brazil. In these 13 years of experience he worked in the European, Middle Eastern and South American markets, for major accounts such as smart, National Geographic, Cadillac, Fiat, IBM, Claro, Mazda, TIM, Renault, Mashreq bank, Chevrolet and Sanofi.

In his career, he has achieved recognition in the main advertising festivals, Including Cannes Lions, D&AD, Clio, LIA Awards, Oneshow, ADC Global and others. He has served as a jury member in many festivals including NY Festivals, Lisbon Awards, Cannes YL Competition, D&AD New Blood, Oneshow, Mobius Awards, Golden Awards, Ad Stars and others.

Besides to being creative, He is also teacher and coordinator at Miami ad School.

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Advertising Chronicles (AC): Where were you born. And why?

Luis Paulo Gatti (LPG): I am Brazilian, I was born in 1984 in the north of Rio de Janeiro.

This place has some scenes from Elite squad. If you never watched this movie trusth me, its really good.

What was your first encounter with creativity?

When we are children we use creativity a lot and don't even notice, right? The first time I noticed the use of creativity was in a writing lessons at school when I was about 13 years old. I created a story that the whole school class laughed a lot.

If you had a time machine, where would you travel? Why?

I do love to travel, meet different places around the world is a dream that I managed to realize and that unfortunately because there is no time machine I will not be able to visit other times. Answering your question, I wanted to see the dinosaurs and also about the future when the human race lives in harmony with the planet.

What is most important lesson you want to teach your son/daughter?

I don't know yet. Sometimes I think I want to teach differents things but after I recognize that all of them is based in my own experiences. I hope I can help him to be happy and be together in his side with his own questions about life.

What was the most important lesson you learnt from your mother/father?

I lost my mother very early, so the two lessons that I remember the most are from my father. The first is "expect the best but prepare for the worst". The other is ''doesn't matter which profession you want to choose as long as you always try to do your best."

How did you get into advertising?

My family, like many others in Brazil, had no money to help me to go to college and is very hard to go to a public university. I got a scholarship to do journalism. I found the course very confusing and I was very unmotivated. After 1 year of studying I decided to give up (I know, it was crazy).

I was very sad and a while later I got another scholarship at another college to study advertising. In Brazil, journalism and advertising are part of the communication course, so this other college accepted my transfer from the first college. I just wanted to have a degree, what in Brasil is really important, and was thinking about work with marketing. I found creative something very difficult to do. In a class, a teacher gave a briefing of Young Ones and the idea I suggested was the same idea that won the competition that year. This teacher called me to talk and encouraged me a lot. At that moment I felt welcomed and started to dedicate myself a lot to his class and that made all the difference. Nowadays I teach and do everything I can to repay this hard life has given me. Nowadays unfortunately I lost contact with this teacher, but luckily for me I had other wonderful teachers that I talk to, I still have contact.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

I have many people who inspire me, both in advertising and outside. But my biggest inspiration is real life. I like to hear stories from different people. Be sad or happy stories. Most of the things I create are based on newspaper materials and things that are around me in my routine.

What's your creative project you're most proud of?

Terms Against Bullying and Natgeo ME – Planet or Plastic?

I just chose this 2 because I felt I needed to give names. The truth is that each one I include in my portfolio are projects that somehow touch me and help me to express my opinion about the world.

If you have curiosity please visit: Lpgatti.com

Sweet or salty? Elvis or The Beatles? Beer or wine?

Salty and Beatles for sure! Beer or wine, booth!

Your favourite brand and/or band?

Probably Nintendo. I love the way they always bring new different ways to players have fun in their consoles.

Who's your favourite hero of fiction?

Pegasus Seiya. He is a hero of a Japanese anime who was very famous in Brazil when I was a child and I lost my mother. The messages in this anime were very important and helped me through a difficult time. I would love if my son also like this anime. Who knows, right?

The greatest invention in the history of mankind?

OW! I don't know. Fire maybe? My favourite probably is the pyramids. Very useless but super cool.

What's your favourite traffic sign?

My favorite traffic sign is the ’’Hump’’. It looks like a pirate hat. I believe that at the time of the great navigations it was used

to warn people that there could be pirates in the streets. Nowadays with the small number of pirates it has taken on a new meaning, except of course during the carnival season.

What's your karma?

My Karma is to be lucky to get everything I want but in the strangest possible way. I am very happy with what life has given me and I always try to help others achieve what they seek.

Finish the sentence: For me creativity is...

The most wonderful way to change the world.

Before learning to walk we learned to dance.

Before we learn to speak, we learn to sing.

Before we learn to write, we learn to paint.

Creativity is in our nature and we can never forget this beautiful gift.