A day at the office
I could never decide if I wanted to be a writer or a designer. So I didn't.
Instead, I worked twice as hard. First, exclusively as an art director (and went on to become one of Brazil's most awarded art directors in a decade) then I switched and became a copywriter (and won the same accolade in the new role).
My background in both areas gives me a unique experience to help creative teams bring a brand's strategy and vision to life. And my work in other kinds of creative fields, from long form narratives to the episode-driven storytelling of TV series, has helped me guide brands to connect with their audience in new ways while keeping a cohesive voice.
Over the span of my career, I’ve led the development of global creative platforms for brands like adidas, GSK, Visa, Dove, Comfort, Hellmann’s, S. Pellegrino and many others. In the process, I’ve learned how to work with multi-disciplinary talents across all media channels, and how to make a diverse group of people become a team. This has been fuelled by my genuine interest in different cultures and human insights.
Pitching
I’ve got a passionate, collaborative drive, which has been instrumental to help me lead and win global pitches such as the adidas 2014 World Cup project, Nissan's Datsun brand re-birth, GSK's Aquafresh, Dove Men+Care, ASICS and the Nespresso Content Studio. I was also fortunate enough to be in the core creative trio who lead, presented and won the global Visa pitch for TBWA. In total, this represents more than US $500 million in new business wins.
No rest for the wicked
Alongside my work in advertising, I’ve also explored other ways of getting my ideas out in the world: from literature and scriptwriting to cartoons. I've published a novel (voted one of Brazil's best books of 2005) and short stories in various book collections, magazines, and newspapers. In July 2017, I published my second book: a collection of personal essays, and in 2023 I published my third: a collection of drawings and one-liners.
I also wrote TV series for Brazil's main TV network (Rede Globo) for 5 years and was a bi-weekly columnist for newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo for 10 years. I've also been a regular cartoon contributor to the social channels of two national magazines (Revista Piauí and Revista Quatro Cinco Um) for three years. The cartoons have received over 10 million views and hundreds of thousands of shares on social media.
THE NITTY GRITTY
AWARDS
I’m the proud recipient of:
55 Cannes Lions
27 D&AD Pencils
23 The One Show Pencils
All of which I’ve won either as art director, copywriter, ECD or CCO.
WORK EXPERIENCE
1990 - 1993 Italo Bianchi, Recife (art director)
1993 - 1996 DPZ Sao Paulo (art director)
1996 - 2003 AlmapBBDO Sao Paulo (art director)
2003 - 2005 LewLara\TBWA Sao Paulo (copywriter)
2005 - 2010 LewLara\TBWA Sao Paulo (ECD)
2011 - 2014 TBWA\London (ECD)
2014 - 2018 Ogilvy UK (Global ECD for Unilever)
2018 - 2025 Ogilvy UK (CCO)
2025 - Ogilvy (Deputy CCO for EMEA & Global Creative Lead for Nestlé)
JUDGING
2011 Loeries Awards - South Africa - TV & Radio Chairman
2014 D&AD - Radio Judge
2016 Cannes Health Lions - Judge
2016 Cannes Grand Prix for Good - Judge
2017 D&AD - Outdoor Judge
2019 The One Show - Film Judge
2020 D&AD - Radio Judge
2021 Cannes Lions - Print and Publishing Judge
2023 D&AD - Experiential Judge
PUBLIC SPEAKING
2006 Keynote panelist at FLIP - International Literary Festival of Parati, Brazil
2011 Speaker at Loeries Seminar - Johannesburg, South Africa
2011 Speaker at China International Advertising Festival - Shenyang, China
2014 Speaker at University College London - UK
2015 Panelist at University College London - UK
2017 Speaker at The Creative Industries Federation Conference - London, UK
2018 Speaker at Digital Conference SHARE Algarve - Faro, Portugal
2018 Speaker at Vogue House - International Literary Festival of Parati, Brazil
2019 Panelist at Advertising Week Europe - London, UK
2024. Debate at The Houses of Parliament - London, UK
2025 Speaker at Casa República - International Literary Festival of Parati, Brazil
PERSONAL INFORMATION
I was born in Brazil in 1972 and became a British citizen in 2017.
I speak English, Portuguese and Spanish.
I live in London.
E-mail: laurentino@me.com
